Financial Services

FORMER Ernst & Young tax partners Dan Fogarty and Ian Crisp have joined forces to establish a specialist tax practice targeting the corporate and resource sectors.

OCKERBY Real Estate, one of Western Australia’s largest residential real estate firms, is switching its banking business from BankWest to Challenge Bank.

THE latest round of changes to State Government taxes could lead to a significant shift in the way businesses are bought and sold.

OSBORNE Park-based finance broker Connaught Capital has become Centrepoint Finance after linking up with the national commercial finance group of the same name.

MYAREE company Tasman Oil Tools changed its bank last year – a move that makes it an exception among small and medium sized companies.

THE Federal Government has warned there is just four months until the end of the transition to the Financial Services Reform Act.

PLANNED revisions to Australian Stock Exchange listing rules are likely to change capital raising activity and may also affect takeover tactics, a recent seminar in Perth has been told.

FINANCIAL planning group Associated Planners has taken an industry lead by refusing to accept ‘soft-dollar’ benefits from fund managers.

BUSINESS software company MYOB has partnered with credit management firm D&B to launch a range of account management tools for small and medium sized businesses.

BUSINESS borrowers should review their cash flow projections to assess the impact of higher interest rates, accountants and finance brokers have recommended.

ACCOUNTING bodies have called on the Australian Tax Office to be more lenient with small and mid sized businesses that breach their GST obligations.

THREE Western Australian companies have been given a five-star rating in a national survey of corporate governance practices.

COMMERCIAL lawyer Neal Fearis believes the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has tightened its scrutiny of schemes of arrangement during the past year.

THE use of schemes of arrangement has attracted substantial criticism this year, particularly in relation to the takeovers of BankWest and MIM.

A MAJORITY of chief financial officers is yet to identify the impact of the planned introduction of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in Australia, according to a new survey.

ST John Ambulance WA has outsourced its $45 million superannuation fund to Acumen Super.

CREDIT managers attending a conference last week had to deal with the fallout from a struggling telecommunications company.

CREDIT mangers have been advised to constantly monitor their exposure to customers so they can act quickly if problems arise.

THE Federal Government’s revised corporate law reforms have received a cautious welcome from accountants, auditors and company directors.

TRADE payments by Australian industry have fallen to an average of 47 days, the lowest level in four years.

A SURVEY of small business has found that many organisations fail to regularly implement simple debtor management practices.

TALK of interest rate rises is sparking concerns about falling sales and increased operating costs, according to the lates Dun and Bradstreet National Business Expectations Survey

THE Department of Agriculture has achieved big financial savings on its way to winning an environmental award for fleet management.

In the final part of our cash flow management series, Mark Beyer looks at finance options.

THE Australian Taxation Office has announced changes to make it easier for businesses to claim deductions for low-cost items such as office supplies, crockery and small tools.

In part three of our series on cash flow management, Mark Beyer looks at the role of technology.

COMPANIES worried about corporate fraud have recently been given stark reminders about the magnitude of the problem.

AUSTRALIA’S publicly listed debt collection companies have improved their financial performance over the past year but the sector as a whole is characterised by weak earnings.

In the second part of our series on cash flow management, Mark Beyer looks at trends in trade payments.

In the first part of our series on cash flow management, Mark Beyer introduces some strategies businesses can employ.

TAX campaigners have hailed a recent Federal Court decision as a big win for investors in mass marketed ‘tax effective’ investment schemes.

In the final part of our fleet management series, Mark Beyer seeks advice from some of the major players in the local market.