April 1st marks the start of the New Financial Year, which presents an excellent opportunity to evaluate your finances.
In the coming weeks, we’ll be discussing straightforward steps you can take in various aspects of your finances to help you get closer to achieving your goals.
Self-Employed or Business Owners
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Banks have started asking for Draft Accounts FY2023 (01/04/2022 – 31/03/2023).
These don’t need to be finalized by your accountant as of now. However, it’s a good idea for you to start making sure your accounts are as up-to-date as possible on your accounting software and provide this information to your accountant as soon as practical. -
The timelier the information, the more useful it is to make decisions.
The other advantage of getting your accounts done early is that you can use them to make practical decisions to analyze your business:-
Identify any cost escalations and determine whether they are reasonable for your business circumstances. If not, you can review how to reduce them.
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How has your revenue been impacted by the recent economic conditions? We’ve seen many small businesses take a significant hit to their profitability over the past year. Is this temporary, or a long-term concern? Is it consistent with the industry trends?
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Assess the risks facing your business, such as location or key-person risks, and explore ways to minimize them. You may also need to review your business insurance policies accordingly.
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Property Investors
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Interest Deductibility
Due to the denial of interest deductibility, only 50% of the interest can now be claimed. When this law was implemented, interest rates were below 3%, but they have since more than doubled. As an election year approaches, there may be some adjustments to these laws, but it’s not wise to rely on them. So, it’s crucial to carefully plan your cash flow. -
Consider the strategy for each property in your portfolio.
Are you planning on holding onto it for the long term, or are you waiting for the market to improve before selling? If you do decide to sell, are you planning on replacing it with another property, or something else entirely? -
Are you considering your next moves in your property strategy?
If so, we can help you evaluate your borrowing capacity and determine how your lending could be impacted by options such as refinancing with a new lender, obtaining additional financing for a project or purchase, or selling a property.
If you don’t have an accountant and would like business and tax advice – talk to us as we can introduce you to one of our trusted accounting partners.
