best foot forward - Association of Accounting Technicians

ACCOUNTING 

TECHNICIAN 

(AUSTRALIA) 

Official publication 

april 2013 

best foot forward 

New PI policy a winner Gearing up for year-end Tips on ATO audits 

Supported by

From the CEO 

It is with regret that 

I am writing my 

last article for 

Accounting 

Technician. 

A business 

opportunity has 

come my way that 

is too good to 

refuse and I am moving on from my 

position as CEO at AAT Australia. 

So there’s a degree of excitement, too 

– but also of disappointment that I won’t 

be part of the further growth of this key 

industry organisation. 

During my time at AAT Australia, I have 

seen significant positive changes and as a 

team we are all very proud of our 

achievements over the last six years. 

Highlights have included: 

• membership growth of 670 per cent, 

resulting in our current total of 

approximately 4000 members 

• registration of AAT Australia as a 

recognised BAS agent association under 

the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 

• growth in the number of our sponsors 

from two to 22 

• creation of professional development 

programs for corporations and 

government bodies such as NAB, 

Queensland Health and the 

Department of Treasury and Finance, 

Western Australia 

• formation of alliances with more than 

70 TAFE colleges and Registered 

Training Organisations 

• introduction of informative and wideranging 

CPE events; in this financial year 

alone we have so far had in excess of 

500 attendees to our events 

• improved information services, including 

the enhancement of the functionality of 

our website. 

These are all remarkable accomplishments 

by our team; however, one of the most 

important achievements over the years has 

been the strengthening of the alliance 

between AAT Australia and the three major 

accounting bodies, CPA Australia (CPA), 

Institute of Chartered Accountants in 

Australia (ICAA) and Institute of Public 

Accountants. In February 2013, ICAA 

featured an article regarding AAT Australia 

in its Charter magazine. Further, in 

September 2012, both ICAA and CPA 

speakers participated in AAT Australia’s 

roadshow ‘Connecting the numbers’. Staged 

in major cities around Australia, this event 

enabled accountants and bookkeepers to 

explore new regulations, the changing 

reporting landscape and new ways for tax 

agents and BAS agents to work together in 

the best interests of clients. The first event of 

One of the most important 

achievements over the 

years has been the 

strengthening of the 

alliance between AAT 

Australia and the three 

major accounting bodies. 

its kind, the roadshow was a triumph and 

we have followed it up with our – again 

successful – March 2013 seminar days, 

featuring different topics, but still 

underpinned by the theme of enhancing 

BAS and tax agent working relationships. 

I have enjoyed my time at AAT Australia 

immensely and I have met many new 

friends and colleagues. I am absolutely 

sure that the organisation will continue to 

grow from strength to strength and I wish 

it every success for the future. This will be 

a new and exciting phase that will 

no doubt result in even 

greater growth. 

Robert Comelli 

CEO – AAT Australia 

INSIDE 

From the CEO 3 

In the news 4 

New PI policy a winner 5 

Members make sure they’ll 

‘be prepared’ 6 

Hands on 10 

Getting technical 12 

Best foot forward 14 

Changes to the Privacy Act 22 

SMSFs need your skills 23 

New member welcome 24 

Meet Lorraine Box 25 

Balance sheet 26 

Scam alert! 11 

Level 6, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 

GPO Box 1637, Melbourne, Victoria 3001 

Phone: 1800 000 961 

www.facebook.com/aataustralia 

Fax: 03 8665 3130 

Email: natoffice@aat.org.au 

http://twitter.com/aataustralia 

Website: www.aat.org.au 

ABN 25 085 441 934 

www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=4476401 

April 2013 accounting technician 3

IN THE 

NEWS 

Exciting times! 

• We’ve just concluded our BAS Preparation 

Essentials seminars, which were a great 

success. Thank you to everyone who 

attended – and we encourage all members 

to do so! The seminars are not only 

informative, but also provide an excellent 

opportunity to network. 

• As flagged in his column, our CEO, 

Robert Comelli, is making a career change. 

Robert has been an important influence on 

AAT Australia’s growth over the past six 

years and his contribution to our industry 

has been immense. He represented the 

Association and the industry on various 

panels including the Tax Practitioners 

Board and his input has been invaluable. 

• You will have heard about our new 

Public Indemnity (PI) insurance policy. 

Member service continues to be the focus 

of our organisation and this new policy 

is a significant tool for delivering such 

service. Please read the detailed article 

on the next page or head to 

. 

• As noted by Robert Comelli, the Institute 

of Chartered Accountants in Australia 

recently published an article in its member 

magazine, Charter, about the importance 

of bookkeepers and, particularly, AAT 

Australia members. We now have on our 

radar an exciting program in partnership 

with CPA Australia, and will announce 

details shortly. Keep an eye on your ‘in’ box 

or our website! 

Great thinking, IPA 

AAT Australia supporter the Institute of 

Public Accountants (IPA) has suggested that 

the ATO allow tax deductibility for costs of 

BAS agent services only where these services 

are provided by registered BAS agents. The 

recommendation was made in a news release 

issued by IPA on 25 February 2013. 

The consensus at AAT Australia is that it’s an 

excellent idea. The Tax Agent Services Act 

(TASA) imposes substantial penalties on 

anyone offering BAS agent services without 

being registered, and businesses face 

substantial costs and penalities for failing to 

comply with the GST regime. Unfortunately, 

these alone have not been enough to persuade 

all would-be BAS agents to register, or all 

businesses to use only properly qualified and 

experienced registered bookkeepers. 

However, IPA’s deductibility proposal, which 

is similar to the provision under section 

25-5 ITAA 1997 for tax agents completing 

tax returns, could be just the financial 

incentive needed to achieve change. AAT 

Australia certainly believes more needs to be 

done by government agencies, and other 

major tax industry stakeholders, to convince 

SMEs of the benefits TASA provides. 

To read the full news release, ‘Use an 

unregistered BAS agent at your peril’, 

visit . 

TPB moves 

There’s been a change of faces at the Tax 

Practitioners Board (TPB), with new 

part-time chair Ian Taylor taking office on 

22 January 2013, along with three new 

part-time board members, Peter Whitford, 

Maria Benardis and Caroline Clarke. 

Cynthia Coleman, Yvonne Sneddon, 

Matthew Addison, Roger Cotton and 

Russell Smith were all reappointed as 

part-time board members. 

Ian Taylor says he is looking forward to 

continuing the important work commenced 

under his predecessor Dale Boucher and the 

inaugural Board. A priority task is to consult 

with associations to hear how they currently 

work with the Board and their ideas on how 

the Board could better support the TPB in 

regulating practitioners. 

To read the full release, including details of 

Ian Taylor’s background, visit 

. 

Reckon boosts partner program 

Reckon has announced that it will focus on 

growing its Accredited Partner program 

during 2013, with a ‘more compelling’ offer 

and reduced annual fee. This will increase 

access to modern tools and specialist 

knowledge for the many Australian small 

businesses with no accounting software in 

place, says Group General Manager – 

Marketing, Gerald Chait, who notes that 

Reckon Accredited Partners can advise small 

businesses on software implementation as 

well as provide ongoing software support. 

Besides building network numbers, Chait 

says, the Group will be working to ensure its 

tools and programs assist Accredited Partners 

build their businesses. For example, an 

enhanced cloud solution is promised for later 

in the year. 

Accounting technicians are among those 

invited to express interest in joining the 

Accredited Partner program; details are 

available at . 

MYOB checks out SMEs 

Looking for further insight into the priorities 

of your SME clients – or competitors – for 

2013? A survey of around 200 SME clients 

conducted by MYOB in December 2012 

could help. It found the 10 most-favoured 

plans were: 

1. Improve my systems and processes (51%) 

2. Increase the time I spend working on my 

business rather than in it (35%) 

3. Increase my customer acquisition 

activities (32%) 

4. Increase my product/service range (25%) 

5. Increase my customer retention 

activities (25%) 

6. Increase my prices (21%) 

7. Start a succession plan (20%) 

8. Increase the geographical areas 

I serve (18%) 

9. Increase staff numbers (18%) 

10. Increase my online marketing spend (17%) 

In commenting on the findings, MYOB 

CEO, Tim Reed said he hopes this year we’ll 

see fewer small business insolvencies than in 

2012. “It’s encouraging to find SME 

operators prioritising activities that focus on 

increasing their productivity, their service 

offering and the stickiness of their clients,” 

he said. 

For further details of the survey, plus MYOB’s 

‘Seven steps to boosting your business’, visit 

. 

4 accounting technician April 2013

New PI policy a winner 

It’s definitely a win–win when it comes to the new professional indemnity insurance policy 

AAT Australia has negotiated exclusively for members: benefits up, cost down. 

Following extensive discussions with our new insurance broker, Focus 

Insurance Brokers, and negotiations with new insurer AIG, AAT 

Australia has achieved improved cover terms, increased scope of risk 

coverage and an $81.37 or 27.6 per cent per annum reduction in the 

premium payable! The insurance cover exceeds the standards required 

by the Tax Practitioners Board under the legislation. 

Fenton Green & co have ceased to be AAT Australia’s recommended 

insurance broker. 

We have also arranged public liability insurance with favourable cover 

terms and a premium level of $265 for a $10M indemnity limit for 

members who operate their businesses from home and the many who 

visit client premises. Members are at risk of claims arising from simple 

oversights that may cause accidental injury to a third party. For just 

over $5 per week you can be assured you are covered for such risks. 

The new premium rates are set out in the table on the right. 

It should be noted the lowest fee income band has been increased from 

$75K to $100K, which will deliver an extra premium reduction for 

members who are currently or likely to move to fee levels over $75K, 

as they will move to or remain on the lowest premium level. 

