Blogs

Tim Gullifer President

Tim Gullifer

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15 Apr 2013 @ 11:21 | Tim Gullifer

My voice – your voice – it’s our designation

Welcome to my first blog as 2013 President. Why blog? Well, my pledge when I took up the reins as head of the Institute Board...

Policy perspectives

Yasser

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11 Feb 2013 @ 4:07 | Yasser El-Ansary

The year ahead...

Welcome back to my policy perspectives blog for 2013!It’s a watershed year for our country, given the announcement of the fed...

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21 Dec 2012 @ 5:47 | Yasser El-Ansary

Announcing the inevitable – budget surplus ‘unlikely’

It was no surprise yesterday when Treasurer Wayne Swan admitted it was ‘unlikely that there will be a surplus in 2012-13’. Th...

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7 Dec 2012 @ 1:07 | Yasser El-Ansary

Is the government preparing itself to re-balance fiscal policy settings?

It is always going to be much more important that we have an economy that is firing on all cylinders, than it is to have a no...

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4 Dec 2012 @ 4:56 | Yasser El-Ansary

Time for banks to play ball

Today’s decision by the Reserve Bank of Australia to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.0% is in line with both marke...

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29 Nov 2012 @ 3:31 | Yasser El-Ansary

Rate cut on the cards

The Reserve Bank of Australia recently released the minutes of its Monetary Policy Meeting held on Tuesday 6 November, at whi...

Lee White CEO

Lee White

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15 May 2013 @ 7:28 | Lee White

Sharing risks and benefits of infrastructure investment

Following the federal Budget stakeholder lockup and subsequent discussions and commentary playing out in Canberra, there is a...

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14 May 2013 @ 12:19 | Lee White

Budget lead up: the pre-Budget policy push

Policy-making is always a challenging process. But in an election year, in the lead up to a difficult federal Budget announce...

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25 Sep 2012 @ 4:11 | Lee White

Audit in the Asian capital markets

The role of the accounting profession in supporting the Asian region's capital markets, particularly with respect to China, i...

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23 Jun 2012 @ 12:23 | Lee White

Replacing the accountants’ exemption

Many of you have been following the discussions surrounding the replacement to the accountants’ exemption very closely, and a...

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2 May 2012 @ 6:09 | Lee White

Accountants’ exemption: what’s the big deal?

For the last two years, you’ve heard us talk about the importance of developing the right replacement to the accountants’ exe...

Taxing issues

Paul Stacey

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16 May 2013 @ 11:25 | Paul Stacey

Budget funding: 'show me the money!'

Nobody, it seems, beats the ATO for return on investment. That at least seems to be the federal government's view based on la...

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3 May 2013 @ 2:49 | Paul Stacey

A plethora of threshold Budget tweaks

The 'election year' Budget announcement is now less than two weeks away. Given the string of recent announcements – the blank...

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12 Apr 2013 @ 12:41 | Paul Stacey

When does SBR make tax sense?

The ATO is championing the use of Standard Business Reporting (SBR) when preparing and lodging tax forms. SBR makes good sens...

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18 Mar 2013 @ 3:11 | Paul Stacey

How should unpaid present entitlements be treated within Div 7A?

Simplicity and certainty for businesses are important criteria when considering tax reform. The time and money saved by creat...

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8 Mar 2013 @ 2:17 | Paul Stacey

Are taxpayers being asked the right questions at the right time?

Accurate tax revenue forecasts are critical for making correct tax reform decisions. This maxim has never been truer. Confide...

Getting to the Heart of Members

Simon Grant

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22 Apr 2013 @ 3:52 | Simon Grant

Leaning-in

Are you an inner or an outer, or just someone trying to keep all the balls in the air while managing a smile and trying to ha...

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24 Mar 2013 @ 11:27 | Simon Grant

Looking out for number one

Welcome to the first instalment of my monthly blog, Getting to the Heart of Members. As the general manager of members, my re...

Audit

Liz Stamford

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15 May 2013 @ 6:21 | Liz Stamford

Accounting for economic uncertainty in year-end auditing

With the federal deficit of $18bn revealed in this week’s Budget and the recent RBA interest rate cuts, there are a few indic...

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30 Apr 2013 @ 12:30 | Liz Stamford

Change of tune in EU audit reform debate

As Spain’s unemployment soars over 25% and other European countries continue to battle massive debt burdens, the legal affair...

