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Accelerate Budget Alert 2017

Did we expect an easier ride from an election year budget? Yup. And we got it. The 2017 Budget's bottom line is to boost spending, ease taxes and give some extra legroom to our growing population and economy. The Budget combines tax breaks for working families with support for innovation and investment in business. The surplus predicted is largely earmarked for capital spend on infrastructure and there's an intention to keep cutting back our net debt. Business owners may see new opportuniti...

Into the Swing of Things....

Here at Accounted4 we are in the swing of the new financial year and continue to focus on sustainability and efficiency. You should have received an email advising you which month we will be requesting your annual records. Either your client manager or a client services assistant will be in touch closer to the time, with the updated electronic version of the questionnaires, which you will be familiar with from last year. We continue to fulfil the requirements of being a registered Chartered...

Waikato Business News Feature - Remarkable Women

In the March/April issue of the Waikato Business News a feature ran on remarkable women in business. We are very fortunate here at Accounted4 to have five remarkable women on our Leadership Team. From left to right; Anne Bland (Support Services/Payroll Manager), Christine Stevenson (Business Manager), Kim Antonio (CA, Associate), Lea de Rooy (CA, Senior Accounting Manager), Katie Jones (ACA, Senior Accounting Manager). The article celebrated each others successes as well as the firms. The articl...

Featured Client

Since September of 1976 Achievement House has been offering employment opportunities to local people with a disability. We operate through partial funding by the Ministry of Social Development under a Business Enterprise contract and then we need to raise the shortfall through other means. Some of this we make up through making applications to philanthropic trusts, which we can do because of our Charity status. However most of our added income is derived from the sheer hard work of our staff in ...

Featured Partner

Image Apparel is a garment branding specialist offering embroidery, heat transfer prints, digital printing and screen printing. The upgrading of software and investment in new printing technology means that customers looking to brand their business, team or school uniforms have a range of choices to best suit their needs. With access to all the main clothing suppliers in New Zealand, Image Apparel can also provide your team's clothing at direct prices. Image Apparel is the supplier of Cambrid...

In the Office

We would like to congratulate our Accounting Team member Ben Calvert on his recent graduation from Massey University in Palmerston North.Ben graduated with a Bachelor in Business Studies. ...

In the Office - Team News

Unfortunately we say farewell to Angela George later in June. Angela has been with the firm for 21 years and is leaving to pursue other interests and to spend more time with her extended family We wish her all the very best and thank her for her many years of service! ...

Payroll Team Update

From 1 April 2015 new rules came in to effect to determine the taxable value of accommodation. The key concept now is that the taxable value of employer provided accommodation is equal to the market value of the accommodation. The market value can only be adjusted for the following factors: •Accommodation is shared between two or more employees •The employee makes a contribution to the cost (e.g. off farm accommodation) •The employee uses part of the accommodation for business purpos...

Accounts Team Update

For the 2017 tax year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017), the mileage rate for both petrol and diesel fuel vehicles has increased to 73 cents per km. This year the IRD were also able to set mileage rates for hybrid and electric cars. The mileage rates for these vehicles are: hybrid - 73 cents per km electric - 81 cents per km. ...

In the Industry - 2017 Budget

The 2017 Budget was announced by Hon. Steven Joyce on Thursday the 25th May and contains a package of proposed tax cuts from 1 April 2018 for individuals and families including; •Increasing the $14,000 income tax threshold to $22,000 and the $48,000 tax threshold to $52,000. This should provide a tax cut of $11 per week to people earning $22,000 or more, rising to $20 per week for people earning $52,000 or more. •Discontinuing the Independent Earner Tax Credit (although those currently ...

Revamp to 60 year old Trust Law

In November 2016 Justice Minister Amy Adams released draft legislation that will update NZ trust law and aid in its administration. "Trusts play an important role in New Zealand. Between 300,000 and 500,000 trusts are operating today. Every day, ordinary New Zealanders use them to manage their finances, with an estimated 15 per cent of private houses held in a trust. They also form part of the economic backbone of the commercial and social sectors," says Ms Adams. "Our 60-year old trust law ...

In the Community

We recently had a Pink Ribbon Breakfast at Rouge Café to assist in raising funds for the New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation....

Farm Health & Safety Workshop

In association with OSHbox we held a Farm Health & Safety workshop. This workshop helped those that attended put the right tools in place to manage their responsibilities on the farm under the new H & S legislation. It was a great interactive workshop with lots of good conversation around the topic of Farm Health and Safety. Thank you to the presenter; David McKain from OSHbox and to all those that came. ...

