Business and Finance

Ernst & Young (EY) hosted a webcast on Tuesday February 26th titled Financial Crime which discussed the importance of effective Transaction Monitoring (TM) as well as TM system implementation. If you were unable to listen to the webcast, we have summarised the key points from the webcast below. EY Transaction Monitoring survey The EY TM survey found large Financial Institutions follow a common journey as the Anti-money laundering (AML) TM capability evolves over time. This journey typically has two big cost humps and a long cycle of efficiency, broken up into six stages: 1. Introducing and AML TM solution, 2. Stabilisation...

Using the PPSA to Protect your Business Many businesses believe the PPSA to be an onerous obligation, only relevant if you hire out equipment, completely missing the very significant benefits the PPSA provides for any business selling goods on credit. One of its principal goals is to help protect you from the insolvency of your customers. It doesn’t matter what you sell, the PPSA is here to help you.  A simple rule of thumb – if you have retention of title (ROT) in your terms of trade you should be complying with the PPSA.  If you don’t, you should now...

Finance Solutions for Energy Efficient Assets Have you ever thought of investing in solar PV and energy efficient assets but thought there is too much cost involved and you just can’t fathom getting started? The good news is there are finance solutions available which allow you to acquire these types of assets sooner rather than later. Any purchase of energy efficient assets over $10,000 is eligible for asset finance and you can either use the finance to rent or purchase the assets. How financing energy efficient assets can assist you: Improve cash flow by avoiding large upfront costs and rather...

How to Better Manage and Reduce your Taxation Debt If you are in the unfortunate position of not being able to meet your ATO liabilities as and when they fall due, you need to be very careful about how you deal with this situation. One option is to seek finance from a specialist lender to cover your obligations. The benefit of this is that the ATO doesn’t become a potentially vexatious creditor whose presence in your creditors listing will generally trigger default with your bank or other lenders. Alternatively, you can enter into a repayment arrangement with the ATO. Whilst...

Whilst financial markets have been through a lot of changes in recent years (banks in particular) and there is more to come, it is good to know that some things never change. One lending covenant, or financial covenant, which has regained favour in recent years is the old question “how much debt should I have relative to my cash flow?”. This is known as Gross Leverage Ratio. Gross Leverage Ratio formula Total Debt ÷ Rolling 12 months EBITDA Total debt includes all external/bank term debt facilities. EBITDA = earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. As a rule of thumb,...

If you ever have the misfortune to be sued for non-payment of an invoice/debt, it is really important to know what steps to take to allow you to remove reference to the court proceedings from your credit record when the matter is resolved. Ledge Solicitor’s Price Sierakowski have recently spoken to us about the difference between having an action dismissed or discontinued. There is a world of difference between the two as you will see below: Credit reporting agencies will generally erase all mention of an action if the action has been dismissed.  This is not an automatic process and...

How do you define value? What value do you provide for those who purchase your products or services? These are questions that many business owners are unable to answer, and yet having the capability to add value is one of the most important factors in business. Let’s take purchasing your morning coffee for example… You go to a particular café most days but today the café that just opened up next door catches your eye, so you decide to give it a go. What harm can it do, right? Your coffee usually takes a while because everyone has the same...