Jan 13, 2015 | Articles, Corporate & Commercial, Estate Planning & Superannuation, News
Welcome to 2015! How lucky we are to have the chance to try, yet again, to create a life that we want to live, with what we have been given. Perhaps it is a case of finding clarity in the cloud of confusion that is everyday life. This time of year, we attempt to make strong resolutions about how we will do things differently and yet it can come unstuck so very easily. I thought I would share a few of my New Year musings: Learn from last years’ mistakes; Be more careful in my decisions; Take the positive approach; Try harder at everything I do; Be kinder and more patient; Drink more tea and less alcohol. Well I seem to have busted number one already which means I failed in taking a more moderate approach to work and life. This is the human condition, but strive we must. I wanted to say something more about planning leading to greater success. Prepare a checklist, tick the boxes and TRAIN, TRAIN, TRAIN! Perhaps it is more like Zen and the Art of Motor Cycle Maintenance, which I have been reading. It is not the endpoint result that counts, it is the way the journey is travelled that is important. Either way, the best you can do is to give it your best shot. My other New Year points are: Make sure you get your legal things in order just in case; Review the important contracts in your life such as insurance, super and investments; Make a personal and business plan including a holiday as a reward; Keep your body moving...
Dec 15, 2014 | Corporate & Commercial, Estate Planning & Superannuation, Intellectual Property, Technology & Communications, News, Property
Apart from wishing everybody an early Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year, we would like to take this opportunity to invite you to complete a short survey. We think that it is more important than ever that we canvas your views on the types of services that you want and your attitude to risk and value. Even though we have a detailed knowledge in the law, it is the specific tailoring of your requirements within that framework that we really want to target. As an example, we have moved far more towards a fixed fee for a set list of deliverable items as a scope of work. This makes it easier for us to identify the limits of the instruction and for our clients to understand exactly what it is they can achieve as an outcome. Ask us about our fixed fee client agreement and please complete the below survey which should really only take about two minutes of your time. Note that the first four surveys will get a free bottle of French champagne as a bonus. Thanks very much, we look forward to the opportunity to act of your behalf. Please take the time to complete our survey below, we would love to hear from you https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CrillySurvey...
Dec 8, 2014 | Corporate & Commercial, Intellectual Property, Technology & Communications
This is probably the area that has been of greatest interest to us this year. The notion of “digital assets” as part of a personal estate or business assets has become very significant. Most older documents do not deal with these specific rights, whether they be password access to key accounts, saving of data or documents or photos within the cloud, or the administration of those rights should a person die or become disabled. In addition, we think that is now more critical than ever for clients in their business to register and preserve their good will trading name by way of trade mark and domain name. given the substantial increase in online trading activity these assets take on far greater significance in the ultimate sale of a business as part of an exit strategy than ever before. Ask us how to quickly and easily register a trade mark in your circumstances. In terms of changes to technology, we all sign up far too easily to terms and conditions of use of software whether it is online or as a subscriber elsewhere. The full impact of accepting those terms and conditions really need to be understood in the context of a change in the business, particularly if there is the introduction of new stakeholders. Ask us how to review those terms and conditions and do a risk analyst of the security aspects of your data, as we see this is the key area of the future for business to identify and protect...
Dec 7, 2014 | Corporate & Commercial, Property
It is amazing to see how the tax and stamp duty implications of a proposed transaction change the outcome for clients. We have done a lot of work in conjunction with some strategic accounting firms in structuring a business or a transaction for a change in ownership in a way that optimises the interests of all parties. The key point here is to have the original plan in an open discussion with a strategic advice to identify potential options open to the parties, before they sign any transaction documents. Enormous financial benefit can be achieved both in the short and the long term if clients stop and explore these options first. We are constantly amazed at the potential advantages that clients can achieve by just taking the time to consider alternatives to a proposed transaction and their individual tax circumstances. If you are thinking of a change of ownership or structure in your business, make sure you give us a call first in plenty of time so that the revenue aspects are...
Dec 6, 2014 | Corporate & Commercial, Intellectual Property, Technology & Communications
We note there has been a significant change to franchising regulations and legislation this year and we would urge all clients to avail themselves of a review of their documentation in that regard. The privacy act and regulations are of major interest to those clients who have a turnover of $3million or more, or expect to do so in the near future. Given that most small to medium enterprises are driven by collection and management of data, it will be a bigger concern for business owners in the future. Ask us how we can assist you with an assessment of disclosure and authority under the privacy act to ensure that your business complies now and in the future. We also urge clients to consider very carefully the commercial trading terms and conditions. This might be as varied as the services contract with customers or your end user license terms if you provide services online. We always urge clients to consider the warranty and liability clauses that might apply in the extent of which they are covered by insurance. It is certainly worth a one hour review to keep pace with changes in technology. We also urge clients to review their advertising and marketing procedures for their business to ensure that they comply with the competition and consumer legislation. Again it is often just a simple one hour review that can identify major issues that could be easily rectified by change in...
Dec 5, 2014 | Estate Planning & Superannuation
The superannuation legislation and regulations continue to evolve as successive governments tinker with the frame works. It is critical in our view that the accountant, the superannuation advisor and a lawyer work openly and in conjunction to ensure that the interests of the client are protected. The fines for non-compliance have drastically increased and it is very clear that self-managed super funds are firmly in the line of fire for the tax office to review and audit. Given our experience we urge a high level of caution in any transaction to ensure that compliance is met and your rights are protected. This is even more so where clients are purchasing property in their SMSF using a bare trust arrangement for a component of borrowing. More often than not our role is restricted in effecting the property transfer, however it is far better to have a robust and open discussion prior to entering into the contractual documentation to ensure all aspects are covered. By reverse checklisting the auditors requirements prior to signing of documents, clients can better insulate themselves against a breach of regulation at a later time. Ask us how to run through that checklist of issues before you sign a property...