Indemnity limit 

– professional 

indemnity (PI) 

Fee Income 

Premium 

(includes all 

charges and 

GST)* 

Optional 

packaged 

PI and public 

liability 

(indemnity limit 

$10M) 

$1,000,000 $0 – $100,000 $235 $500 

$1,000,000 $100,001 – $285 $550 

$250,000 

$1,000,000 $250,001 – $330 $595 

$500,000 

*Small variations may occur in premium cost due to differing state stamp 

duty charges. 

Bookkeepers whose gross fee billings exceed $500,000 can apply for 

the insurance and premiums will be subject to individual negotiation. 

In addition to first-rate insurance cover and premium costs, we require 

from our brokers the highest service levels in terms of advice for the 

renewal of your policy or other insurance enquiries. 

continued bottom page 8 


Members make sure they’ll 

By the time you’re reading these pages, almost 300 AAT Australia members will have 

benefited from ‘BAS Preparation Essentials’, the first of our major CPE events for 2013. 

Designed to assist any accounting technician 

responsible for compiling statements for 

the preparation of a BAS, the one-day 

seminar program focused on nitty-gritty 

topics such as: 

• FBT essentials 

• latest Fair Work Australia requirements 

for record keeping 

• GST Division 129 adjustments. 

Two more general but equally valuable topics 

on the agenda were, ‘Managing an ATO 

client GST audit’ – also the subject of 

Sacha Rowlands’ article in this issue of 

Accounting Technician – and, on the 

marketing side, ‘Using the cloud to improve 

efficiency of client services’. 

In a ‘first ever’, there was also a discussion 

forum where representatives from Reckon, 

Xero and MYOB sat together on stage and 

the floor was thrown open for the audience 

to put any questions they liked to these major 

software suppliers. 

The day wrapped up with a lively closing 

presentation from Peter Knight, on how to 

handle clients in tough times. Peter shared 

his personal experiences, explaining how 

regular planning and discussion sessions with 

his clients have helped him retain them and 

also contribute to the sustainability and 

growth of their business. 

continued on page 8 

The presentation on GST Division 129 adjustments was made by Simon Calabria, pictured here in Sydney. 

Adelaide members took the opportunity to chat with AAT Australia’s education and technical manager, 

Robert Hutt … 

… who joined the audience to listen to other speakers following his own presentation on payroll issues. 


‘be prepared’ 

These AAT Australia members enjoyed catching up with major software 

suppliers MYOB, Reckon and Xero over coffee in the exhibition area, as well as 

quizzing them during the on-stage discussion forum. 


continued from page 7 

First stop for ‘BAS Preparation Essentials’ was Sydney, on 4 March, 

followed by Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne. Our ‘happy 

snapper’ – alias AAT Australia National Marketing Manager 

Rishi Garg – was on hand to capture the event on camera; enjoy his 

Sydney and Adelaide snaps in this issue of Accounting Technician and 

those from Perth and Melbourne in July. 

Like our very successful September roadshow – which in 2012 

was titled ‘Connecting the numbers’ – the March seminar day is 

backed by our supporters CPA Australia, Institute of Chartered 

Accountants in Australia and Institute of Public Accountants, 

and will now be an annual fixture. 

If you missed this year’s event, but would like to know more 

about it, you can read up on our speakers at while a DVD of the seminars will be available shortly. 

Watch our website and your emails for further information. 

Presenters Simon Calabria (centre left) and Peter Knight (centre right), flanked 

by two of the Association’s South Australian members. 

continued from page 5 

How to apply 

The new cover is available now to first-time Member purchasers or 

holders of a current professional indemnity policy. Apply online at 

and complete the application form. 

You will receive a quotation within 24 hours of submitting your 

application and your policy documentation and statement of cover will 

be issued within 24 hours of making payment. 

Cover may be extended to other activities that fall outside 

BAS agent/bookkeeping services, e.g. management consulting, 

HR consulting, etc. Extension of the cover is subject to application, 

quotation and approval by the insurer. 

AAT Australia Affiliates who are or intend to be registered BAS agents 

can access the policy subject to certain conditions. 

Should you require the policy document, it will be sent to you with 

the insurance quotation following the completion of your online 

application at . For all policy 

enquiries, please contact Focus Insurance Brokers on (03) 9595 0224 

or email david@focusinsurance.com.au. 

We encourage all members to take advantage of our new professional 

indemnity insurance program. 

Benefits in brief 

The new PI policy includes the following benefits: 

• unlimited retroactive cover. This means that the policy will cover 

claims arising from all past BAS agent/bookkeeping services 

• individual $1M limits of liability; options for higher limits 

are available 

• payment of legal defence costs in addition to the indemnity limit. 

In the event of a claim where the limit is $1M, the insured has, in 

addition, a like amount for legal costs associated with finalising 

the claim 

• two automatic reinstatements of the limit of liability. In the event 

of a claim exhausting the initial limit of $1M, the amount is 

reinstated up to two times to cover any subsequent claims which 

may arise during the period of insurance, i.e. $3M in the 

aggregate for damages claims and the same amount for legal costs 

• civil liability coverage that is designed to cover a claim arising as a 

result of breach of professional duty committed by the insured or 

any contractor appointed and working for the insured, but does 

not cover the contractor themselves 

• increase of the $0–$75,000 income band to $100,000, allowing 

Members whose income has been in excess of or will increase to a 

level above $75,000 to access a lower premium. Higher income 

bands to $250,000 and $500,000 have also been introduced 

• cover for claims arising from loss of documents, including 

electronic data and the cost of restoring or replacing lost data 

• cover for claims arising from breach of privacy or confidentiality 

• inquiry costs up to $100,000 for legal and defence costs in 

relation to inquiries under the disciplinary rules of a professional 

body of which the insured is a member, coronial inquiry, or 

royal commission 

• fidelity cover up to $50,000 for claims due to fraudulent or 

dishonest acts or omissions by employees (excludes sole traders) 

• free run-off cover post retirement when you have been insured 

under the program for two or more years. This saves you having 

to purchase a policy to cover potential new claims arising from 

work performed prior to your retirement. You must apply for this 

cover in writing 

• lower excess ($250) in the event of a claim payable only in the 

event that compensation is paid. The excess does not apply to 

legal defence costs and expenses. 

Optional public liability insurance cover up to $20M is also 

available at very competitive premium rates. 


HANDS 

ON 

Gearing up for year-end 

Peter Glanz lays out a blueprint to help you get organised for the end of the financial year. 

April is the time of the year when 

bookkeepers need to get things organised so 

that, come 30 June, they will be well on the 

way to having everything under control. This 

will minimise the work required by their 

clients’ accountants. So, what do we have to 

do to ensure that everything related to the 

financial and payroll records of the client are 

ready for final EOY processing? 

At First Class Accounts, we usually start in 

May to ensure that the payroll records are 

up-to-date, by checking the following: 

• ensuring all employee records (TFN, 

current address, start date and birth date) 

are current and complete 

• checking that all categories are correctly set 

up, particularly entitlements to ensure they 

carry over 

• confirming with the accountant any gross 

reportable FBT amounts 

• determining if the client/s would like the 

June quarter super paid by 30 June 

(deduction) 

• running a trial payment summary report to 

see if any information is rejected (missing 

TFN etc.). 

Final payroll checkpoints 

At the end of June we: 

• process the last pay cheques for the year 

• check that the payroll clearing account 

reconciles to zero 

• print out and keep all payroll reports, 

and also keep an electronic copy of 

these reports 

• balance PAYG withholding tax, 

superannuation and any other payroll 

liability accounts (the total payments for 

the year should equal the total in the 

payroll register summary as well as 

amounts submitted at W1 and W2 on 

your BAS throughout the year) 

• run PAYG payment summaries and verify 

amounts (MYOB: run a verification report; 

QuickBooks: check against Employee 

Earnings Summary report) 

• correct any errors and reprint reports and 

payment summaries if necessary 

• make two backups – one to a CD or USB 

and take offsite, or consider using an 

online backup provider 

• file printed reports and payment 

summaries and keep securely 

• put any electronic reports in a secure and 

properly labelled directory. 

So that’s basically it for the payroll side of 

things. We also have to prepare the financial 

bits, too! 

On the financial side 

In the lead up to 30 June, you will need to: 

• ensure that BAS lodgements and super 

guarantee contributions are up-to-date 

• review GST codes for profit and loss and 

balance sheet accounts for correctness 

• check to make sure that all suppliers have 

sent their final invoices for goods and 

services up to 30 June 

• identify any work in progress and sales that 

have not yet been invoiced and ensure that 

all relevant invoices have been raised for 

the period to 30 June 

• if you run inventory, do a stocktake as at 

30 June and reconcile to your inventory 

account(s) in the general ledger; adjust if 

necessary as at 30 June 

• also do a stocktake of fixed assets to ensure 

that all are recorded with full description, 

location, purchase date and price to ensure 

that they are correctly depreciated 

• ensure all bank accounts and loans have 

been reconciled 

• reconcile receivables and payables 

subsidiary ledgers to the general ledger 

• reconcile GST accounts and PAYG 

withholding to the BAS returns for 

the year 

• review capital items such as plant and 

equipment purchases to ensure that they 

have not been expensed as repairs 

• check to see if there are any outstanding 

items in suspense/clearing accounts and 

ensure these are cleared to zero if possible 

• check that FBT has been paid on 

deductions claimed for employees’ 

private expenses. 

