Carbon Tax Impacts Make Accountants Worry

According to the results of a survey of accountants, the Australian small business owners’ financial performance will be negatively impacted by the introduction of a carbon tax.

Data from a survey conducted by the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) shows that 70 percent of the respondents are worried about the financial performance of their small business clients as they believe that their small business would be negatively affected while 66 percent believe that enough consideration about how the tax will impact SMBs have been provided.

IPA chief executive, Andrew Conway, commented on the survey that IPA members were trusted advisers to the Australian small business community. Furthermore, he believed that the perceived bleak outlook for the small and medium business sector over the next 12 months is very alarming for them.

Moreover, Conway said that regardless of the Government statement, that only top polluters will be impacted with the introduction of the carbon tax, it seems that the government has not considered the interests of small businesses.

According to the IPA survey, data shows that 66 per cent of respondents believed that not enough consideration have been given to how the carbon tax would impact small business, while 67 per cent believed that insufficient information have been provided to small business over how the carbon tax might affect them.

The IPA survey comes just days after the Australian Retailers Association released its carbon tax survey. The ARA survey shows that 83 percent of retailers believe that the carbon tax will impact the consumers in a way that they will spend less while 85 percent believed that profitability will be negatively impacted.

High Public Opposition

The carbon tax issue shows a high public opposition and is growing with 60 percent of voters – up 3 percent since last month – against the tax. The figure is slightly under Americans’ disapproval of a carbon tax that was at 70 percent last year.

Likewise, Australia’s mining, energy, agriculture and food industry groups are worried about an expected increase in their expenditures.

Source: Carbon tax to hurt small business: IPA | Dynamic Business »

Accountants Wanted - More Accounting Job Opportunities in Australia

The fraternity of accountants is blooming. This is despite the lingering uncertainties over the domestic economy and the worries over the status of the global economy.

Sentiment among finance, accounting, and banking professionals is high according to the research done by recruitment firm, Robert Half. According to the said research, 88 per cent of employers are confident about their company’s growth prospects for the next year.

Due to investment in new projects, the employees of companies are already feeling the buzz as two-thirds of their workload had gone up as compared to the same time last year.

The workloads of around 43 per cent of staff from the 1678 respondents had risen according to Robert Half’s research. This is due to the growth experienced by the companies; however, staffing levels have remained.

It is stated by a third of the employees that their workload had increased.

“It is great to see so much optimism and business growth in the market,” said Andrew Brushfield, Director of Robert Half, as the firm released its latest Financial Employment Report last week (July 28).

“However, if employers are taking on new projects and planning for growth, it is crucial that they pay close attention to their staff levels, to ensure that they have adequate resources in place,” he added.

Among the companies that are looking to hire more accountants, two-thirds are hiring for finance, accounting, and banking staff at an entry or junior level. Meanwhile, nearly half are going to hire middle-level staff while eight per cent will be hiring at a senior level.

“Given that business confidence is so high, companies need to make sure that they are ready for growth, and recruitment planning is a big part of this. More than half of finance, accounting and banking employers tell us that it is currently taking them over six weeks to fill mid-level positions, so employers also need to pre-empt future growth to ensure they are not caught short,” said Mr. Brushfield.

According to the Department of Education, Employment, and Workplace Relations, engineers were the most difficult to find since only 41 per cent of vacancies were filled in 2010 and 2011. Accountants and school teachers have filled positions at above 80 per cent.

Source: Perth Now »

Accounting is Inevitably Changing

The technology sessions at the recent AICPA Practitioners Symposium and Tech+ Conference in Las Vegas has raised one important lesson. That is the manner by which the accountant handles the business could mean the difference between staying in business and retaining clients or being lagged behind the competition and eventually closing the business for good.

However, no one can also put the blame on accountants for the slow response to change. The question here is not really with when they will accept the next wave of change, or if they ever will accept this change. It is how far lagged we will be when this happens.

Do cloud and mobile technologies really provide the answers for most firms?

The answer of AICPA is YES. Though, it has made no statements as to where the profession needs to go. If doubts of this notion arise, then the answer is nowhere else but in the statements and actions of the marketing arm, CPA2Biz, and its president.

The most obvious signal for the expression of the AICPA’s desire to make accountants embrace technology for their own benefits is the combining of Prac and Tech for the second year in a row. But if this is still not enough sign, then the message was drove home by the keynote address of AICPA President and CEO, Barry Melancon.

“We are facing a situation today where technology that relates to the profession and ensures the profession survives is coming to light. It is the most significant technological time since the microcomputer,” Melancon said. “Cloud computing is a fundamental circling back in the client accounting world as cost structure and profitability is changing. Mobile computing is going to change the way we do accounting and interact with our clients,” he added.

Other points that add to the statement of Melancon were those discussed in the information sessions. There were the usual representation of showcases of vendors including the general “how to” sessions. Cloud and mobile technologies were also looked at and how these practices may be improved.

There is already pressure on accountants to change. They however still need more evidence of the direct benefits. A frustration expressed by an attendee in the session entitled, “Create New Sources of Revenue with Cloud-based Accounting Applications”. He loudly said that “all I’m hearing is the cloud is here, and you are an idiot if you are not there. Where’s the ROI?”

Source: Information Management »