Back to Blog

Four in Ten Kiwi Workers turn up to work while sick

If you turned up to work today feeling under the weather you are not alone. Global research by insurer Cigna has revealed four out of 10 workers in New Zealand comes to work when they are sick despite admitting they are nowhere near as productive. While Kiwis are more likely to take time off work when they are unwell than workers in other developed countries those who do, admit their productivity can be down by between 10 and 50 per cent.Mel MacPhee, head of human resources at Cigna New Zealand ...

Winter Warmers

Last Monday the Social Club here at A4 ran a Soup Competition. Staff brought in a homemade soup which was tasted by the rest of the staff with no hint of ingredients! From the six soups that were entered we can now share the top 2. First place (for the second year in a row) was Grant Calvert with his Curried Indian Kumera Creation and in second place was Kim Antonio with her Kumera, Red Apple and Little Piggy Soup. They have shared their winning recipes below for you all to enjoy....

IRD announces 2018 updated KM rate for Motor Vehicles

IRD announces 2018 updated Km Rate for a Motor Vehicle IRD has released an Operational Statement that replaces Operation Statement OS 09/01 Commissioner's statement on use of a kilometre rate for expenditure incurred for business use of a motor vehicle, issued in May 2009. This Statement explains how the kilometre rates are to be applied and also sets the rates for the current year. The current rate is 73 cents - the new rate is 76 cents. This Statement is made up of two parts. Part On...

Waipa Networks Business Awards Customer Choice

The business with the most votes wins this coveted award and we would love a Cambridge Accountant to win this prestigious award. Please vote for us by texting "Waipa Accounted4" to 4040. Texts cost 20c. One voter per mobile number. Voting is valid from 02-16 July. Thank you from all of us here at A4!...

Changes to paid parental leave: what it means for your business

From 1 July 2018, the number of weeks a parent can receive government-funded parental leave payments increases from 18 weeks to 22 weeks. Here's what you need to know.Becoming a parent is stressful enough without wondering how you’ll cope financially. Parental leave helps eligible working parents or other primary carers temporarily stop working to care for their newborn baby, or for a child under six who is now in their care.Knowing what rules apply to parental leave helps small business ...

Pressure doesn't have to turn into Stress

From the Harvard Business Review archives - check out the article below, written by Nicholas Petrie.When I was in my late twenties, I was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Doctors operated and told me to hope for the best. I returned to Japan, where I was working, and tried to forget about it. The tumors returned a year later, this time in my liver. After a long search, the surgeons found a new procedure to remove them, but I knew this was, again, perhaps only a temporary fix. I...

Sitting at a table: Giving Women a fair shot

Chartered Accountant Fellow Michael Stiassny advocates for equality – both for women and ethnic minorities. He aims to make New Zealand a better place, through his work as the Chairman of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa, Tower Insurance and New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA). A century ago New Zealand and Australia were the two international trailblazers in giving women the vote. Yet Stiassny doesn’t see New Zealand as being ahead of the game in comparison with the rest of the world,...

Accounting Team Update

Revenue Minister Stuart Nash is encouraging feedback on a proposal to change the rules around ring-fencing losses on residential properties. An Issues Paper has been released by the Inland Revenue Department that proposes ring-fencing losses in an effort to level the playing field between speculators and investors, and home buyers.“Changes would make the tax system fairer by ensuring that investors could not offset their losses on some property investments against their other income,” Mr Nas...

Featured Partner

A Payroll Provider that’s geared for the Farming Industry! PaySauce has developed a payroll specifically designed for the New Zealand agricultural sector that reduces the time Employers spend paying staff.  With the use of Smart Apps for iOS and Android phones, employees are able to electronically enter their timesheet hours which are then simply reviewed and approved by the Employer.  PaySauce calculates wages, holiday pay, PAYE, KiwiSaver, minimum wage top ups to keep labour inspec...

Payroll Team Update

Important questions for all Farming Employers Are my Employments Agreements up-to-date for all employees? https://www.dairynz.co.nz/people/employer/starting-employment/employment-agreements/ Are my New Employee forms current?   Tax Deduction (IR330) see here http://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/c/c/cccb8332-f8f6-49b8-8ff5-86a55d527519/ir330-2017.PDF KiwiSaver (KS2) see here http://www.ird.govt.nz/resources/5/3/53e716004ba3cee683fdbf9ef8e4b077/ks2.PDF Am I meeting the Minimum Wage...