Still more to do 

What I have listed above is a brief summary 

of the major steps required to ensure that the 

financial and payroll records of your clients 

are ‘accountant ready’. Of course, this is just 

the preparatory stage of the end-of-financialyear 

processes. Once 30 June has arrived, the 


Scam alert! 

compliance phase begins. This includes the 

actual processing of payment summaries and 

annual reports for the ATO, ASIC, 

superannuation and various state government 

payroll tax compliance purposes. 

Other matters that need to be taken into 

account, or considered, as we approach 

30 June 2013 include: 

• tax tables need to be updated to reflect the 

2013/14 rates 

• remember that the superannuation 

rate will change from 9 per cent to 

9.25 per cent from 1 July 2013 

• check for possible payroll tax changes with 

relevant state authorities 

• many modern awards may allow for 

pay rate changes from 1 July, so check 

that correct rates are included in your 

payroll program. 

In addition, you may need to ensure that the 

software program you are using is up-to-date 

with any changes to reporting requirements, 

such as changes to payment summaries and 

construction workers reporting requirements. 

Also, possible new requirements may be 

announced in the upcoming Federal Budget. 

Organisation is the key 

The good news is that if you have prepared 

methodically and efficiently, the final 

processes should be a walk in the park for 

you, your clients, and your clients’ 

accountants. 

Peter 

Glanz 

Peter Glanz is the Westernport, Victoria, 

franchisee of First Class Accounts. He 

compiled this material from First Class 

Accounts’ workfile, MYOB support notes 

and other reference material. 

Beware of the wily army of scammers aiming to 

relieve your business of hard-earned cash, warns 

Ros O’Sullivan. 

Scammers seem to have an endless supply 

of tactics, calling, faxing, writing and 

emailing to trick the unsuspecting out of 

their money throughout the year. And 

some schemes are particularly targeted at 

small businesses at year-end, to take 

advantage of the busy time when the 

scheme might slip through unnoticed. 

Dangers lurking 

Common small business scams include: 

• billing for a directory entry or 

advertisement that does not exist or, if 

it does exist, was not authorised 

• fax-back offers of deals on purchasing 

products, competition entries or 

discounts, with exorbitant charges for 

replying to the fax (buried in the fine 

print or not disclosed) 

• invoices for office supplies not ordered 

or received 

• bogus renewal notices for your domain 

name or an invoice for a similar name 

to yours 

• calls or emails saying you are entitled to 

reclaim fees or rebates – anything from 

carbon tax credits to refunds on tax or 

overpaid bank fees 

• overpayment scams, where the 

scammers purchase goods and services 

from you then send a payment by 

cheque or credit card for far more than 

the agreed price. The scammer then 

asks you to refund the overpayment, 

hoping you will transfer the refund 

before discovering that their cheque has 

bounced or the credit card is phony. 

How to protect your business 

The Australian Competition and 

Consumer Commission (ACCC) suggests 

the best way to protect your business 

against scams is to: 

• limit the number of people with 

authority to purchase or order anything 

• keep written records of all 

such transactions 

• ensure you have clear procedures for 

verifying, paying and managing 

accounts and invoices, and 

• only deal with people/companies you 

know and trust. 

Visit the ACCC’s Scamwatch website at 

for the latest 

warnings, register for free email alerts or 

follow on Twitter @SCAMwatch_gov. 

You can also download the ACCC 

Small Business Scams Fact Sheet for tips to 

help protect your business from attack, or 

call the ACCC Small Business Helpline 

on 1300 302 021. 

Ros 

O’Sullivan 

Ros O’Sullivan is co-editor of 

Accounting Technician. Contact her 

at ros@wordcare.com.au. 


GETTING 

TECHNICAL 

Understanding how the audit process works, and the rights of both the ATO and of 

taxpayers, can help smooth the way, as Sacha Rowlands explains. 

The ATO audit program is guided by the 

Compliance Model and Taxpayers’ Charter. In 

broad terms, the Compliance Model outlines 

the factors which affect taxpayer compliance, 

as well as the perceived level of intervention 

required by the ATO in order to collect 

revenue from different types of taxpayers. 

Complementing this, the Taxpayers’ Charter 

sets out the rights and obligations of taxpayers 

when dealing with the ATO. 

The ATO adopts a risk differentiation 

framework under which the approach used 

for different types of taxpayers varies based 

on their tax risk. This is a combination of the 

likelihood of non-compliance and the 

consequences of any non-compliance, such as 

the amount of any tax shortfall. This allows 

the ATO to take a targeted approach to tax 

compliance, focus on higher risk compliance 

areas and reduce compliance costs by not 

targeting low risk and compliant taxpayers. 

BAS agents’ role 

While BAS agents are not obliged to audit 

their clients’ information, they can play a 

crucial role in influencing the tax compliance 

of their clients. They must also comply with 

the Code of Professional Conduct under the 

Tax Agent Services Act, including a 

requirement to advise clients of their rights 

and obligations under tax laws that are 

materially related to the services provided by 

the BAS agent. 

In addition, BAS agents should be aware of 

any deficiencies in the business records 

maintained by clients. They should make 

their clients aware of their obligations under 

the record keeping rules and the potential 

pitfalls they may face under an audit or 

review if they do not maintain and keep the 

required records. 

Identification for review 

or audit 

Taxpayers are classified into one of four risk 

categories, based on their relative size, wealth 

or turnover, nature of transactions they 

undertake, their effective tax rate and 

compliance history: 

• higher risk – can expect close ATO scrutiny 

• medium risk – can expect periodic reviews 

• key taxpayer – can expect consistent 

ATO monitoring 

• lower risk – can expect periodic 

monitoring from the ATO. Small and 

medium-sized enterprises (those with 

turnover between $2M and $250M and 

individuals with net wealth over $5M) 

generally fall into this category. 

The ATO has stated that the risk 

categorisation influences the likelihood of a 

review, its formality and intensity; however, it 

does not impact the outcome. 

A range of sources are used to identify 

potential non-compliance, based on 

qualitative and quantitative measures, 

including risk assessment, data matching, 

information sharing with other 

government agencies and referral 

from community members. 

Information gathering 

While the ATO has wide-ranging formal 

information gathering powers under the 

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936, many 

reviews and audits will start out as informal 

requests for information. Generally speaking, 

a formal approach will only be taken where 

the informal approach has not worked, or the 

taxpayer’s circumstances, behaviour or 

history warrant a more formal information 

gathering approach. This is why it is a good 

idea to adopt a co-operative approach when 

dealing with the ATO. 

Investigation and action 

Once the ATO has identified higher 

risk taxpayers, it will generally begin 

its investigation via basic integrity 

checks and additional information 

gathering via phone, questionnaires etc. 

Taxpayers may then be subject to a further 

risk review or audit, or both. Given the 

informal nature of many reviews and audits, 

as well as the breadth of terminology used by 

the ATO, it can be unclear what constitutes 

an audit. It is therefore generally a safer 

approach to assume any review or similar is 

an audit, regardless of the terminology used 

by the ATO. 

Risk reviews are used by the ATO to 

determine whether a more in-depth 

investigation is required. If significant risks 

are identified, the ATO may proceed with an 

audit. Although similar to an audit, a risk 

review will generally be a less intensive 

investigation. Further, any voluntary 

disclosures made as part of a review will 

generally result in more generous penalty 

remissions compared to voluntary disclosures 

made during an audit. 

An audit contains higher levels of 

information collection and analysis compared 

to a risk review and, for more complex audits, 

can last up to 540 days. 

Generally taxpayers will be given an audit 

management plan by the ATO at the 

outset. They may also receive a paper 

clarifying the ATO position during the 

audit, which gives taxpayers an opportunity 

to respond to any matters before the audit 

is completed. 

Co-operation with the ATO 

The relationship between the ATO and 

taxpayers is primarily governed by the 

Taxpayers’ Charter (see ), which details the expectations of 

both the taxpayer and ATO in their dealings. 

The charter seeks to create an open, 

co-operative and positive relationship 

between taxpayers and the ATO. 

Under the heading ‘Tax compliance for 

small-to-medium enterprises and wealthy 

individuals’, the ATO website sets out the 

following list of mutual expectations during 

compliance activities: 

• have ongoing, open and frank 

discussions and a plan for completing 

the compliance activity 


• participate in meetings to identify any 

issues with the process that could delay 

or disrupt progress and to agree 

on contingencies 

• agree on realistic timeframes 

• provide facts and evidence in a 

timely manner 

• clarify issues as they arise so that they 

can be resolved efficiently 

• seek to minimise costs 

• provide prompt and ongoing access to 

key personnel and escalation points 

• agree in advance on how to handle relevant 

documents covered by legal professional 

privilege or the accountants’ concession 

• provide access to senior people within 

their organisations where appropriate. 

Voluntary disclosures 

According to the miscellaneous tax ruling 

MT2012/3, taxpayers are automatically 

entitled to an 80-100 per cent reduction in 

penalty if the voluntary disclosure is made 

before the taxpayer is informed that the 

ATO is conducting an examination of the 

taxpayer’s affairs. The term ‘examination’ 

does not necessarily mean an audit or review, 

and can sometimes include verification 

checks, record-keeping reviews and other 

ATO requests. Accordingly, while voluntary 

disclosures to the ATO will generally result in 

a favourable outcome for the taxpayer, the 

timing of the disclosure can also be 

important. The voluntary disclosure must 

also be made in the ‘approved form’. 

Accountants’ concession 

The ATO provides an administrative 

concession for advice between taxpayers 

and their professional external accounting 

advisers. This allows certain types of advice 

to remain confidential where it has been 

prepared for the sole purpose of advising 

clients on taxation. However, the concession 

is an administrative one and therefore 

is not legally binding. Further, under 

the ATO administrative guidelines 

the concession may be ignored in ‘ 

exceptional circumstances’. 