Xero Payroll

Check out the link below for a series of short videos on how to use Xero Payroll. https://www.xero.com/nz/training/small-business/day-to-day/processing-payroll-for-smb-s/ Our Payroll team are always happy to help so please don't hesitate to get in touch with them. Anne Bland - Payroll Manager 07 827 5192 Ext.831 ...

Putting some structure into your business

Your business and your team are growing, and you can't be everywhere at once. Sound Familiar? It might be time to rethink your organisational structure. Small businesses do well with flat structures. At their best there's a friendly, informal, 'just get on with it' feel to them as the teams deal directly with the owner. With growth, some degree of hierarchy becomes inevitable. it can have negative connotations for people. Businesses described as 'hierarchical' can sound like they're oppressiv...

Safeguard your Wi-Fi

Safeguarding your network is a business priority. But as most of us are neither rocket scientists nor hackers, it's hard to keep up with the constant turnover of computer security innovations. Most of us rely on our local IT gurus to keep our precious business information secure. However, it's still important to stay aware of potential risk areas and take some simple precautions to minimise the risk. Your Wi-Fi network is potentially one of these risk areas. Since its advent, more and more of ...

Waikato Business News Feature - Remarkable Women

Five of our Accounted4 Remarkable Women recently featured in the Waikato Business News Check out their story on page 21 HERE...

Relief Milkers

Relief milkers are used as a short-term solution on the farm when the normal milkers have taken leave or are sick. They provide an essential service and are available at short notice. Relief milkers normally provide cover over a large area and work with many farmers. They seem to fall into two categories; professional relief milkers and those that provide a casual service to friends and neighbours. When selecting a relief milker, farmers need to consider: • Tax implications • Insuranc...

Casual Staff over Holidays

The holidays and summer months see an increased number of casual staff working on the farm. These are often university or secondary students on their summer holidays. If a taxpayer pays wages, PAYE must be deducted and returned to the IRD. The Casual Agricultural Employer (CAE) tax rate is currently 17.5% (plus ACC levy). Casual staff should be encouraged to look at filing a personal tax summary (PTS), especially if they earn less than $14,000 pa, as they may be due a tax refund. School Student...

Payment due by 7th April - Cross it off your list!

Check out this link to the IRD page on how to get your payments sorted for the 7th April. https://www.ird.govt.nz/campaigns/2016/campaign-7-... ...

End of Year Checklist

As usual, when the end of the financial year is approaching it's a good idea to make sure everything's in good order. Take a look at: How much stock you are carrying at the end of the year. Dispose of any obsolete lines or write the stock down to its net realisable value Planned dividend payments and the company's imputation credit account balance. We will be reviewing these in March. Be aware that some DWT may be payable in April for this! Debtors: If you have taken reasonable steps to re...

Congratulations - Katie Jones

We would like to congratulate our team member Katie Jones! Katie was the recipient of two very special awards last night. > CAANZ Award for Top Accounting Student - Bachelor of Applied Management Year 3 - Highest Achieving > A.W Gallagher Supreme Award for Graduating Business Degree Student The A.W Gallagher Supreme Award was the biggest award of the night! Congratulations Katie on this significant achievement! ...

Accounted4 Big Day Out

Every year the A4 team have a day out of the office that focusses on team building. This year our theme was 'Forest to Ocean'. We headed over to Adrenaline Forest in Tauranga where we attempted a high ropes course – a great challenge especially if heights are not your favourite thing! From there we headed to Mt Maunganui for lunch and also had some spare time to enjoy the heat and wander around – some people even went for a swim! Check out our Facebook page for some great photos from the ...

Consultants

In 2017 our three Consultants; John Boone, Richard Edge and John Landers will be continuing their transition to retirement. This year they will be spending less time in the office and enjoying their hard earned free time a bit more. If you would like to meet with them in the office please phone ahead to make an appointment as their hours will vary....

Annual Questionnaire Process

In the 2016 financial year we trialed a new annual questionnaire process (for the majority of our clients). We are pleased to announce that the trials were successful, therefore we will continue to electronically send you your end of year records request. That means NO MORE YELLOW QUESTIONNAIRES – this is an end of an era! Not only is this more efficient but it is much more sustainable for our office, which is important to us here at A4. As well as the new Annual Questionnaire process we ...