Trust Law Reform

A new trusts bill has been drafted to replace the Trustees Act 1956. The new Trustee Act will update and improve the general law governing trusts – being the first material change in trust legislation for 60 Years. The legislation has not been passed yet but is working its way through parliament. The new Act will not require any changes to be made to existing Trust Deeds, instead the new legislation will enhance the current law. The repealed 1956 Act is complex, difficult to understand and doe...

In the Office

Unfortunately we said farewell to Lea de Rooy on the 11th May. Lea was with the A4 team for 7 years and is leaving to pursue other opportunities. We wish her all the best in her latest venture....

In the Community

This year we held our Pink Ribbon Breakfast at Robert Harris in Cambridge. What a great turn out and all funds raised went to a very worthy cause. We are proud to support this cause every year....

Mycoplasma Bovis - what you need to know

What is it?Mycoplasma Bovis is a common bacterial disease found in cattle all over the world, but NZ and Norway have been the only MBovis free countries, helping us keep a good name and healthy productive cows. MBovis is widespread internationally, and other meat and dairy producing countries successfully manage it and trade in animal products. How is it spread?It is spread animal to animal through close contact, but is also potentially spread through contaminated equipment and untreated milk fe...

The Millennial Wave

Recently I attended a conference in Australia where I had the opportunity to pick and choose from a list of educational and enlightening presentations. Taking into consideration that I am a Baby Boomer with millennial children, and also that I work alongside no less than fourteen millennials!  -  I felt it was in my best interest to learn more about what makes this generation ‘tick’, and I jumped at the chance to attend a presentation dedicated to that very subject. The first piece...

23 Litres of Icecream consumed annually

NZ is the second-largest consumer of ice cream per capita in the world, consuming a whopping 23 litres per year. Expenditure on ice cream and other edible ices totalled $381 million in the year to September 2017, up from $358m in 2016, with $2.10 of every $100 spent on food in NZ going on chilled treats, according to Statistics NZ.  With a population of approximately 4.8 million people, this means every person spends $79 per year, or $1.50 a week on average, on ice-cream. Chocolate Trumpets...

Provisional Tax and GST Due 7th May

Reminder that Provisional Tax and any GST payments are due today - 7th May. If you are having any trouble please get in contact with Accounted4 - your Cambridge Accountants today! 07 827 5192 ...

Intermediate Accountant Vacancy

Here at Accounted4 it's not just about the numbers! We are a successful, progressive Chartered Accountancy firm in the booming town of Cambridge.We have an experienced and dynamic team of 35, including 3 Directors, who are all committed to using our people skills, knowledge and expertise to create value for our clients.Due to an in house promotion we are now looking for a confident, highly motivated and experienced Intermediate Accountant to join our Team, preferably fulltime.For this position f...

Cryptocurrency and Tax

What is Cryptocurrency:In simplest terms, cryptocurrency is money that only exists digitally or virtually. Cryptocurrency uses cryptography and blockchain technology to regulate its generation and verify fund transfers.Cryptocurrencies can be transferred between people without using an intermediary, like a bank. Cryptocurrencies can be bought peer to peer, through online exchanges or by participating in Initial Coin Offerings.Bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency. How...

Employers obligations to employees called to Jury Service

Employees who have been called up for jury service must attend and their job is protected while they attend jury service. Employers must allow an employee to attend jury service. If an employee’s absence from work causes difficulty for an employer because of special commitments, an employer can give the employee a letter to support their application to be excused or have their service deferred. Employers can get more information from the Ministry of Justice Website by clicking here. An employ...

Changes to myIR

The IRD have made improvements to the myIR page - check out the video below for a quick overview....

Inland Revenue - Some Services Unavailable

Please note that some of Inland Revenue's services will be unavailable over the next few days while they transfer a range of business tax types into their new systemYou can read more about it here...

Work smarter, not harder

The last week of March is a short week, where businesses across New Zealand will be trying to get more done in less time. We know this is easier said than done. World-leading experts from the soon-to-launch New Zealand Business Performance Panel agree that using the best management practices is a great way businesses can work smarter, not harder. They’ve been working with us to help create easy-to-use, free resources to help Kiwi businesses get more done in less time.We’re calling this last ...

Easter Office Hours

Our office will be closed from 5pm Thursday 29th March for the Easter break, we will reopen 8.30am Wednesday 4th April.Have a great long weekend!...

Sustainability here at A4

Sustainability: Avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. The ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level. Here at A4 we are trying to focus more on sustainability within the firm. We are making changes where possible and constantly reviewing our processes to make sure that we are still heading towards our goal of being a "less-paper" office. By choosing to try and reduce our waste, and in particular our paper usage, we are enforcing our ...