Record-keeping requirements 

Businesses are required to record and explain 

all transactions and other acts which are 

relevant for tax purposes. While these rules 

can appear simple enough, there are a couple 

of issues worth noting. 

It is a safer approach 

to assume any review 

or similar is an audit, 

regardless of the 

terminology used by 

the ATO. 

1. Business records for small business 

The ATO’s ‘Record keeping for small 

business’ provides an extensive list of records 

which small businesses must keep. It is 

extremely important that small businesses 

keep all these records: firstly, so that the 

business can substantiate its business dealings 

in the case of an audit or review; and 

secondly to avoid any administrative penalties 

for failing to keep or retain records. 

2. Software system documentation for 

small businesses 

Many small businesses may not realise the 

full extent of software system documentation 

which the ATO requires to be maintained. 

Small businesses using off-the-shelf software 

packages costing less than $2000 and 

designed for general business use are required 

to keep the following information for 

five years: 

• the software name and version 

• a record of the components of the software 

package that have been installed and the 

date of installation 

• a chronological record of all system 

changes or upgrades 

• a record of the options that have been 

enabled or disabled, and 

• any manuals or instructions provided with 

the software package. 

Record-keeping issues 

The ATO is increasingly using benchmarks as 

a risk-identification tool for small businesses, 

particularly as part of cash-economy audits. 

Based on benchmark information, the ATO 

develops default assessments where it is not 

satisfied with the return lodged by a taxpayer 

and determines that the tax liability is 

another amount. It is then up to taxpayers to 

disprove the Commissioner’s assessment. 

Difficulties arise if a taxpayer has not 

maintained appropriate business records. 

When objecting to a default assessment, the 

strongest evidence that a taxpayer can provide 

is business records. This is particularly 

important given that the burden of proof is 

on the taxpayer to prove what the assessment 

amount should be, rather than just disprove 

the amount calculated by the ATO. While 

taxpayers can provide other evidence and 

even prove that the ATO assessment is 

incorrect, without appropriate records it can 

be extremely difficult to prove an actual 

alternative amount. 

Remedial action 

In the event of a dispute between taxpayers 

and the ATO, there are a number of 

resolution options, including alternative 

dispute resolution, settlements, 50:50 

arrangements where the taxpayer pays all 

undisputed debts and 50 per cent of disputed 

debts, objections to the ATO decision and 

litigation. The options for dispute resolution 

will differ depending on the particular facts 

of each case. 

Sacha 

Rowlands 

Sacha Rowlands is a corporate tax 

supervisor with accountants and 

business and financial advisers 

HLB Mann Judd Sydney. 

Contact him on (02) 9020 4099. 


feature article 

best foot 

forward 

Your personal reputation and that of 

your business are valuable assets 

which should be protected at all 

costs. Yet it only takes a small lapse 

of judgement to damage your – or 

your business’s – good name and 

bring it into disrepute. 

Our feature examines several areas 

of behaviour, from the professional 

to the personal, which require 

scrupulous attention. In the flurry of 

day-to-day activity, it’s easy to 

become lax in these matters. 

Benchmark yourself against the 

‘virtues and vices’ identified by our 

six contributors. 

Lizzie Wagner stresses the 

importance of ‘first impressions’ 

when meeting with clients and 

provides tips on how to look and 

behave as a professional, while 

Ros O’Sullivan reminds us of the 

rules of etiquette for business 

emails. On the legal side, 

Andrew Douglas and Penny Lording 

explain what part of your work you 

‘own’ and what’s fair to be asked 

to share. 

If you’re guilty of smartphone 

multi-tasking, such as checking for 

emails or taking a call during a 

meeting, let Martin Russell remind 

you of the phone etiquette which 

should be observed to avoid 

accidental bad behaviour. As a 

business owner, in addition to 

meeting your legal obligations 

towards employees, you need to 

keep abreast of changes in values 

and attitudes in corporate Australia. 

Workplace diversity is currently in 

the spotlight and Nareen Young 

reports on the progress in this 

area and the ramifications for 

business, large and small. You’ll find 

a range of strategies you can adopt 

to create a more diverse and 

inclusive workplace. 

At heart, good behaviour is good 

business. It pays off in the long 

term, and should be reflected on the 

bottom line as well. 

Keep yourself nice 

Lizzie Wagner explains how to present yourself in a 

professional situation to create that all-important positive 

first impression. 

It takes exactly seven seconds to form a 

lasting first impression. You don’t ever get a 

second chance, so making a good first 

impression is vital. An effective training 

program is a worthwhile investment for the 

modern professional but here are four secrets 

that can put you on the path to success. 

Others meeting you for the first time make 

an assessment using the senses of sight, 

hearing, smell and touch. In these four areas, 

the important features are: 

• sight – your posture, deportment and 

body language 

• hearing – your speaking voice, sincerity 

and communication skills 

• smell – your attention to body odour and 

use of fragrance 

• touch – your handshake, eye contact and 

general etiquette. 

Those working in the accounting and 

finance sphere need to project an image of 

trust and reliability to inspire confidence. 

This starts with impeccable grooming. 

Looking smart and exuding good taste in 

apparel not only makes a positive impression, 

but shows that you are self-reliant with high 

personal standards. 

It may be unfair but it’s a fact that clients 

think if you can’t manage your personal self, 

including financing your wardrobe, you can’t 

manage their business needs. In other words, 

sloppy in self, sloppy at work! That’s why 

impeccable grooming not only shows you can 

take care of yourself and your finances, but 

can do the same for clients. 

Positive body language can do wonders for 

your client relations. Stand and sit upright. 

Maintain direct eye contact. Use open body 

language. That means open palms and 

mirroring your client’s positive body language 

and tonality. Avoid closed body language 

such as crossed hands, arms and legs. It can 

turn clients against you. 

Tips on good grooming 

1. Hair 

Ladies, when your hair is long, always wear 

it up or back on professional occasions. 

Gentleman, ensure you have a good tidy 

cut every six weeks. Avoid designer stubble 

or the five o’clock shadow! They may suit 

the music or advertising worlds but your 

business is in the corporate arena and if you 

want to be successful in it you must groom 

yourself accordingly. 

2. Odour 

Warning! Fragrances can ruin the impression! 

It’s easy for women to fall into the multifragrance 

trap. Remember that fragrances 

come from your soaps, shampoos, perfume 

and hairspray, and they’re usually fruit-based. 

This can lead to overpowering the 

atmosphere with a kind of fruit salad 

explosion. Don’t overdo it. 

Gentlemen: go easy with the aftershave! 

A common let-down is using so much 

aftershave that it makes the eyes water and 

nose run. 

Male and female alike should be aware of 

such common problems as BO and strong 


Impeccable grooming not 

only shows you 

can take care of yourself 

and your finances, 

but can do the same 

for clients. 

breath aggravated by cigarettes and/or coffee. 

Last night’s overindulgence of wine can still 

be oozing out of one’s pores the next day. 

3. Language 

“Youse right mate?” When you’re required to 

extend hospitality to a client, be sure your 

good manners include polite speech. In 

particular, avoid the non-word ‘youse’. Using 

this expression is like wearing the word ‘dill’ 

in neon lights on your forehead! 

Acquire good diction and your 

communication with clients will be clearer, 

more precise and polite. Watch your 

pronunciation, grammar and enunciation. 

Avoid slurred speech and talking too quickly. 

And especially, don’t swear! 

4. Appearance 

Don’t bring bling! Leave the personalised 

bling for the weekends. Piercings, thumb 

rings and metal generally shatter the 

professional image of both women and men. 

Ladies, be careful with the décolletage and 

exposure of cleavage. Avoid skirts above the 

knees. And wearing no hosiery is an 

image-killer in the office. Save it for the 

nightclub or other evening occasions! 

Confidence booster 

Business etiquette is simple. It is merely 

‘consideration of others’. Let’s look at the 

simple matter of eye contact. If you feel 

overwhelmed or intimidated, simply look at 

the centre of the bridge on the nose. It looks 

like direct eye contact and is reassuring and 

sincere – but avoids the hard stare. 

When you shake hands, provide a solid grip 

but not so firm a handshake that it’s 

uncomfortable. In other words, avoid the 

‘dead fish’ or limp wrist feel. If you’re 

concerned about bacteria or sweaty palms, a 

good tip is to use sanitising and cooling 

hand gel. 

Putting it into practice 

No one said you have to stay to the bitter end 

of a networking event. Nor must you collect 

so many business cards you don’t know who 

is who. 

Get there early, check out the name tags on 

the table or the wall chart/seating plan. Select 

five clients who would enhance your business 

and seek out only them. Of course you will 

be polite to those you are familiar with, but 

short and charming is best. 

Always wear your name tag on the right hand 

side, so when you go to shake hands it is 

clearly visible. This is impeccable business 

networking etiquette. 

And always follow up an event or special 

contact with a cheery thank-you note, or, 

where appropriate, a ‘nice to meet you, hope 

to catch up again soon’ follow-up note. 

Lizzie 

Wagner 

Lizzie Wagner is managing director of 

The Lizzie Wagner Group. Visit 

for more 

tips on professional presentation. 

Contact her on (02) 6299 8328 or at 

info@lizziewagner.com.au for 

information on public workshops. 


What’s fair to share? 

Andrew Douglas and Penny Lording offer advice on protecting your patch. 

With recent pressure on business costs, many bookkeepers are now 

being asked to hand over their work and train others, often from 

overseas. What protection do Australian bookkeepers have in 

managing the transfer of their skills and expertise to people outside 

of Australia or providers of cheaper services within Australia? 

