Richard Ashby

Well, the proposed tax changes I covered in last week’s edition of AWIR are no longer proposals. Parliament has worked overtime to pass the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill, which now awaits the Royal assent. Appreciating that a week is a long time for some of you (although admittedly,…

My passion as an accountant for small to medium-sized businesses is to “dumb down” accounting to each business owner so they can make informed, comfortable decisions about their business. Often, I hear the words, “I am working my backside off, and it feels like I am treading water, if not sinking”, or “Maybe I must…

As a business owner, allocating resources effectively is crucial for growth and success. One area that often gets overlooked or underfunded is marketing. However, even modest marketing efforts can yield significant returns with the right strategies and a well-planned budget. Setting a realistic marketing budget A common rule of thumb is to allocate 2-5% of…

It’s that time of year when you’re either scrambling to file your last financial year before the end of March or gearing up to complete another financial year. When preparing for the year-end, you may want to start collecting the documents or information you’ll need to provide to your accountant (including but not limited to):…

Changing balance dates Inland Revenue (IR) has issued ED0252, a draft standard practice statement (SPS), which covers how the Commissioner will address applications for requests to change balance dates. Approvals will usually be granted where, to name a few of the listed reasons: However, your request is unlikely to be approved if it is viewed…

The heading of this article is not original to me; it came from Stuart Nattrass, probably during those conversations around the board table. As a long-term board member of South Canterbury Finance, he would know about debt on both the upside and the downside. The dynamics of debt Detail Purchase/hard money Plus 20% growthin asset…

There is a graveyard of companies whose main downfall is the quality of their leaders. Not only the leader at the top but the leaders of teams within the organisation. So, if we all know this, why do companies pay such little heed to its importance? I have worked for good leaders, shit leaders and great…

Inland Revenue (IR) has just released several draft interpretation statements, which individually cover certain aspects surrounding the taxation of employee share schemes: And if all of that wasn’t enough for you to get your teeth into, also released is a reading guide (basically a four-page expansion on my narrative above, so you can decide which…

Inland Revenue (IR) has released for comment PUB00465: ‘Charities – business income exemption’, which is an interpretation statement that considers the extent to which business income a charitable entity derives is exempt from tax under section CW 42 of the Income Tax Act 2007. For those of you who have assisted tax charities with preparing their income tax returns,…

It may not seem that long ago, 2018 in fact (although scarily whilst seeming just like yesterday, it was actually six years ago!), when Inland Revenue (IR) released a fairly comprehensive interpretation statement surrounding the taxation of trusts – IS 18/01. Therefore, some of you may be a little surprised to hear that IS 24/01…

KPIs are short for key performance indicator’s used to measure your employee’s performance. They can be financial, customer, or process-focused. The thing is, generationally, I believe we’ve moved away from using them, and for some businesses, they haven’t even noticed. The catchphrase used to be “work hard, play hard”; nowadays, it’s “work-life balance”. My career…

As we step into the New Year, it is the perfect time to assess our lives and determine what it is that we really want, both personally and in business or career. Financial security is an important aspect of life because it allows freedom to have and do what we desire. A valuable step towards…