March 2013 Issue 80

Bendigo Community Bank will put back 80% or more of it's profits into community services, groups, charities and events - profits derived directly from the level of funds in bank accounts with the Community Bank. So why doesn't Government, and every government agency, invest some of their funds on term deposit with Canberra's Community Bank Branches of Bendigo Bank? Understandably...

When you are selling your business, the more sets of financial statements your business has prepared by an accountant, the better. It will help demonstrate how strong your business has traded and if there have been difficult years - providing you can explain it and how the difficult years were addressed, buyers will be confident your business is profitable and...

The purpose of performance management is to improve performance. It is an ongoing process. It includes informal and formal discussions. Following on from our last column about staff retention, the performance review is a great opportunity for a team member and their manager to "get on the same page". Our Business Manager, Linda, has retained some wise words from a...

The law is full of unusual cases. Here is a recent case that went all the way to the High Court. The Husband and Wife had been married since 1971. They both had children from previous marriages. Their wills left their respective estates to the children from their first marriages. However, the house they lived in was in the name...

A recent report out of Canada is again highlighting the importance of good governance of organisations by highlighting the connection between better corporate boards and financial results. At the Australian Institute of Company Directors, we have long argued the importance of good governance and that diversity in the boardroom is critically important in achieving good governance. Most recently, there has...

"Going concern" status is always highly desirable to both buyer and seller in a sale of business - because buying or selling anything commercial with no GST sounds great! However it is easy to forget that GST in a sale between two registered entities is a tax neutral outcome, because the purchaser pays 10% GST and gets it back from...

Small to medium sized businesses are finding ways to streamline their business operations by moving away from traditional on-site servers to internet based servers, a process known as 'cloud computing.' Cloud computing refers to the storage of information, applications and other business tools online. The hardware used for this information is stored in a remote location and managed by a...

B2B magazine's philosophy is to work with businesses to promote them and celebrate their successes. B2B magazine is the regions only business publication. Not many people know that B2B is distributed to every business in the Canberra region each month through Australia Post. In addition to this B2B is sold through over 150 newsagents in the region and is also...

Why are you in business? What is your contribution to the world? And what's in it for you? For your employees? Tony Robbins talks about the six human needs, being significance, certainty, variety, love and connection, growth and contribution. Most businesses and individuals are driven by the first two, feeling significant and having certainty. This is what drives us to...

Delta Air Conditioning and Heating has been located in the Canberra region for 40 years and is a successfully operated family business run by David and Christine Oxford. Their son Paul, a fully qualified air conditioning and refrigeration mechanic who also helps in the day to day running of the business, looking after sales and service enquiries, is in his...

It has become increasingly common to have multiple or at least more than one income stream. You might be working for a company and running a small business at the same time; you may be a freelancer with a number of clients to service or working for a single employer whilst building a property portfolio as part of your wealth...

Jonathon was appointed as a Principal of RSM Bird Cameron on 1 July 2012. Jonathon is a Chartered Accountant, a Registered Liquidator and an Official Liquidator and has over 10 years' experience providing specialist insolvency and turnaround advice in the Canberra region, to corporations, individuals, creditors and Government Departments. Jonathon's professional ambition is to find solutions to problems in times...

Rhys is proud to be a born and bred Canberran. He has worked with RSM Bird Cameron for over 12 years as an accountant in their Business Solutions Team and has seen huge changes during his working career, working through the introduction of GST at the start of his career and more recently an explosion in prices in the Canberra...

A form is a document that is used to gather information. They are a tool within an organisation to provide a guide or a structure to a process or an assessment for a claim or required action. To ensure everyone who applies for a server or benefit is treated the same way, the form provides the questions that are required...

Do you know that there are more people on Facebook today than there was on the entire planet just 200 years ago? We have over 2.5 million 'com.au' domain names in Australia and its growing fast every day. Yet, many businesses are failing to take advantage of the online technologies available today. Synapse Worldwide, a local Canberra business, specializes in...

"We actively listen to you, identify a safe pathway to achieve both your financial and life goals and partner you on that path. Many promise, but we do." Dragonfly Financial Services (DFS) is a boutique financial services practice, with a strong track record in partnering their clients to achieve financial security and peace of mind. Luke Smith, partner & advisor...