Do bookkeepers have intellectual property rights in their skills 

and expertise? 

Whose property is it? 

Intellectual property is a higher order concept that features around 

the creation of something which is original. Some intellectual 

property rights, such as patents and designs, require formal registration 

whereas others, such as copyright and confidential information, can 

arise automatically. 

Get your contracts right and ensure 

you protect the clever work you do. 

Courts distinguish between confidential information and know-how. 

Confidential information is something which is impressed with a 

specific confidence which is understood between the parties and has a 

particular value which is discrete to those parties. Know-how, on the 

other hand, is general experience and knowledge. 

Sorting out ownership 

The first question to ask is: what is the intellectual property of the 

bookkeeper, if any? The reality for bookkeepers and other professionals 

is that we often speak about something being confidential information 

or intellectual property when in fact it is something that is generally 

practised in the commercial world. For example, the bookkeeper 

carries out a service, usually as a contractor, to an organisation. 

The elements of that service provision are well-known and wellpractised. 

There is nothing novel in undertaking bookkeeping services 

through the entry of data into appropriate journals or a piece of 

accounting software. 

bookkeeper should ensure that any intellectual property created 

remains owned by it and is only licensed to the organisation. Or, if the 

intellectual property is to be assigned (especially in the absence of a 

royalty-free perpetual licence back to the bookkeeper), then the price 

should reflect this as the bookkeeper may then be restricted in using 

the intellectual property. 

However, if these documents are not specifically identified as 

confidential information or intellectual property within the contract of 

services entered into between the bookkeeper and the organisation, the 

bookkeeper is left to fight for them using other legal principles. 

Without saying the obvious, bookkeepers rarely have the resources to 

litigate such issues. 

The second question to ask is what powers does a bookkeeper have to 

refuse to train or to price to train an outsourced party? Again, the 

answer is, what does the contract say. If the contract is one for the 

provision of services without an expiry period and without limitation 

of activity, it is likely the organisation will be able to require the 

bookkeeper to deliver that service. However, if the contract is for the 

specific provision of bookkeeping services (appropriately defined) and 

can be terminated at will or upon notice by the bookkeeper or the 

organisation, the bookkeeper always has the capacity to withdraw their 

services and to re-price the delivery of that service. 

The lessons for bookkeepers 

First, carefully design your contract of services to limit it to the 

delivery of bookkeeping services and make it terminable at a period of 

time that is suitable for the bookkeeper. 

Second, ensure that there are clauses within the contract that allow you 

to reprice more complex work and, where that work creates novelty or 

uniqueness, include clauses that specifically deal with any intellectual 

property created. 

At that time, you generally have some leverage. However, it is obvious 

to everyone that organisations usually have deeper pockets than 

bookkeepers. The litigious path will normally be an unhappy path. 

Therefore, get your contracts right and ensure you protect the clever 

work you do. 

Therefore, generally the day-to-day practice of a bookkeeper does not 

involve confidential information of the bookkeeper but rather uses the 

confidential information of the organisation. So, unless the 

bookkeeper designs or develops a particular system which is unique or 

novel and for which they have impressed with confidence (preferably 

by contract with the organisation) they have no property or confidence 

that can be protected in law. 

Andrew 

Douglas 

Penny 

Lording 

Possible protection 

If the bookkeeper does set up processes, manuals, policies and 

procedures around how the financial affairs of a business are collected 

together and inputted, the contract that the bookkeeper enters into 

may provide them some protection. In negotiating a contract, the 

Andrew Douglas is a principal in the workplace relations team 

and Penny Lording a lawyer at M + K Lawyers. Contact Andrew 

at andrew.douglas@mk.com.au or (03) 8615 9900. Contact 

Penny at penny.lording@mk.com.au or (03) 9794 2600. 


Mind your e-manners 

Check out Ros O’Sullivan’s tips for emailing to maintain a professional image. 

These days the main form of business 

communication, email is quick and easy 

to use. Nevertheless, certain standards 

are expected in the business world. 

Here are a dozen tips to keep you from 

looking sloppy. 

1. Traditional writing rules apply. It’s 

OK to be informal, but not so casual 

as to ignore correct spelling, grammar 

and punctuation. 

2. Write in sentence case using punctuation 

to assist the reader, and avoid ‘shouting’ 

in capital letters. 

3. Make your message clear. Give your email 

a suitable, succinct subject line and keep 

the content short and to the point. 

4. Keep it simple. Avoid fancy fonts, 

colours, graphics and ‘cute’ additions 

like emoticons. 

5. Use a professional signature block, with 

your contact information, website etc. 

6. Answer business emails within 24 hours. 

If the content is complex, at least 

acknowledge the sender and let them 

know when to expect a full response. 

7. Take care with CC to avoid clogging 

others’ in-boxes; only copy people who 

need to be involved. 

8. Similarly, think before sending group 

emails – does everyone in the group 

really need to spend time reading your 

email? Ditto before hitting ‘reply all’. 

9. Use BCC when sending a group email to 

protect the privacy of others. 

8. Don’t send an email when you’re angry; 

wait until you can compose your message 

calmly. Use the rule of thumb: if you 

wouldn’t say that to the person’s face, 

don’t put it in an email. 

10. Don’t use email for sensitive matters, 

such as terminating an employee, or to 

avoid an uncomfortable situation. 

11. Take care with attachments. It’s easy to 

forget the attachment before sending, so 

a good idea is to attach the file before you 

compose the email. However, if you need 

to send files larger than a megabyte, use 

one of the free file transfer applications. 

12. Don’t send on chain mail, jokes and 

virus warnings you’ve received. Check 

the latter with a reputable website such 

as hoax-slayer if you think it may 

be valid. 

Ros 

O’Sullivan 

Ros O’Sullivan is co-editor of 

Accounting Technician. Contact her at 

ros@wordcare.com.au. 


Sharpen 

up your 

smartphone 

etiquette 

With the unexpected help of several car-driving dogs 1 , Martin Russell examines how we can 

avoid accidental bad business behaviour when using our smartphones. 

Are you fully up to speed with smartphone 

etiquette? Or are you and your staff at risk 

of slipping up and accidentally delivering a 

rude or pretty poor impression of your 

great business? 

Imagine you’re at a party to celebrate your 

friend’s dog winning The Best Car-Driving 

Dog Competition 2013. You’ve fallen into 

conversation with an extremely 

knowledgeable, witty and entertaining 

guest. You’re both happily exchanging 

anecdotes about the most effective methods 

of teaching a dog to drive when – all of a 

sudden – another guest muscles in on your 

private chat, completely ignores you, and 

then loudly steers the conversation towards 

the completely ridiculous topic of cats 

driving buses! 

How rude, you would rightly think. 

What bad manners and uncouth behaviour! 

It’s certainly not something you would do 

yourself. Or is it? 

This kind of anti-social behaviour is strangely 

prolific within professional business 

environments, even though it’s often not 

intentional. But checking your email on the 

phone while having a coffee with a business 

colleague, or taking a call during a meeting or 

while in the middle of a work conversation, 

are common examples of poor phone 

etiquette. Here are the basic rules to follow if 

you want to avoid accidental bad behaviour 

with your smartphone. 

The basics 

You won’t always be able to answer your 

phone. If you’re right in the middle of a 

driving lesson with an enthusiastic Golden 

Retriever, it would be terribly impolite and 

probably quite dangerous to drop everything 

just for the sake of taking a call. So, ensure 

that you have recorded a reassuringly 

professional and business-like voicemail 

message to hold the fort during those 

moments, and try to return any missed calls 

as swiftly possible. 

Ever tried to send a text message or email 

from your phone while in a hurry or on 

the move? I’m sure we’ve all been caught 

out by embarrassing spelling mistakes or 

painful autocorrect howlers! When your brisk 

typing activity is related to business, try to 

take that extra moment to fully review your 

message before hitting the SEND button. 

If you do make an accidental error, make 

sure that you follow this up as quickly as 

possible with a sincere – and thoroughly 

spellchecked – apology! 

Getting smarter in the office 

Silencing your smartphone during a 

crucial business meeting may seem like 

a perfectly natural and obvious move for 

the courteous business professional. But 

it’s surprising just how many people 

completely overlook such a basic rule of 

smartphone etiquette. 

Ensure that you have 

recorded a reassuringly 

professional and 

business-like voicemail 

message to hold the fort. 

If you’re in a crucial meeting it’s polite to 

silence your phone and avoid any external 

interruptions. Simply setting your mobile 

phone to vibrate is not enough, as the sound 

of a vibrating phone on a tabletop is just as 

intrusive and annoying as a terrible ringtone! 

At the very least, your smartphone needs to 

be switched to silent when you’re 

participating in a business meeting and put 

out of sight, and other attendees should be 

encouraged to follow your lead. For complete 

peace of mind, phones should ideally be 

switched off altogether until the close of 

the meeting. 

It’s also worth bearing in mind the impact on 

office productivity just from keeping your 

mobile phone in plain view. If you or your 

staff members really must keep your phones 

switched on all day, do put them out of sight. 

The last thing you want is an office full of 

distracted team members checking their 

phones every two minutes throughout the 

working day! 


Give a little respect 

When you do answer a call, bear in mind 

that the person you’re talking to deserves your 

full respectful attention throughout the call, 

and should never be made to feel as if you are 

being distracted by other far more interesting 

events going on around you. 

It’s also generally considered to be very 

bad form for anybody representing your 

business to place a caller on speakerphone 

without gaining their agreement. They might 

not be aware exactly who else is listening in 

on the call, and that could potentially 

become embarrassing. 

