Regional Chair update
 Step out of the shadows
During the course of 2007 Council held a number of conversations with members and leading professionals who are active in the Not-for-Profit (NFP) sector.
This flowed from the release of two national research documents on the sector undertaken by a number of Victorian members convened by former Regional Council Chairman, Stewart Leslie FCA.
There is no doubt that many members are very active and generous with their time and expertise across the whole spectrum of NFPs. In my role at Arts Victoria I see this manifested in the plethora of arts bodies that make the State a recognised centre of excellence in this field.
Council is very proud of the work undertaken by our Victorian Young Professionals Panel, in pilot testing a Financial Literacy program at the Local Government level last year which will now be extended to other Councils this year.
Council is also aware that a number of members nearing the conclusion of a successful professional career are opting for a major 'sea change' from full time professional to NFP service, putting to good use all their accumulated contacts and expertise.
Given the considerable interest in the willingness to serve in the sector, I would like to invite members to express their interest in the formation of a Group to explore how we can harness and further the promotion of service to NFPs.
Some of the issues, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, which could be explored are:- The introduction of a Community Paper with member case studies of their experiences in the Sector
- The exploration of a program such as Charteded Accountants without Borders based around short term programs for overseas agencies.
- The introduction of a buddy system for finance persons in large NGOs
- Representations on issues such as onerous Accounting Standard requirements for the sector
- Examining how to pool backroom costs in clusters of similar NFPs.
I know that Chartered Accountants are involved as silent partners in many NFP enterprises I invite and encourage you to step a little out of the shadows and tell me what you think would be of additional benefit to this important sector
Giving back to the community is often very rewarding, not only for the beneficiary organisation, but also for the volunteer. Looking around there is much that can be done and Chartered Accountants are very well placed to do it.
I look forward to hearing from you on
chairman.vic@charteredaccountants.com.au
Penny Hutchinson FCA
Regional Chair - Victoria
Regional Manager update
 The Art of Leadership
The ability to make good clear decisions is, I think, becoming more and more a thing of the past. What a pity that leadership is being compromised in such a way and we are being short changed in the process.
Clear recent examples come from our friends in the Cricket industry and from Government in the dredging of Port Phillip Bay project. These two examples where leadership has been under tremendous pressure are just the tip of the iceberg. It now often seems that if you are not happy with a decision then it is expected that you must confront and pursue the issue to the death.
This leaves Chartered Accountants to travel some very challenging paths and more and more I am hearing stories of members who are lone financial voices in pushing back on their clients whether they be SME’s or corporate hierarchies.
It is a great comfort when members can turn to their qualifications, their membership and their global affiliations alumni as support for their professional opinions. This is not always the case however. Leadership can be very stressful and for those who may lack the appetite to express clearly what needs to be done there is always the path of consensus and compromise. For years these twins have been paraded as good management but I am not so sure . Where is the accountability and creativity in a watered down decision? Look at the problem the adoption of a part GST has caused us over the years.
Worst however is the person who in leadership does not use the gift with wisdom and courage. Too often we see in such instances decision making deflected to others as filibuster in reports and research. Our Profession can tend to be fact conservative to the point of stifling any creative risk taking with appropriate caveats. Or worst still it can involve having teams of people working on a solution to the point that if a decision is poor, then no one person can be designated to fall off the twig.
Given our credentials I think we are well placed to avoid these poor safety nets and confidently move to the heart of the issue with confidence. Sure there may be, and probably will be, push back but at the end of the day we are in a profession that demands service with integrity and facts and with a good dose of 'without fear of favour'.
Over the holidays I caught up with the English medical show,Doc Martin. The good doctor working in a country village is counselled and advised by his patients of remedies for various ailments to the exception of the right course of treatment or diagnosis. He ruffles feathers every episode with a direct approach arising from his training.
I wish you well in ruffling a few financial feathers in 2008 from your professional training.
Michael J. Nazzari CAE
General Manager – Victoria & Tasmania
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Institute Liability scheme
Members are reminded that the Institute’s Victorian liability capping scheme is to commence on 3 March 2008. From this date members are required to show the disclosure of limitation of liability on business stationery. Under Victorian professional standards legislation members will not get the benefit of the cap unless this disclosure is made.
To get the maximum benefit of the limitation of liability, it is vital that members have addressed a number of issues in relation to the operation of the scheme:
Important issues to be aware of:- Who can be a member of the scheme?
- What is a practice entity member?
- What liability is limited?
- If I provide services through a company or trust will my liability be capped?
- When does the scheme start to limit my liability?
- Do I need Professional Indemnity insurance?
