How to have a Happy Financial New Year!  

The End of Financial Year is a big milestone for businesses around Australia. July 1st is fast approaching, and there’s a lot of extra reporting and actions to complete at the end of one financial year and the beginning of the new. However, a lot of businesses take the ostrich approach to tax time, burying their heads in the sand and pretending it’s not going to happen until the coyote is at the door.  

Reports 

There are the usual reports to be run, which you should already be running quite regularly. This time you need to adjust the dates and get the whole year.   

1. P&L Statement 

1. Balance Sheet 

1. General Ledger 

1. Accounts Receivable and Payable  

1. Payroll Summary  

Administration Tasks 

You should also be working to complete any outstanding administrative tasks.  

1. Reconciliation of all accounts  

1. Write off and review bad debts 

1. Finalise Payroll and STP Reporting  

1. Check Super contributions have completed and are correct  

1. Stock take  

1. Review assets and depreciation  

1. Ensure interest and fees are calculated and loan balances are correct 

Completing these tasks and recording your reporting stands you in good stead to prepare and plan for the new financial year. 

Bonus Questions for the Future 

We like a good CEO hour here at Northwest Accountancy (especially with cocktails), and in fact we have a special consultancy service for business owners to work one to one with Jodi to build their businesses. (But without cocktails. Usually.) CEO questions can help us to step out of the daily grind and give you a high-level overview of your business, and help you shape the next year’s efforts and focus. Some questions to ask are:  

Did your business do what you wanted it to do in this financial year?  

Every year, a business will grow, consolidate or stagnate. Focusing on growth or being aware of a need to consolidate are intentional steps towards building a business that can support you financially and mentally. Not every year will be an amazingly profitable year, and taking the time to consolidate can help create a stronger structure for the next phase of growth. Stagnation can look like no new growth, no new ideas, losing customers or only keeping the customers that do the bare minimum. Considering where you business is, and what needs to happen next, leads to other decisions such as pruning high-cost customers, focusing on lucrative opportunities, or even building new avenues of income.  

Did your business support you and your family financially?  

Did you earn the money you intended to earn? Was it enough? If not, why not? If yes, then how can you leverage this? Is it time for more staff, or a pay rise? Are you comfortable about your future, and your super? If it wasn’t enough money, how can we fix this? Increase pricing, cut costs, or change something somewhere? What time frame do those changes need before they will be effective?  

What expenses or income came in that was NOT expected? And should it be expected/prepared for?  

Sometimes we get income from unexpected places, and it can be surprisingly lucrative. Is this something you could build into your business? Or encourage in some way? A nice windfall can be the difference between a profitable month and just scraping by...  

Expenses that are a surprise mean two things; one is that your cashflow is upset, and the second is that you should learn from the experience. Does it need to be factored in? Will it happen again, and at what frequency?  

Last Question – Did my business support mental health?  

Did I spend more time working in the business or on the business? Am I happy with that balance? Does my family get enough time with me? Are my staff happy and operating with trust and engagement?  

What next?  

End of Financial year happens every 12 months, so if it feels like chaos and pain, it’s time to stop allowing this, and take the ten minutes a day to make life easy. The rewards are incredible, including the feeling of control and confidence that while tax time is extra work, you’ve got this!  

If you need help figuring it all out, we’re here for you! Drop Helen an email at [email protected] and let her know if you’d like some CEO guidance with Jodi, some Tax Planning consultation or more. We look forward to hearing from you!