A matter of privacy 

Smartphones make it easier than ever to take 

photographs and share them instantly online 

with the social media community. My own 

Facebook page is littered with images of 

proud dogs showing off their new driving 

licences with a thumbs-up and a grin. 

However, try not to get carried away with the 

addictive nature of smartphone ‘snapping 

and sharing’. 

Always remember to get permission from the 

stars of your photographs before uploading 

them into cyberspace for the whole world to 

see. Never assume you have the right to share 

private stories. 

But the most important point of all to 

remember from a professional business 

perspective is that you and your staff should 

always stay acutely aware of what you’re 

actually saying on the phone while out in 

public. Confidential information on clients 

needs to remain confidential. 

Finally, do remember that THERE’S 

REALLY NO NEED TO SHOUT! Today’s 

telephones are incredibly sensitive and even 

just a fairly loud voice can come across as a 

terrifying roar! So, let’s try not to scare away 

our business associates and potential 

customers of the future. 

1. If you haven’t seen the driving skills of 

Monty, an 18-month-old giant schnauzer, 

Ginny, a one-year-old whippet cross, and Porter, 

a 10-month-old beardie cross, head to 

. 

Martin 

Russell 

Martin Russell provides an online 

printing service for the Australian small 

to medium-sized business sector. 

His website www.martinprint.com.au 

includes a blog with short business 

articles on a range of topics. 


Why diversity matters to your 

Organisations are increasingly recognising the tangible benefits of workplace diversity, 

as Nareen Young highlights, but there’s still more to do. 

Attracting and retaining talent is a critical 

issue for businesses across the globe. 

Traditional responses to workforce planning 

and development are shifting rapidly in 

response to an ageing workforce, competitive 

global labour market and skill shortages. 

Organisations are also increasingly finding 

that the capabilities required to respond to 

fast-changing technologies and emerging 

markets are not reflected in their talent 

pipeline. Harnessing diverse talent in all its 

forms is going to be essential to generate the 

innovation and performance needed to meet 

these challenges. 

Organisations are 

increasingly understanding 

the need for their 

workforce to reflect their 

customer base. 

Organisations are also facing greater 

requirements for transparency by reporting 

progress on diversity, from regulators such 

as the Australian Securities Exchange or the 

Workplace Gender Equality Agency, but 

also in relation to government tenders, and 

from increasingly discerning employees 

and customers. 

Smart organisations are already seeing the 

benefits that flow from effective management 

of workplace diversity. Both industry 

experience and research indicate that 

workplace diversity and inclusion are clearly 

linked to improvements in organisational 

performance, effectiveness, profitability and 

revenue generation. Leading practice diversity 

organisations continue to see the evidence 

that effective diversity management leads to 

significant business benefits. For example: 

• global businesses ranked in the top quartile 

of executive board diversity received a 

return on equity that averages 53 per cent 

higher than businesses in the bottom 

quartile (McKinsey 2012) 

• Fortune 500 companies with the highest 

representation of women board directors 

attained significantly higher financial 

performance, on average, than those with 

the lowest representations of women board 

directors (Catalyst 2007) 

• a survey of Australian employers found 

that best practice organisations reported 

significant business benefits of work-life 

initiatives including a reduction in staff 

turnover of 15 per cent, a reduction in staff 

absenteeism of 16 per cent, a positive 

impact on productivity and an increase in 

the parental leave return rate of 40 per cent 

(Managing Work-Life Balance 

Survey 2007). 

Business progress on diversity 

Gender diversity is currently the focus of a 

lot of energy and attention in corporate 

Australia. The main impetus has been the 

introduction in 2010 by the ASX Corporate 

Governance Council of a requirement that 

listed companies adopt and disclose a 

diversity policy that includes measurable 

objectives relating to gender. The 

introduction of the new Workplace Gender 

Equality Act 2012 last December has also 

sharpened the focus on gender, as all private 

sector employers with 100 or more staff 

grapple with changed reporting requirements. 

With the Australian Bureau of Statistics 

showing a persistent pay gap between men 

and women – currently 21 per cent (Nov. 

2012) – and women comprising less than 

11 per cent of directors on ASX 200 Boards, 

this attention continues to be warranted. 

Progress on key equality indicators such as 

the pay gap and women in leadership has 

virtually stalled. Women still face significant 

barriers to their inclusion in employment 

because of discrimination and particularly as 

a consequence of the way employment often 

fails to support women’s responsibilities 

for family care. 

However, flexible working and careers are not 

only important for women, but for a range of 

employees. People caring for small children, 

elderly parents or family members with a 

disability; employees facing an illness or 

managing a disability; mature-age workers 

and workers involved as community 

volunteers may all need flexibility at work. 

The Get Flexible! research conducted by 

Diversity Council Australia (DCA) 

() has found 

that greater efforts need to be made by 

employers to mainstream flexible working so 

that it is the norm, rather than the exception. 

Building relationships with Aboriginal and 

Torres Strait Islander communities has been a 

focus for corporate Australia. It has, however, 

not yet translated into significant or 

sustainable employment outcomes for 

Indigenous people in this sector. We are 

conducting research called Closing the 

Work Gap in Corporate Australia in 

partnership with Reconciliation Australia and 

Lend Lease that shines a light on how 

corporates can put in place more effective 

engagement strategies. 

Organisations are increasingly understanding 

the need for their workforce to reflect their 

customer base, recognising that there’s much 

to be gained in terms of reputation, 

recruitment, retention, productivity and 

market share. Ensuring your workplace is 

welcoming and inclusive of lesbian, gay, 

bi-sexual and transgender (LGBT) 

employees, clients and customers is 

important to many businesses. In partnership 

with ACON and Stonewall UK, DCA has 

established the Pride in Diversity program 

(). It is the 

first Australian not-for-profit employer 

support program to focus exclusively on 

supporting Australian employers with every 

aspect of LGBT inclusion. 

In contrast to progress in these areas, cultural 

diversity is less well understood by business 

– apart from a progressive minority of 

organisations who are well advanced in their 

diversity strategies. There seems to be a lack 

of understanding of the business case for 

cultural diversity. And many organisations 

fail to make the link between the cultural 

diversity of their staff and broader business 

goals such as accessing new markets, building 

customer relationships and innovation. The 

rising economic power of Asia is making the 


usiness 

need for Australian business to progress 

this area even more pressing. The cultural 

diversity already in Australian workplaces 

represents enormous untapped potential. 

A diverse workforce can provide business 

with vital language skills; cultural knowledge 

and understanding; business networks 

and knowledge of business practices and 

protocols in overseas markets; and low-cost 

intelligence about overseas markets, including 

intimate knowledge of consumer tastes 

and preferences. 

DCA will this year be conducting important 

research on cultural diversity in the top 200 

ASX-listed companies. This will investigate 

the cultural profile of the board and senior 

executive team in ASX 200 organisations 

and the extent to which the largest listed 

companies are building inter-cultural 

capability and tapping into local and 

international talent when sourcing their 

business leaders. Without an accurate picture 

of the cultural capability that currently exists 

within Australian businesses, organisations 

can only speculate as to what they might 

need to do differently to build the workforce 

of the future. 

What business can do 

Achieving a diverse and inclusive workplace 

requires a comprehensive approach on a 

number of fronts. Business can adopt the 

following strategies. 

• Investigate your workplace to see how 

diverse and inclusive it really is and what 

issues need to be addressed. 

• Managers’ capability is a critical success 

factor in managing diversity well. 

Building skills and changing attitudes 

and behaviours, whether conscious 

or unconscious, is really important 

here. Ensuring diversity expectations are 

built into performance management 

systems and managers’ KPIs is the only 

real way of making sure diversity is 

everyone’s responsibility. 

• Leadership and commitment from the top 

is critical – having the support of the CEO 

and board will increase the likelihood of 

broader organisational support. 

Workplace diversity 

and inclusion are clearly 

linked to improvements 

in organisational 

performance, effectiveness, 

profitability and 

revenue generation. 

• Communication and education are 

also key. Document your policies on 

diversity and workplace flexibility, and 

regularly communicate them. Regular 

training for all managers and staff is a 

basic requirement. 

• Managing and preventing inappropriate 

workplace behaviour such as racism and 

discrimination has to be a priority – all the 

right policies and programs are for nought 

if organisations allow this type of 

behaviour to continue. 

• Address any bias or lack of access in 

recruitment, retention and promotion that 

may be preventing people with a disability 

from joining or staying at your organisation. 

• Mainstream flexible working so that 

flexible work options are available to 

men and women, and at all levels of 

the organisation. 

• Ensure your female talent is nurtured and 

is not excluded from leadership or line 

management roles and receives equal pay 

for work of equal value. 

• Value employees with language skills, 

knowledge of overseas markets, or 

international experience that may help 

you broaden your markets, either locally 

or overseas. 

• Ensure you are attracting and retaining 

mature-age talent – a valuable and often 

underutilised resource. 

• Become a member of Diversity Council 

Australia. 

Nareen 

Young 

Named by the Australian Financial Review 

and Westpac Group in 2012 as one of 

100 Women of Influence, 

Nareen Young is CEO of Diversity 

Council Australia (DCA), the only 

independent, not-for-profit workplace 

diversity advisor to business in Australia. 

For more information, call (02) 9035 2852 

or visit 


Changes to the Privacy Act 

Will your privacy policies and practices meet the requirements of new legislation? 

Helen Clarke spells out the essentials. 

In late 2012, the Privacy Amendment 

(Enhancing Privacy Protection) Bill 2012 

became law, paving the way for extensive 

changes to the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). In 

particular, the Bill introduces a unified set of 

Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) that 

apply to both the private sector and the 

Commonwealth public sector. Before the key 

changes in the Bill commence in March 

2014, accounting businesses currently bound 

by the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) – organisations 

with an annual turnover of $3M or more 

– will need to change their privacy policies 

and practices. 