- What is the minimum level of PI cover needed?
- What level of PI cover do I need if I have a higher engagement fee?
- What is an ‘engagement fee’?
- What must I do to disclose the limitation of liability to clients?
- What is considered to be business stationery?
- What are the consequences of non-disclosure?
These issues are discussed in detail charteredaccountants/LiabilityCappingUpdate
The Institute wrote to members in February
In February, the Institute mailed information about the scheme to all CPP holders, affiliates and practice entity members (participating members of the scheme) in NSW.Over the past 18 months, the Institute has reported progress on the liability scheme, its benefits and its impact for members in Charter magazine, e-newsletters, other emails to members and with information posted on the Institute website. The permanent source of information for the scheme is at charteredaccountants/capping
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New Victorian Taxi Industry Accreditation Standards
The Victorian Government introduced a new taxi industry accreditation scheme from 31 December 2007.
The central objective of the reform is to provide for safe, reliable and efficient services that meet reasonable community expectations.
Under the role-based scheme, all Victorian taxi licence holders, operators and network service providers are required to comply with a range of minimum business and service standards which will be monitored, audited and enforced.
A key requirement of the accreditation process is to verify the financial capability of applications to meet all costs and financial obligations associated with their role in the industry.
In order to support and document this accreditation requirement, the Victorian Government has introduced a Certificate of Financial Capability. This requires certification by a qualified accountant to ensure that professional standards have been applied when establishing the financial capacity of the applicants.
As the accreditation decision relies to some extent on the Certificate of Financial Capability, the Victorian Government anticipates that qualified accountants will assess the applicants’ financial status, cash flow and business plans in a thorough and professional manner before signing the certificate.
More information
doi.vic.gov.au or phone Greg Williamson at the Victorian Taxi Directorate on (03) 9320 4301
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National Chartered Accountants student challenge
Figured it out yet?
Business and commerce students are signing up in droves to the figureditoutyet website to take part in the national Chartered Accountants Student Challenge and win a trip to see the cause in action, in one of many overseas locations.
The first challenge kicks off Monday, 3 March 2008 and offers university students the opportunity to use their university studies and apply their knowledge – just as they would in a real life business context.
The students will solve real business problems for three causes. There are three challenges in total, with the final challenge concluding in July.
Students are competing for the opportunity to present their solutions to the organisations leaders and travel to see their cause in action as well as win Apple Mac laptops and iTouchs.
The students also have the opportunity to rate each others ideas and make comments.
The Chartered Accountants Student Challenge is the latest online initiative for the Institute which includes the Number 1 in Numbers group on Facebook and the Australian Courses application also on Facebook, that allows the students to collaborate on ideas.
The initiative is intended to introduce students to the Institute and Chartered Accounting at a critical time in their career decision process.
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News from the Knowledge Centre
Collection review and book sale
Part of improving the relevance of the Knowledge Centre's collection to members is to constantly review the material we have on shelf - this means removing previous editions of books to make way for new ones. These items are in great condition and have fantastic content, and are now available for purchase by members.
To find out which books are available this month visit our website, but remember to get in early, as these books are selling fast!
New books in the Knowledge Centre
The most recent book titles added to the Knowledge Centre's collection are listed below. Reviews on these books can be found in the Knowledge Centre area on the Institute's website. Selected books include: - Fighting Fraud
- Microsoft Office Accounting Professional 2007
- Project Management Accounting
- Managing Water for Australia
- International Financial Governance under Stress
More.
Australian Articles March 2008
Selected articles from around Australia on a wide range of general interest, accounting and business topics. The Institute’s copyright licence precludes the Knowledge Centre from supplying these articles electronically, however print copies can be ordered from the Knowledge Centre. Summaries on these articles can be found in the Knowledge Centre area on the Institute's website. Selected articles include:- Planting for a future harvest (talent nurturing and succession planning)
- Code sets new levels of transparency (Franchising Code of Conduct’s disclosure provisions)
- Dinosaurs beware (environmental sustainability and climate change)
- Reference checking in the Financial Services Industry: a new Australian Standard
- Good vs bad in the boardroom
- Defence tactics: armour for business risk
- Super objective is retirement adequacy
- The good, the bad, and the necessary (new regulations in the financial services industry aim to lessen the compliance burden)
More.
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Why mentoring programs fail & how to have them succeed
Shirley Singleton, an Institute in-house trainer talks about how to set up a successful mentoring program.
Mentoring is the fastest growing people development tool available to businesses today. Unfortunately for many, the results reflect neither the intent nor the expectation and consequently the program fails, generally through a lack of appropriate set-up, commitment, program management and feedback.