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4 Apr 2013 @ 5:40 | Liz Stamford

Do we have a leading audit profession?

As debates across the world continue to develop about the role of participants in the financial supply chain following on fro...

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7 Mar 2013 @ 1:24 | Liz Stamford

How can auditors demonstrate integrity?

I have been musing on integrity recently and how it impacts us as a profession. It is no secret that the audit profession is ...

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7 Feb 2013 @ 5:07 | Liz Stamford

Professional scepticism – art or science?

Like it or not, professional scepticism is an issue which is continually raised whenever there are questions over audit quali...

Reporting

Kerry Hicks blog

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12 Apr 2013 @ 12:59 | Kerry Hicks

Awards shine light on improved reporting from NFPs

The PwC Transparency Awards have been and gone for another year! It’s been satisfying to watch the continued growth and recog...

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21 Mar 2013 @ 12:48 | Kerry Hicks

Danger lurking for IFRS compliance in Australia

The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) is yet to adopt proposed amendments to IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statem...

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25 Feb 2013 @ 11:07 | Kerry Hicks

Giving SBR the benefit of the doubt

The dream of lodging information to regulators with the push of a button could be realised one day. And that day could be soo...

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31 Jan 2013 @ 3:33 | Kerry Hicks

What dividend reforms?

Dividends are back on the government’s agenda. They’re trying to fix implementation issues that arose when they replaced the ...

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20 Dec 2012 @ 2:14 | Kerry Hicks

NFP reporting and governance wait over

Treasury and the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profits Commission (ACNC) has released the long-awaited consultation papers...

Financial advisory services

Hugh Elvy blog

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26 Apr 2013 @ 3:33 | Hugh Elvy

Bridging the gap towards improved financial literacy

In my last blog, I highlighted the level of anxiety felt by consumers when it comes to obtaining financial advice from a fina...

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9 Apr 2013 @ 6:47 | Hugh Elvy

Advisor anxiety and low financial literacy

Earlier this year, the National Seniors Productive Ageing centre report, The Role of Financial Literacy and Financial Adviser...

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6 Feb 2013 @ 5:08 | Hugh Elvy

Financial services: navigating the white water of regulatory change

I recently heard some good advice - that we should ‘get used to the white water, and not go looking for the flat water’. In t...

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29 Nov 2012 @ 10:04 | Hugh Elvy

Accountants' exemption replacement: making a good business decision

When is the right time to make a business decision? There are many factors at play... No doubt there are tradeoffs such as in...

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1 Nov 2012 @ 3:54 | Hugh Elvy

How many pages are necessary for ‘good disclosure’?

Disclosure - how much is necessary to ensure a full understanding of the financial services being offered to clients? While t...

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27 Sep 2012 @ 7:28 | Hugh Elvy

What can I do once the accountants’ exemption is replaced?

In any regulatory environment, it’s tough to know what you can and can’t do – especially with the ongoing changes in the fina...

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30 Aug 2012 @ 11:02 | Hugh Elvy

Getting into the nitty gritty on FoFA

With the FoFA legislation passed, ASIC has now released two consultation papers on 'scaled advice' and 'best interests duty',...

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15 Jun 2012 @ 6:54 | Hugh Elvy

When is advice really advice?

With the approach of the end of the financial year, ASIC recently put out an alert about referring clients to ‘execution only...

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21 May 2012 @ 12:49 | Hugh Elvy

APES 230 – Where are we now?

There are a number of challenging elements included in the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board’s (APESB's) pr...

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21 Mar 2012 @ 5:21 | Hugh Elvy

The importance of independence

A subject that often engenders discussion and debate is around the real and/or perceived value of professional independence i...

Superannuation

Liz Westover

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1 May 2013 @ 12:42 | Liz Westover

Balancing superannuation policy

Today’s timely announcements from Treasurer Wayne Swan and Minister for Superannuation Bill Shorten have put an end to the re...

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31 Jan 2013 @ 1:11 | Liz Westover

Longevity of retirement savings

There is no doubt that Australia’s retirement income system needs to be sustainable in the long term. We cannot expect the ag...

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23 Jan 2013 @ 5:57 | Liz Westover

Budgeting for super

That time of year has rolled around again when interested parties put together their suggestions for consideration by the gov...

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10 Jan 2013 @ 11:21 | Liz Westover

SMSFs, Related Parties and Assets

Next week is the closing date for submissions to Treasury on the new legislation for acquisitions and disposal of certain ass...