What do you need to do? 

1. Change your privacy policy to: 

• explain how a person can complain about 

a breach of the APPs and how you will deal 

with privacy complaints 

• specify if you will disclose personal 

information to recipients overseas and, 

if so, where they are located 

• explain how to seek access to personal 

information and correction, how to 

complain about a breach of the APPs and 

how you deal with privacy complaints. 

2. Implement a privacy compliance 

program that ensures your organisation 

complies with the APPs and enables it to 

deal with inquiries or complaints about 

compliance with the APPs. A compliance 

program should include training staff. 

3. Change your direct marketing practices. 

You will have to: 

• maintain a simple mechanism allowing 

individuals to ‘opt out’ of further 

direct marketing 

• obtain an individual’s consent before using 

their sensitive information (for example, 

health information or information about 

religion, race or union membership) for 

direct marketing. 

4. Review arrangements involving the 

transfer of information offshore, such as 

outsourcing or cloud computing. If you 

disclose personal information to an 

overseas recipient you must take reasonable 

steps to ensure the recipient does not 

breach the APPs. If the recipient does 

breach the APPs, you are responsible for 

that breach. However, this does not apply 

if you reasonably believe the recipient is 

subject to a law or binding scheme 

imposing privacy protections substantially 

similar to the APPs and there are 

mechanisms for individuals to enforce that 

law or scheme. It also doesn’t apply where 

the individual gives consent to your 

organisation not being accountable for the 

acts of the overseas recipient. In many 

cases it will be impractical to obtain 

this consent. 

Consider the risks involved in such 

arrangements. Where practical, mitigate 

risk contractually by ensuring the recipient 

undertakes to comply with the APPs and 

gives an indemnity in relation to losses 

flowing from privacy breach. 

What else do you need 

to know? 

Under the new laws, the Privacy 

Commissioner’s powers will be bolstered, 

enabling application to a court for a civil 

penalty for a serious interference with a 

person’s privacy. Penalties will be up to 

$1.1M for companies. 

Further, the Bill revises the credit reporting 

provisions of the Privacy Act, of interest to 

credit reporting agencies and credit providers 

such as banks and other providers of credit. 

The intention is to improve privacy 

protections in relation to credit reporting and 

to clarify and update the credit reporting 

privacy regime. 

Disclaimer: This information is an introduction 

only and does not comprehensively outline all 

changes which may impact your organisation. 

Do not rely on it in place of legal advice. 

Helen 

Clarke 

Helen Clarke is a partner in the law firm 

Corrs Chambers Westgarth. Contact her 

at Helen.Clarke@corrs.com.au or on 

(07) 3228 9818. 


SMSFs need your skills 

Their record-keeping expertise means bookkeepers can play a key role in the administration 

of SMSFs, says Martin Murden. 

Record keeping. Particularly financial 

records. I would suggest every bookkeeper 

has clients, successful business clients, who 

have found maintaining financial records to 

be the most difficult area in operating their 

business. And that is why they engage a 

bookkeeper to keep their business affairs 

in order. 

While it is not a requirement that business 

owners have a self managed superannuation 

fund (SMSF), many do. About 100 new 

SMSFs are being established each day; it has 

been estimated the 500,000 mark will be 

have been passed by now. If you have 

business clients who don’t have an SMSF, 

you can expect it is something many are 

considering. And as potential new clients, 

consider the number of non business owners 

who have either set up or want to set up 

an SMSF. 

Getting started 

The first step to be taken with regards to 

administration of a fund is to determine if 

your client’s SMSF is using a ‘platform’ or 

‘wrap account’ or ‘managed discretionary 

account’ for all of its investments. If it is, this 

will keep track of all of the transactions for 

the year. The bookkeeper’s role will be 

limited to ensuring contributions to the 

super fund are correctly recorded in the 

client’s business accounts. 

Many SMSFs do not use these or, if they do, 

it is only for part of their investments. This is 

when the role of the bookkeeper becomes 

more important. Accountants for SMSFs fall 

into two groups; the first uses a general ledger 

package to process accounts and prepare tax 

returns, the second group uses specific 

superannuation accounting software. I would 

suggest you check with the client’s accountant 

to see which group he/she is part of. 

When the accountant is using 

superannuation accounting software, there 

are options available that mean the 

accountant or a staff member won’t have to 

re-input the transactions the bookkeeper has 

already entered. The first option is to be able 

to export your work from the software 

package you use and have the accountant 

import this into his/her records. The second 

option is for the two of you to use the same 

software and have the client’s file transferred 

from one to the other as needed. 

Some SMSFs have also invested into property 

via the use of a unit trust. The property may 

in fact be your client’s business premises. A 

separate set of accounts needs to be prepared 

for the unit trust. Again, records need to be 

maintained through the year. 

The services a 

bookkeeper can offer are 

going to be increasingly 

in demand. 

The other aspect in which the bookkeeper 

can play an important role relates to 

documentation. Many SMSFs receive 

information about dividends and 

distributions by email. These data need to be 

collated, either in paper or electronic format. 

Apart from the client’s accountant wanting 

these to confirm imputation credits, the 

fund’s auditor will also want to sight them. 

Other documents that need to be kept 

include annual tax statements from trusts/ 

managed funds and reports from estate 

agents for SMSFs owning property. 

Registering for GST is optional for many 

funds; only a limited number are required to 

be registered. As a result, many don’t register, 

as the major items subject to GST will only 

be accounting and audit fees. Depending on 

the amounts involved, it may still be viable to 

consider having an annual return prepared. 

Be ready for change 

Superannuation is a field that is constantly 

changing. For example, there are changes to 

come in the year ahead that will have an 

impact upon both the provision of advice 

relating to SMSFs and their audit. 

Maintaining correct records throughout the 

year is increasing in importance. The services 

a bookkeeper can offer are going to be 

increasingly in demand. 

Martin 

Murden 

A founding partner of the Partners Group, 

Martin Murden is an Australian authority 

on SMSFs, with 40 years’ experience in 

financial services. Contact him on 

(03) 8508 7800, email 

martin@thepartnersgroup.com.au. 


welcome 

TO OUR 

NEW 

MEMBERS 

We welcome the following members who have joined AAT Australia between 16 November 2012 and 

28 February 2013. 

ACT 

Admitted as Member 

(AAT) 

Ly Tran 

Admitted as Affiliate 

Don Grgic 

NEW SOUTH 

WALES 


(AAT) 

Chantal Adney 

Deborah Brooks 

Margaret Clifford 

Sharon Hall 

Caroline Huynh 

Philip Learoyd 

Karen Leegwater 

Pamela Loneragan 

Lynette Moore 

Kathryn Murray 

Veluppillai Nagarajah 

Virendra Nath 

Andrew Page 

Angelina Rikic 

Kylie Scott 

Monika Stelzner 

Jon Sujono 

Rachel Viney 


Susan Adam 

Leanne Atkins 

Brett Edmonds 

Nicole Lynch 

Bruno Meier 

Linda Rule 

Elizabeth Smith 

Leslie Spindler 

Maria Wheeler 

QUEENSLAND 


(AAT) 

Virginia Adams 

Stephen Bayley 

Deborah Foot 

Janice Harris 

Morgan King 

Nicole Kowaltzke 

Ali Lomas 

Florence Minge 

Belinda Raso 

Jean Shaw 

Gaye Swinsburg 

Elizabeth Tilbrook 

Margaret Walker 

Gail Wogan 

June Yeung 


Ian Burridge 

Gai-Maree Hansen 

Cameron 

Richard Neel 

Michelle Omirinde 

Anthony Zegenhagen 

SOUTH 

AUSTRALIA 


(AAT) 

Kathy Leuenberger 

Liza Kirby 

Alexander Woods 


Ian Main 

VICTORIA 


(AAT) 

Richard Barrett 

Luigi Bonacci 

Jane Christie 

Jane Farrelly 

Anne Grundy 

Brendan Hatswell 

Andrea Holt 

Danielle James 

Jan Kiss 

Dianne Klemm 

Javier Kwong 

Helen Major 

Leone Matthews 

Diane McCaffrey 

Jennifer Potter 

Suzanne Renouf 

Claudia Rosa 

Kelly Van Tilburg 

Sarah Vaudrey 


Jacob Apech 

Shalane Appelman 

Lou Ashkar 

Tamkin Azizi 

Michelle Basso 

Anand Brar 

Jacqueline Brodrick 

Elizabeth Bryan 

Kirsty Campbell 

Jason Chew 

Esmeralda Cosham 

Paul Cutting 

Olwyn De Piazza 

My Gia Dip 

Pamela Drage 

Rhebyn Dulay 

Barry Edge 

Edith Elias 

Mirela Gramnea 

Afsana Hamid 

Susan Henderson 

Jayne Ho 

Aqela Husaini 

Allison Kendall 

Clare Kirby 

Sorakpong Kong 

Juanita Kouvelis 

Shane Lincoln 

Sachini Liyanage 

Logeswari Manivannan 

Jasmyn McSweeney 

Cassandra Meath 

Ramiza Mehmeti 

Anna Mildwater 

Nan Mon 

Nishakya Munneththi 

Sandra Nicholson 

Prashanthi Nitharshan 

Stephen Nsair 

Willy Ntumba 

Michael Paterson 

Dinuka Perera 

Nadine Pleydell 

Maggie Raad 

Shivnesh Ram 

Thanuja Ranasinghe 

Shilpa Rao 

Nimali Rathnayaka 

Jazarah Rizwan 

Mohideen Rizwan 

Emily Roberts 

Keila Roche-Kilbane 

Latifa Saddiqi 

Chamari Senadheera 

Mona Shadabi 

Valentina Sorokina 

Pollen Soun 

Petrit Sylejmani 

Gaetano Tavone 

Sridevi Thiruvengadaswamy 

Nguyen Tran 

Dinushi Vasa 

Daniel White 

Hong Yang 

Priyashini Yenkutusamy 

Christine Young 

Hamida Yusofy 

WESTERN 

AUSTRALIA 


(AAT) 

