Is it Time to Rethink Your Business Goals?

by Mohimenul Islam SEO service provider

So, as the mid-year approaches and tax time sneaks up, now is the moment to take time aside from your daily grind and realign your business around sharp and solid planning. In fact, now is the time to consider a Virtual CFO in Sydney or elsewhere to go through the numbers in an insightful manner. The professional (yet carefully scoped and budgeted) advice of a Chief Financial Officer can add impressive new horizons to your strategic objectives, which goes beyond just getting your tax returns in.

1. Budget for the right expenses

Why not plan now to have you finances in a stronger position by the next tax season?

You can potentially make a complete shift or refocus to your resources, staffing, and operational goals right now because you still have the year ahead of you. You can mitigate and even prevent the impact of any tax audit penalties that may come your way. Once the first hint of tax season inevitably creeps up, you will realise how limited you are in regards to how much you can adapt your budget and financials.

So now’s the time to plan to have more funds over this year than you did over the last.

Is my business structure, financial and asset planning, and accounting realistic?
What budgeting and tax benchmarks do I need to set in place to maximise my financial and asset value from now, to tax time, and beyond?
How can I adapt my budget to focus on key strategic and operational areas that will ensure I meet my yearly benchmarks and targets?
Have I planned for rule changes, new benchmarks, and regulatory shifts (such as those toward R&D incentives)

These questions spark you into action. If it means setting up a meeting with a more broad-minded and intensive business advisor, then now is the time to start thinking ahead about that first meeting. It could get you ahead of the competition.

2. Review your operational strategy

You can do more with your business practically speaking for the rest of the year when you start planning as this financial year comes to a close Time waits for no one. It’s simple common sense. So why not adjust your operations to ensure your best laid plans come to fruition?

When exactly will I need to decide about these actions during the course of 2019 to make my benchmarks and targets feasible?
Do I have the right staff to implement my reviewed benchmarks for June and the end of the year?
Is it time to invest in additional resources, training, equipment, assets, or staff?

You will have to plan for a time once the direct pressures of tax time are past. But if you miss out on making adjustments now, any adjustments you do make later may not be significant enough to drastically impact your bottom line by tax time or the end of the next financial year.

3. Question your end-of-year objectives

You’ve got a great chance to make your end of year targets realistic yet ambitious. So now is the ideal time to ask yourself…

How likely am I to hit optimum sales targets and expectations by the end of 2019?
What are my realistic goals for the end of the year?
What benchmarks do I need to meet during the year to ensure I hit or exceed these targets?

Outsourcing a CFO to assess your operations and see if you are wasting resources on unwise plans is all the more pertinent when you have time to adjust and rectify.

4. Plan to Use New Software

You may wonder if you can stick to the traditional receipts, Excel and desktop application methods that have served you well in the past. But with new tech, you are behind the game, and this can cost you.

But there are good reasons for the shift to cloud, online, and application-based accounting systems, particularly in Australia.

Real-time monitoring and reporting relies on software. As more and more people are choosing to work remotely, while more and more small businesses are relying on remote and overseas labour, the virtual office is replacing the traditional, physical office. There is likewise a trend toward communicating by apps on phones, even at the expense of email.
Companies such as MYOB are no longer supporting the desktop versions of their applications. Measures such as Single Touch Payroll mean every time you pay your employees you need to make a digital record that meets regulatory stipulations.
Accounting software streamlines and encourages better communication with external accountants, tax accountants, auditors, and outsourced CFOs. Software-based automation is becoming the norm, not the exception.

It takes time to set up new software, much more so a new system. If you want to be better prepared to manage, for example, your EMDG submission, your documentation for a potential audit, or even simply your fringe benefit payments, you need to cohesively upgrade early to make the most of 2019.