Organisation can have a strong, vibrant, successful mentoring program by following a few simple guidelines and processes.
Guidelines for successful mentoring programs
An aspirational mentoring program will be highly sought after part of your career development strategy. Open access to it only after 90 days of service, following an application by the employee containing clear and valuable objectives that are supported by line managers.
Ensure the program has a structure and process that allows mentor and mentee to determine how they will work together and record their progress. - Each mentoring application needs to meet specific relevant criteria
- What is the mentee’s objective?
- Offer the most relevant mentor candidates
- Allow mentees to select mentors – this is not negotiable
- Establish timeframes for achieving objectives
- Don’t allow distance to be a deterrent, mentoring relationships can be local, national or global
- Communication style to be determined by the parties; ie face to face, telephone, email or a combination if preferred
- Create a feedback loop that includes the mentees manager. The program needs to achieve for all parties, but confidentiality must be respected.
A well-structured and managed mentoring program will help attract high quality employees, or retain them. It also provides a pool of well trained and connected employees, prepared to take senior roles as the business grows.
To engage Shirley to help you with your mentoring programme, contact your local Training & Development business manager, Barney Ellis, on 03 9641 7419 or email Barney Ellis
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Member events- Dates for your diary
Suits in the City
Suits in the City is a joint event hosted by the Institute, CPA Australia and the Melbourne Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Held at Fix, this unique, contemporary design is in the heart of the vibrant Waterfront city precinct. It is both stylish and sophisticated with a club atmosphere.
Held bi-annually, Suits in the City brings together professionals from a range of industries to network with fellow peers over drinks and canapés. Book now to avoid disappointment, as tickets will sell out.
More information.
Proudly sponsored by
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Beer Appreciation a great success
The Inaugural Beer Appreciation kicked off to a great start. Held at Bell's Hotel & Brewery in South Melbourne, some 90 guests spent their night tasting an array of local and International Beers. A fantastic performance from local singer songwriter, Liz Stringer, set the mood and made for an atmospheric night.
Just to name a few Beers that were tried on the night: Hell's Bells, Asahi, Billy Boc, Hoegarden plus plenty more were offered.
A big thank you to our sponsors Michael Page Finance for their support in getting this evening up an running.
If you attended the event and would like to make any comments on the night. Please feel free to email your comments or ideas for the future to the following email address: registration.vic@charteredaccountants.com.au
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68th Annual Golf Tournament
On Monday, 11 February 100 participants competed in the prestigious 68th Annual Golf Tournament held at the magnificent Metropolitan Golf Course.
Attendees enjoyed perfect weather and were able to relax over a buffet lunch and a few drinks before heading out onto the course to battle it.
After a mammoth five hours of golf the winners were declared.
Longest Drive – Gents went to Neil Jones from Tax Banter Pty Ltd. Longest Drive – Ladies was awarded to Ann Hallam from Morton Watson & Young and the Nearest the Pin winner was Mark McCall from Big Sky Credit Union.
For Best Team Score the runners up were the team from Robertson Wouters - David Wouters, Hayden Smart, Jason Robertson and Nathan Roylance, with a score of 55 & 1/4.
The Best Team Score winners were Dallas Watts, Colin Mosman and Steven Willuweit from NAB Capital and Mark Whitehead from Paccar Australia with a score of 53 & 5/8.
('Dallas Watt’s winning team with the 75 year old perpetual trophy!')
The Institute would like to thank our sponsors of the tournament who donated prizes and giveaways:
  
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Careers Marketing
Graduate Employment Evening
The Institute is currently preparing for the annual Employment Evening, which is being held on Tuesday, 18 March at the NGV International. The Employment Evening is best described as an accounting focused careers fair and combines both an employer exhibition area and breakout sessions.
This event is a simple, cost-effective opportunity for members to promote and enhance your organisations profile; hence improving the number and quality of employment applications.
Chartered Accountants hosts the Employment Evening to provide you the chance to meet with hundreds of enthusiastic final year accounting students from universities throughout Victoria. If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Gemma Hudson. Please note that while the deadline for inclusion in the employment guide has now closed, employers are still able to register to attend the event in March.
Now Available: 2008 Code of Practice Brochure
The Institute’s 2008 National Recruitment Code of Practice Brochure is now available. The 2008 brochure provides the dates which employers agreed to abide to and shall be working towards in the 2008 recruitment periods. If you would like to request a copy of the 2008 Code of Practice brochure please email Gemma Hudson. Alternatively the brochure is available in PDF form and is available to download online.