Adele Cave 

Jesi Ieraci 

Tenna Hind 

Donna Matthews 

Naomi Robinson 

Sharyn Roper 

Heather Shane 

Kerrin Smith 

Christopher Wenman 

Kerry Wenman 

Samantha Young 

OVERSEAS 


(AAT) 

Anthonia Felix 

Jenny Gagee 

Leila Graham Perembo 

Julie Kenneth 

Annierose Kina 

Stephanie Maio 

Ali Paip 

Freda Paison 

Hubert Penias 

Kilala Peril 

Fredrica Popoitai 

John Posikei 

Mesulam Rumet 

Miriam Sililai 

Stanley Vani 


Rachael Abel Tama 

Daniel Galupi 

Panta Harry 

David Ine 

Silvia Kapil 

Timmy Karl 

Titks Kupali 

Emmanuel Lae 

Janet Lucas 

Jane Luvii 

Sonya Male 

Thomson Mapun 

Janet Mel 

Viro Miasa 

Jerome Nungumangi 

Johnny Powes 

Poini Ravu 

Ronnie Robinson 

Grace Rombasa 

Derrick Runduali 

McGai Sawaliki 

Junalyn Senoty 

Kalau Sinai 

Tebei Sinakadi 

Daphne Sisosor 

Maggie Umba 

Martha Valahu 

Stanley Waro 

Dianne Wavi 

Gideon Wekal Wapu 

Regina William 

Lisa Yagari 

Andrew Yoba 

Jennifer Yore 


Meet Lorraine Box 

Her motto is “When you hit a brick wall, find a way to go 

over, around or under it” – and it has served Lorraine Box 

and her employers very well indeed. 

What made you choose a career in 

number-crunching? 

I don’t think I deliberately set out in this 

direction: I failed maths in Year 8, so my 

private school wouldn’t let me continue with 

any maths subjects! But in my first job, as a 

clerk for a car dealer, I was exposed to all the 

roles within business administration. After I 

resigned to manage my own business and have 

my children, I was asked back for several years 

to fill positions for staff who were on leave, 

because I was competent in all roles. So I’ve 

always felt the numbers chose me, because 

from the beginning of my career, doors opened 

that led me their way. 

Tell us about your present role 

I’m financial controller/business manager 

for CGE Hire Pty Ltd, a company specialising 

in niche height access solutions for 

construction along with hiring scaffold and 

other equipment. I’ve held the position for 

nine years. It includes keeping all financial 

recording up-to-date and accurate, compliance 

with all statutory requirements and also the 

management of our labour force of scaffolders 

who work on building sites across Australia. 

Sometimes we need to mobilise dozens of 

staff and tonnes of scaffold within a limited 

time frame, which is very motivating 

and challenging. 

What do you enjoy about your work? 

As previously mentioned, I’ve been lucky 

enough to experience all facets of business 

administration from early in my career. This 

has enabled me to choose to focus on where 

businesses are ‘getting it wrong’. I’ve only held 

three positions in the past 30 years; each has 

involved entering a business at a grass roots 

level, identifying core problems and then 

changing the business structure to achieve 

greater profitability and better business 

practice for the long term. 

Is your career turning out as 

you expected? 

Better than I ever could have imagined! To me 

there’s nothing more rewarding than being 

instrumental in changing the lives of people 

forever. In each of my three positions, I have 

seen company directors go from the prospect 

of closing doors, terminating staff and being 

left with nothing to show for years of hard 

work to seeing their businesses thrive and 

expand. Fortunately for me, they’ve been 

willing to take one last chance to save their 

business and had the ability to embrace 

change wholeheartedly. 

What further career ambitions to 

you have? 

I’d like to finish my task of seeing CGE Hire 

Pty Ltd achieve goals considered impossible 

nine years ago and then scale down my 

full-time commitment to the company to 

allow more time for family, R&R and 

community involvement. I can’t see myself ever 

being fully retired; anyone who knows me 

would say that I am too driven to walk away 

from life’s challenges. 

When and why did you join 

AAT Australia? 

I attended an AAT Australia roadshow in 

Warragul many years ago and I was so 

impressed that I became a member on the spot. 

The Association has been so instrumental in 

changing the face and reputation of 

bookkeepers Australia-wide that it is impossible 

to imagine the industry without it now. 

I’ve seen many instances of poor bookkeeping/ 

finance administration over the years and AAT 

Australia’s push for minimum qualifications 

has changed the face of many businesses. 

When I was required to upskill myself, AAT 

Australia staff were there to help and advise me 

with just a telephone call, and the newsletters 

always have useful tips and hints as well as the 

latest news. 

What are some of your 

favourite things? 

My family, horses and travel, which I try to 

combine. When we travel interstate I’m always 

with family and the horses, and we have a 

wonderful group of friends within the quarter 

horse industry. My husband and I joked two 

years ago, when planning a holiday in Alice 

Springs, that it was our first ‘horse-free’ holiday 

in 35 years! 

I’m married with two 

children and four 

grandchildren and live on 

250 acres in Labertouche in 

West Gippsland, Victoria. 

I’ve spent the past 35 years 

breeding and showing 

quarter horses, with some 

wonderful local and 

national results. 

The Black Saturday 

bushfires destroyed our 

district and as part of 

rebuilding, the Labertouche 

& District Community 

Centre (LDCC) was formed 

– a not-for-profit local 

organisation dedicated to 

keeping our community 

connected and engaged. 

During the fires, community 

members had nowhere to 

seek safety and headed to 

our local hall, which was 

being used as a staging 

area by Emergency 

Services. So the community 

worked to acquire an 

adjacent parcel of land 

and build a Community 

Centre and Men’s Shed. I’m 

Treasurer of the LDCC and 

have spent the past four 

years working with other 

local people to negotiate 

the red tape and 

regulations that go along 

with such a process. 


BALANCE 

SHEET 

Looking for some new ideas to achieve a more 

satisfying work/life balance? 

Celebrity chef Poh 

Ling Yeow is one of 

the Biggest Morning 

Tea’s distinguished 

foodie Ambassadors. 

Cuppa for 

a cause 

This year marks the 

twentieth anniversary of 

Australia’s Biggest 

Morning Tea, now 

enjoyed by more than a 

million Australians 

annually. In 2012 it 

raised $12.3M to assist 

the work of the Cancer 

Council, while more than 

$110M has been raised 

since the first cuppas and 

cake were shared two 

decades ago. 

Official ‘tea’ day is 23 May, 

but events can be held any 

time in May or June. The 2013 

target is – appropriately – $13M, 

and we can all play a part in 

making it happen. To register, and 

for great tips on hosting your own 

morning tea at home, work or in 

the community, or to find an 

event near you, visit . 

If you do host an event, send us 

a photo (with caption) to 

oddy@eftel.com.au. 

Take the leap 

Heard of extreme trampolining? It’s the new sport now taking off in Australia (not to 

mention the US and New Zealand, too). Australia’s first dedicated venue, Bounce Inc, 

opened in Melbourne in 2012, and is attracting everyone from kids to octogenarians to 

athletes (such as Melbourne Storm), whether for fun, training or rehab. 

It seems likely we’ll see similar venues springing up all over the country (Bounce Inc has two 

more planned), along with the more conventional 

trampolining centres that already exist. The health benefits of 

the sport are widely acknowledged, but so are the risks, so one 

advantage of visiting somewhere like Bounce Inc is the 

gymnasts employed to make sure you don’t bounce beyond 

your abilities. 

Tempted? See if extreme trampolining might suit you at 

– or explore YouTube to 

view truly hair-raising feats. 

What’s cookin’? 

One message common to the cooking programs, books 

and magazines that are currently bombarding us from 

every side is that seasonal fruit and vegetables are 

cheaper and tastier (and more nutritious). So what’s on 

the produce menu as we move into autumn? 

Apples and pears are, of course, at their new season’s 

best, while quinces and the more exotic persimmon are 

among other autumn starters in the fruit division. 

Among the vegetables to star are asparagus, eggplant 

and, perversely, spring onions. For a comprehensive list 

of when to cook what in Australia, visit 

. 

Check in for a health check 

Over a period of nine years from 2009/10, the federal government, working in partnership with the 

states, is investing around $300M in achieving ‘Healthy workers’ – not surprising, since healthy workers 

(employees AND employers) are more productive and engaged, benefiting personal, business and national 

bottom lines. The funding supports workplace programs targeting poor lifestyle habits, as well as other 

initiatives including the Healthy Worker Portal , an online treasure trove of 

tools and advice. 

One strategy adopted by increasing numbers of businesses keen to keep their workers fighting fit is free 

workplace health checks. These have proved lifesaving for some people by revealing previously 

undiagnosed conditions. So if your business offers health checks, be sure to sign up, as well as visit the 

Healthy Worker Portal for tips on brushing up your wellbeing. 

If you run your own business and would like to set up a workplace health program, click on 

‘Small Business’ on the portal’s menu bar; the ‘State and Territory Resources’ are very useful, too.

best foot forward - Association of Accounting Technicians

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