November 2015 Issue 110

Here are a few tips to get all bookkeeping tasks lined up for the year-end festive season: 1. Payroll: Payroll mistakes are most common during holiday seasons as some business owners are left to process payroll manually when their bookkeepers or accountants have gone away. To avoid payroll mistakes: * Get your staff to apply for leave in advance, so...

"Over the years I have written many columns for B2B on how good corporate governance can greatly improve an organisation's performance. So often, however, this is viewed as being for the big end of town, however, a recent article, on the AICD's Business Owner portal, was a timely reminder of how governance can assist businesses of all types and sizes....

"It may be tempting when you separate simply to sell up and divide what you have. Sometimes people enter into what we refer to as an interim (temporary) agreement to divide some of what they have (for example, the proceeds of sale of a matrimonial home) and deal with other matters (for example,superannuation) later. There are risks of both final...

"The Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) became part of the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Privacy Act) on 12 March 2014. The APPs generally apply to governmental agencies, individuals, and companies that are not a small business operators or registered political parties. The small business operator exception applies where annual turnover for the previous F/Y (or current for new businesses) was $3...

I recently had the privilege of travelling to the United States with a contingent of local businesses on a trade mission. For me, this trip further highlighted the international competitiveness of ACT businesses and the ongoing potential for Canberra companies to become global exporters. The exceptional quality of goods produced in the ACT has resulted in worldwide sales; while innovative...

The Attorney-General and I recently announced that Juris Partnership is the preferred proponent to deliver the ACT's first Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the new ACT Courts Facility. The new ACT Courts Facility, which will create around 350 jobs during construction, is an important pathfinder for the territory's future PPPs and has been designed to attract industry and to showcase the...

In 2015 Canberra has a healthy population 390,000. In just over 100 years Canberra has gone from a 'government outpost' to Australia's largest inland city, equally reliant on the private and public sectors to drive growth in the economy. Historically, in the 1880's, the land Canberra occupies was sheep paddocks. The 1828 census showed 21 non-indigenous inhabitants living in 'Canberra'....

Likeajob.com.au takes the guess work out of recruiting the right person for the right job by using 'dating site' technology to match employers to job seekers based on location,qualifications, skills and experience. Having launched in early 2015, Likeajob is quickly becoming the platform of choice for Canberra's Gen Y job seekers who literally live through their mobile phones. Job seekers...

The end of 2015 promises to be an exciting time for national accounting and advisory firm RSM. With a rebrand from RSM Bird Cameron, a name they have held in one form or another for over 90 years, and a Canberra office relocation, it is full steam ahead for the growing firm. The RSM International network is the world's seventh...