Financial Services

AUSTRALIAN companies are among the fastest payers of sales invoices, an international survey has found. The average payment period by Australian firms was 36 days, according to accounting firm Grant Thornton's International Business Owners Survey.

MASTER trusts have been one of the fastest growing segments of the funds management industry over the past decade. For many employers they provide an easy and effective solution to all of their superannuation needs.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT organisations have been told they should improve reporting standards to meet the needs of donors and funding providers.

AUSTRALIA'S major accounting bodies have questioned Federal Government moves that limit the ability of accountants to provide advice on superannuation.

SUPERANNUATION administration and consulting firm NSP Buck officially launched its new office and new name in Perth last week.

WHILE many companies have completely outsourced their superannuation to master trusts and industry funds, others have chosen to keep their funds in-house.

A SURVEY of small and mid-sized tax practices has found a sharp increase in average working hours over the past three years, from 47.4 hours a week to 54.6 hours.

In the third of a six-part series on corporate superannuation, Mark Beyer looks at industry funds.

In the second of a six-part series on corporate superannuation, Mark Beyer looks at some of the issues employers need to address when reviewing their fund.

THE Australian Securities and Investments Commission has launched a survey of defined benefit superannuation schemes offered by company super funds.

In the first of a six-part series on corporate superannuation, Mark Beyer looks at the impact of increased regulation. AUSTRALIAN companies are voting with their feet.

THE report of the HIH Royal Commission has added to the debate over audit independence and accounting standards by recommending changes that go well beyond current reform proposals.

In the final instalment of the mergers and acquisitions series, Mark Beyer gets a legal perspective. BEHIND every M&A lawyer is a frustrated merchant banker. It's an old cliche but it has an element of truth.

THE accumulated wealth of Australia's family businesses far exceeds the combined value of stock market-listed companies, a new survey has found.

THE new corporate governance guidelines issued recently by the Australian Stock Exchange could create a divide between large and small companies, local experts have warned.

In the fifth of a six-part series on mergers and acquisitions, Mark Beyer looks at the acquisition of Marlows.

In this week's article on Mergers and Acquis-itions, Mark Beyer looks at the impact of tax on M&A transactions.WHEN a business is bought or sold, the tax implications are of

The debt collection industry has witnessed enormous change over the past few years. Mark Beyer looks at how services have evolved. FOUR years ago, the debt collection industry in Perth was dominated by locally owned and locally run firms.

THE Australian Prudential Regulation Authority says raising premiums for professional indemnity insurance is essential to secure the prudential safety of the insurance industry.

THE farm lobby is not considered to be at the vanguard of corporate governance reform, but that has not stopped the WA Farmers Federation taking on wheat marketing company AWB.

In his third article on mergers and acquisitions, Mark Beyer examines the importance of early planning by the key players.

A RESEARCH report released by Morningstar has downgraded Credit Suisse Asset Management Limited's asset allocation outlook to ‘neutral'.

THE Federal Government has initiated a review of the taxation treatment of certain rights and business expenditures known as ‘black holes'.

AUSTRALIA'S 100 largest private and public companies are about to have their ethical and environmental performance rated.

AT a time when most accountants like to be called business advisers, local firm McKessar Tieleman has bucked the trend.

In the second in a series on mergers and acquisitions, Mark Beyer looks at the type of information business owners need to provide potential buyers.

THE Australian Tax Office has started sending letters to 9,000 firms in the building and construction industry as part of a campaign to stamp out the cash economy.

AUSTRALIANS paid nearly $214 billion in taxes last financial year, with most paid in the form of personal and company income taxes

THE Federal Government has announced measures to improve the so-called Simplified Tax System (STS) and foreshadowed other changes to further improve the tax system.

In the first of a six-part series on mergers and acquisitions, Mark Beyer looks at who can help with buying and selling of businesses, large and small.

A RECENT survey by CPA Australia has highlighted the potential fall-out from the rising cost of professional indemnity (PI) insurance cover for accountants.

ONE sixth of Western Australian farmers are planning to shift some or all of their business from their main bank over the next 12 months, a new study has found.