The Institute has also developed the Chartered Accountants Recruitment Guide for 2008. This is a useful guide which enables employers to become familiar with the careers marketing events and programs, which are held throughout the year to support your recruitment needs. If you have not received a copy and would like a brochure, please contact Gemma Hudson.
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Chartered Accountants Program news
Focus Session Leaders required for upcoming Chartered Accountants Program modules
Expressions of interest are sought from qualified Institute members interested in leading in the upcoming Taxation and Financial Accounting & Reporting modules.
Focus Session Leaders must have completed the PY/CA Program and have five years work experience.
Benefits include training future members for the profession, developing training skills, updating & enhancing your technical knowledge, credits towards qualifying (CPE) hours and payment of $389.00 gross per session.
Financial Accounting & Reporting
Focus sessions will be held in the weeks beginning 23 June, 7 & 21 July and 4 August 2008.
The content areas covered in the Financial Accounting & Reporting module are:- Equity accounting
- Share based payments
- Consolidations
- Foreign exchange
- Accounting for income tax
- Impairment
- Financial instruments
- Intangibles
- Employee benefits
- Non current assets, leases & provisions
Taxation
Focus sessions will be held in the weeks beginning 14 & 28 July and 11 & 25 August 2008.
The content areas covered in the Taxation module are:- Income Tax Assessment Act
- CGT
- Tax consolidations
- GST
- FBT
- International tax
Please email registration.vic@charteredaccountants.com.au or visit
charteredaccountants.com.au to obtain more information on becoming a Focus Session Leader.
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Chartered Accountants Advisory group
Are you facing unfamiliar or challenging professional circumstances, uncertain about a career decision or under pressure to act unethically?
A problem shared is a problem halved.
Talk to someone who knows. Contact the Victorian Chartered Accountants Advisory group. This confidential free service, is staffed by highly experienced and specially trained senior chartered accountants from the local region. Once a call has been logged with the general manager, contact will be made with the member within 24 hours.
If you have a professional or ethical issue you are unsure how to address, please do not hesitate to call and discuss it with one of the group members. Younger members are also invited to use the service as we have a number of trained young professionals on the group register.
To be placed in contact with a Chartered Accountants Advisory group counsellor for guidance, contact Michael Nazzari on 03 9641 7400 or via email.
The Chartered Accountant Advisory group counsellors will not address technical matters or personal issues.
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IT&T Discussion group
The next IT&T Discussion group meeting is on 17 April 2008 where key speaker David Wilson from General Electric Company will be sharing an update on GE Energy - 'Intelligent grid - Smart meters the future!'
Discussions planned for 2008 include:- 17 April 2008, GE Energy:ntelligent grid - Smart meters the future
- 19 June 2008, ACS:IT Governance – latest research findings
- 21 August 2008, Prominans:Automated Accounting – cutting the cost of manual transactions
- 16 October 2008, PWC Generation Y:responding to their needs and leveraging their IT skills
- 20 November 2008, IT&T breakfast networking session.
The IT&T Discussion group meetings for Victoria are held bi monthly at the Institute’s office at Level 3, 600 Bourke Street Melbourne from 8.00am – 9.00am. You can claim this activity for Professional Development(PD).
The IT&T Discussion group is always looking for speakers and new ideas for discussions related to Information Technology & Telecommunications. If you have any ideas or speakers in mind and would like to find out more please email Ernest Stabek, IT&T Discussion group chairman.
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Chartered Accountants Local News – Vic
Contents - Regional Chair update
- Regional Manager update
- Institute Liability scheme
- New Victorian Taxi Industry Accreditation Standards
- National Chartered Accountants student challenge
- News from the Knowledge Centre
- Why mentoring programs fail & how to have them succeed
- Member events- Dates for your diary
- Beer Appreciation a great success
- 68th Annual Golf Tournament
- Careers Marketing
- Chartered Accountants Program news
- Chartered Accountants Advisory group
- IT & T Discussion group
- Pro bono opportunities
- Lost members
Editor: Clare O'Neill
Tel: 03 9641 7400
Email: clare.oneill@charteredaccountants.com.au
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Pro bono opportunities
Interested in volunteering your financial skills to the Not For Profit sector? Go to probonoaustralia to find out how to become involved and give back to the community.
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Lost members
The Institute is hoping to update and locate the contact details of the below members:
Stephen Michael Ayres CA
James William Milroy Campbell CA
Sarab Dhillon CA
Geoffrey Lloyd Good FCA
Kerry Kaplan CA
Stewart Justin Relph CA
George Tennyson Webb AM FCA
Should this be you or if you know the whereabouts of these members we would appreciate if you could advise us on 1300 137 322 or email support@charteredaccountants.com.au
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