The end of the financial year is just as significant as the end of the calendar year for those of us in business. And just as each new calendar year brings opportunities for reflection and goal-setting, the new financial year is the perfect time to consider your business strategy and personal financial goals.

Read our tips for surviving and thriving in FY2018 to get started.

1. Superannuation survival tip – keep planning to maximise super

Much-talked-about changes to super came in on July 1 and the devil is certainly proving to be in the detail, which of course, is different for everyone. While many people are reform-weary from frequent changes to super in recent years, it’s important to keep planning to maximise your super. With the dust settled on EOFY 2017, it’s a good time to meet to ensure you have the best possible plans in place going forward.

We’ve worked through the new complexities with many clients, ensuring they’re fully compliant while building and protecting future wealth.

2. Personal wealth survival tip – review investments with a focus on value

A hot property market can mean low yield for investors, so it’s a good time to consider whether you have the right exposure to property or could benefit from rebalancing your investments with a focus on long-term value and returns. I’ve been enjoying reading an updated edition of Benjamin Graham’s, The Intelligent Investor.  It’s a good read with a strong focus on value investing. I’ll expand on the key points in a future edition of this newsletter, but suffice to say it’s a timely reminder of the importance of regularly reviewing investment fundamentals.

3. Business growth survival tip – good advice goes beyond compliance

Surviving the EOFY tends to include a focus on compliance to keep the ATO happy. With that out of the way, now is a great time to focus on key strategies and financial goals – growth, diversification, consolidation; and improving core business metrics – revenue, cashflow, productivity, efficiency, profitability. The start of a new financial year offers the rare time and space to ask:  Are we focussed on the right things, what could we be doing better and how are we measuring success?

4. Financial audit survival tip – Prepare early and know your weaknesses

We’re in the middle of audit season for those with a June year end, but those with a December year end should start preparing now.  We can help by providing readiness checklists or conducting a mock-audit, so you can understand any vulnerabilities and have time to mitigate against them. Leaving audit readiness to the last minute can create unnecessary stress for you and your staff and take you away from your core business. 

5. Tax planning survival tip – make sure you have the right operating structure

A series of recent legislation changes- including new measures that allow small businesses to change their legal structure without incurring capital gains tax in some cases – have provided the impetus for businesses to review their operating structures to ensure they have the best arrangements in place to meet their business objectives and protect their asset base. We’ve had some recent success developing new business structures more appropriate for today’s environment. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss the opportunities in your circumstances.

Thinking carefully about each of these issues and putting plans in place early will help you and your team ensure a successful and less stressful FY2018.

We’re always here to help should you need further advice or support.