Australian SME Business News and Accounting Articles

The Carbon Tax has just been recently introduced by the Australian government. This means that in order to transform Australia into a “clean energy” economy, there will now be the pricing of carbon dioxide and other “greenhouse gas emissions”.

Though it is yet to be introduced and approved by both Houses of the Parliament, it is expected to be implemented by July 1, 2012.

The fraternity of accountants is blooming. This is despite the lingering uncertainties over the domestic economy and the worries over the status of the global economy.

Sentiment among finance, accounting, and banking professionals is high according to the research done by recruitment firm, Robert Half. According to the said research, 88% of employers are confident about their company’s growth prospects for the next year.

Due to investment in new projects, the employees of companies are already feeling the buzz as two-thirds of their workload had gone up as compared to the same time last year.

The workloads of around 43% of staff from the 1678 respondents had risen according to Robert Half’s research. This is due to the growth experienced by the companies; however, staffing levels have remained.

Cash flow is what keeps any business alive. Be it a small, medium, or large business, it is what keeps the company operating and moving. When the expenses are growing, the cash flow should have to be made stronger. The expenses should never be made greater than the cash that comes in; or else the cash flow may not be able to cope with the situation. Expenses and cash coming in should be balanced to say the least. If the problem with cash flow is not addressed sooner, a company might go out of business.

The June 2011 Sensis Business Index aimed to measure the confidence and behaviors of Australian SMEs by handling quarterly surveys. In this survey, it was revealed that cash flow problems are among the top or main problems that impact businesses over the last quarter. This cash flow problem was ranked equally with those problems that are being caused by the current economic climate.

After the carbon tax was imposed on companies that belong to the Top 500 most polluting by having them pay $23 per tonne beginning July of next year, the Australian Workers’ Union has finally given its thumbs up. It has vowed to name and shame any company that uses the carbon tax as an excuse to sack workers.

The Union previously warned the government that it will withdraw its support the moment a single job is lost. However, it was stated by Paul Howes, national secretary of the union, that it is quite satisfied at present of the government’s package.

The government’s decision to increase the instant asset tax write-off from $5000 to $6500 has been welcomed by accountants. The question now lies on how SME’s will be able to cope with the increase.

This increase has been seen by Gavan Ord, business policy adviser for CPA Australia, as a step in the right direction.

“It’s moving towards the Henry recommendation of $10,000,” said Ord.