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22 Nov 2012 @ 11:06 | Liz Westover

Excess Contributions Tax back on the radar

This week the Inspector-General of Taxation released the terms of reference for a number of reviews his office is undertaking...

Karen McWilliams

Karen McWilliams

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9 May 2013 @ 11:26 | Karen McWilliams

Global push towards non-financial reporting

Integrated reporting (IR) has evolved at a global level from a number of initiatives, including the Institutes own Broad Base...

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28 Mar 2013 @ 12:23 | Karen McWilliams

NYC gathering highlights accounting resources

The International Federation of Accountants’ Professional Accountants in Business Committee meeting was recently held in New ...

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11 Mar 2013 @ 11:17 | Karen McWilliams

Australia punching above its sustainability weight

The Global 100 ranks the most sustainable corporations worldwide and this year, Australian companies account for nine spots o...

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5 Feb 2013 @ 6:03 | Karen McWilliams

Puma winning sustainability race

In my last blog, I questioned whether some organisations continue to put sustainability in the ‘too hard basket’. One organis...

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31 Jan 2013 @ 3:53 | Karen McWilliams

The case for business sustainability

I read an interesting comment recently which said ‘never has a plan with so many fans failed to be embraced more thoroughly.’...

Practice management

Paul Meredith

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3 May 2013 @ 1:19 | Paul Meredith

Lawyer discusses liens

David Creais is an Executive Lawyer with Sydney law firm Bartier Perry. He spoke recently with the Institute on the subject o...

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2 Apr 2013 @ 11:00 | Paul Meredith

How do you rank clients?

Back in 2011, we commented that many firms characterise their clients into A, B, C or D categories, and looked at strategies ...

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17 Mar 2013 @ 5:52 | Paul Meredith

Am I required to provide clients with an engagement letter?

The answer to this question is No and Yes, depending on what is meant by an engagement letter.If the term 'engagement letter'...

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22 Jan 2013 @ 12:34 | Paul Meredith

Members vote to approve latest By-laws changes

In November 2012 the Institute conducted a ballot of members, asking them to vote on various amendments to the By-laws, princ...

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24 Oct 2012 @ 11:41 | Paul Meredith

The insider threat to business

"Peter, 49, had worked as an accountant in a medium sized company in the telecommunications sector for two years. He was know...

Sustainability

Geraldine Magarey

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15 Apr 2013 @ 11:52 | Geraldine Magarey

Will integrated reporting be a game changer?

The talk about integrated reporting (IR) has entered a new phase with the launch of the consultation draft of the IR framewor...

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13 Mar 2013 @ 7:16 | Geraldine Magarey

Spotlight on business ethics in sport

There has been much press over recent weeks about the use of performance enhancing drugs and supplements in professional spor...

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7 Jan 2013 @ 9:59 | Geraldine Magarey

'Future-proofing' our economy with an ESG focus

I was part of a delegation in London recently at the annual Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Forum which comprised over...

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21 Oct 2012 @ 11:23 | Geraldine Magarey

Integrity and certainty vital for ETS

The Senate Economics Legislation Committee is looking at the proposed amendments to the Clean Energy Legislation, and I was p...

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10 Sep 2012 @ 12:09 | Geraldine Magarey

Linking the carbon price to the EU - the right move?

Greg Combet and the European Commissioner for Climate Action, Ms Connie Hedegaard, recently announced that Australia and Euro...

Education

James Guthrie

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29 Apr 2013 @ 2:12 | James Guthrie

How is university research funding being measured?

University research funding is again in the spotlight with two recent reports highlighting concerns with funding and performa...

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21 Mar 2013 @ 1:22 | James Guthrie

The Institute Supporting Accounting Academic Research in Action: Water

Living in a dry continent, one would expect Australians to be at the forefront of global water accounting initiatives. This h...

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11 Nov 2012 @ 10:47 | James Guthrie

How do we retain the best and brightest accounting graduates from Asia?

The Government’s Asian Century White Paper is good news as it draws attention to the role of the higher education system in e...

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27 Sep 2012 @ 3:30 | James Guthrie

Business under economics? Or economics within business? The structure of the proposed national curriculum

The Draft Shape of The Australian Curriculum: Economics and Business that was published in August by the Australian Curriculu...

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16 Aug 2012 @ 1:33 | James Guthrie

Time to act - business subjects in high schools face uncertain future

The Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has just released its Draft Shape of the Australian Curr...