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Documentation and compliance critical for SMEs |
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Documentation and compliance critical for SMEs
It pays for small business to be tax compliant, say CPAs.
Record keeping and compliance includes having appropriate commercial contracts and review systems for all appointments, outsourcing arrangements and transactions.
A report recently released by CPA Australia says there is a direct link between poor record-keeping and the likelihood of an adversely amended tax assessment where a small business has been subjected to a tax audit. CPA Australia's Small Business Policy Adviser, Judy Hartcher, said that the report, Record-Keeping: Its Effect on Tax Compliance, proves that it pays for small business (SMEs) to have a good system in place, not only in the event of a tax audit, but also from a strong business management perspective.
Ms Hartcher said it was crucial for small business to have a correct system in place to avoid future tax compliance problems. Correct record management could potentially save business thousands of dollars in the event of a tax audit, when hefty fines can be imposed on those who have made mistakes in their tax reporting, whether intentional or not, she said.
The research, conducted for CPA Australia by the University of New South Wales' Australian Taxation Studies Program (Atax), explores the relationship between the record-keeping practices of small businesses and their potential exposure to tax and related business compliance problems. It used a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methodologies and involved tax practitioners, small business owners and managers, and ATO auditors. |
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Trujillo and Mohl read the same manual |
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Trujillo and Mohl read the same manual
AMP chief executive Andrew Mohl and Telstra chief executive Sol Trujillo both announced their profit results last Thursday, which was fitting, because the groups have more in common than you might think.
Both are market leaders: AMP in financial services and funds management, and Telstra in telecommunications. And both face a long-term trend of falling prices. The challenge is for them to deliver profit growth despite that trend - and both are leveraging their market leadership and scale to achieve it.
Mohl is in front. The group's retreat from its disastrous UK expansion is just about over, leaving AMP focused on Australia. Margin pressure is a given: Mohl said on Thursday, for example, that revenue from funds under management in Australia declined as a percentage of funds under management by 9 basis points in 2006 to 191 basis points, or 1.91 per cent.
Corporate superannuation was the fastest-growing funds management sector in 2006, and that shaved 6 basis points off margins as AMP took on more of that lower margin work, but margins are steadily eroding anyway as the industry competes on price and client funds grow, pushing them into lower margin categories.
Mohl got around the problem by growing the size of AMP's pie - average assets under management in Australia grew 25 per cent in the year and total assets under management grew 17 per cent - while holding AMP's controllable cost base steady. The result was expanding profitability: controllable costs declined as a percentage of funds under management here, by 19 basis points to 69 basis points, and operating earnings as a percentage of funds under management rose 2 basis points to 54 basis points. AMP's total operating earnings rose 16 per cent to $752 million. |
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Royal Children's Hospital |
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Royal Children’s Hospital plans unveiled
Victoria’s new Royal Children’s Hospital will be a major landmark combining world-class health facilities and family-friendly features with an iconic design.
Unveiling the plans, Premier John Brumby said the new Royal Children’s Hospital would boost bed numbers by 46 to 353 with capacity to treat an extra 35,000 patients a year.
‘The new Royal Children’s Hospital will provide state-of-the-art healthcare to Victorian children, while also catering for their families.
‘A child’s illness can place a lot of stress on a family.
‘This redevelopment will ensure Victorian children receive the best possible care and their families are supported.
‘The existing Royal Children’s delivers among the best paediatric services in the world and the time has come to give it a home to match the level of medical skill and commitment of its staff.’
Mr Brumby said that one of the key family-friendly features of the new Royal Children’s Hospital was the fact that 85 per cent of the rooms would be single rooms.
‘Parents will be able to stay with their child and use a pull-out bed, storage and internet access.
‘Each patient will have a state-of-the-art bedside entertainment system.
‘The new hospital will also provide an expanded childcare service to help families cope with the stress of illness and treatment.’
Mr Brumby announced that under Partnerships Victoria, the Children’s Health Partnership consortium would build and maintain the hospital and provide to Victorian taxpayers, at no extra cost, a significant range of extra services and facilities to benefit sick children and their families.
‘As part of the redevelopment, the consortium will fund and deliver a 90-room 3.5 star hotel, expanded food shops, a small supermarket and a gymnasium.
‘It will also build expanded research facilities for Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne at their cost. |
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