End Of Year Tips

Preparing for the End of the Financial Year

Throughout the year hopefully you will be undertaking regular tasks to ensure your financial statements are up-to-date. However, we know that small business owners like yourself are often busy “doing” and you may have difficulty finding time to be prepared for the end of the financial year.

Yes, the end of financial year can be a stressful time—and more so if you have left it to the last minute—but with careful planning, even setting a schedule, it is possible to reduce the stress and lessen the impact of 30 June. It will also allow time to focus on planning for the next year.

Up to 30 June

At the end of June you (and every business owner) will be facing end of financial year tasks, and you also need to complete your final Business Activity Statement (BAS) for the year. Towards the end of the year, you will be hearing from us to assist you to prepare for the end of the financial year.

To reduce the stress of preparing for the end of the financial year, we suggest that you prepare monthly reconciliations of your:

• Bank accounts
• Receivables
• Payables
• Inventory

This will assist in the completion your quarterly or annual BAS statements.

At the same time as completing your BAS statements, you should also reconcile your payroll. In July, you will need to generate payment summaries and distribute them to your employees before 14 July each year (some exceptions apply for “closely held entities” – speak to your PCS Client Manager if you’re not sure). Regular reconciliations will make the end of financial year process less daunting, if you are not able to complete this work yourself, we will be able to assist you.

Remember to backup all your data for your record-keeping requirements regularly and don't forget ... the ATO requires that you keep copies of your accounting records for at least five years, so when you backup at the end of the financial year, make sure that you keep that backup for the required period.

Realistic Planning for the Next Financial Year

Even though your focus is on the current year, the next financial year will present an opportunity to implement new work practices to set your business up to work smarter. Making improvements to your work processes as you identify the need will ensure that preparing for next end of financial year will be less stressful.

Generating new business and maintaining existing customers is a common concern for business owners. Planning for the end of financial year should allow more time for this.

Some areas to consider improving your work processes to make the end of financial year easier include:

• Business planning and goal setting
• Budgeting and setting realistic financial goals.

With the global economic downturn, virtually every business felt some impact. The March 2009 MYOB Small Business Survey revealed that a significant 78 percent of small business owners surveyed did not speak to their accountant about developing a plan or strategy to ensure their business survived through what was a potential economic recession.

Remember… we are here to help you, not only with your tax, but with your business planning and ensuring your business is running as efficiently as possible.

We would be happy to discuss the opportunities you have in your business and explain how our advice and assistance can deliver a significant return on your investment.

Business Planning – Where do I Start? (READ MORE….)

Remember …

• If you’re behind with your record keeping, start your catch-up right now.
• Business planning is important, talk to your PCS client manager and think broadly about your business, its industry and opportunities for growth.

Setting New Financial Year Resolutions

Now is the time to evaluate the new financial year resolutions that you made in July. Make sure they have provided a real payback - in time saved, reduced stress, or money in your pocket.

Have you:

• Committed to a business plan?
• Reviewed the business plan regularly (e.g. every quarter)?
• Booked in for quarterly planning and review meetings with PCS? We won’t just discuss your accounts – we’ll talk about where you want your business to go and how you can get there, business planning, etc.
• Developed a budget and are measuring performance against it?
• Improved work practices (for example, improved your debtor management)?

If you would like to discuss how PCS can help you with your planning for the coming financial year and beyond, contact your PCS Client Manager on 07 3209 4452 or call or email our Client Services Administrator (mailto:info@pcsqld.com.au) to arrange for one of our team to come out and talk with you.