Choosing An Accountant

Clarke McEwan Accountants

Looking to Change Accountants ? It's not just a numbers game.

Accountants have the power to change the lives of business owners, but most of them aim for average. We're here to change all that.

How many business owners do you know that actually say "I really like working with my accountant!"? They are out there – but more often than not, their accountant has done a shocking job at serving their customers' actual needs.

It's not a light decision to make the leap to another accountant, but if you've been meaning to change accountants for a while, make it your priority now!

We've put together some important questions that you should ask yourself when evaluating your current accountant, or choosing a new one.

Who does the accountant normally work with?

This is important to know: Are you a good fit to the accounting firm? Are they a good fit for you?

It's a two way street, and unfortunately most accounting firms will usually say "Yes" to anyone – whether they can provide them with value for their money or not.

Be sure you ask for leads within your industry, and even look at their marketing material. Don't try to be a square peg in a round hole!

What services does the accountant offer?

You need to make sure their experience and skill set matches the service that you're after.

Are you looking for business advice at an accounting firm that just pumps out tax returns? Do you need bookkeeping assistance?

In most cases, if the accounting firm cannot do what you're after, they will most likely work with someone who can. It's also best that if you need a second adviser, for an international tax matter for instance, that you keep your accountant in the loop, or let them manage the business relationship.

What does the accountant specialise in?

What is the one thing that the accountant would provide you over all other things?

Where is there best value to you as the customer? Look for statements like " we work with you, providing insight into your business and its numbers " rather than "we're really, really good at tax returns".

After all, any firm can churn out a tax return. Business acumen and advice is another matter.

How will the accountant charge me?

How do the dollars work? Do they charge in a way that rewards inefficiency, or do they charge for the value that they provide and the access to knowledge? It's not always what they can do, but rather what they know.

It's a different conversation and focus for both you and the accountant. The attention shifts from 'be quick to reduce the fee' to 'let's focus on where the value is'.

Some questions to pose might be:

  • What does the project or subscription include?
  • Do they price each job before they start, so you can both agree to the scope and terms?
  • Do they allow you to pay by the month to spread out the burden on cash flow?

Be sure to get a good understanding of the charges and how they work – it avoids unwanted surprises and you have clarity before moving forward.

What is the response time to my questions?

How quickly will you expect to hear back from your accountant, and who will answer that query? We regularly hear from new clients that a former accountant takes weeks to get back to them, or doesn't respond at all!

Response time is key number that we focus on – and we measure it in hours, live on our website or by return phone call the same day.

Make sure you ask for a clear understanding of how and how quickly your accountant will return your call or email.

How long does it take to get your work done?

"Turn-around time" is a common complaint heard when businesses are talking about their existing accountants.

If, after an honest look at how you provided information and followed up their queries, your accountant still takes months to finish your work without a valid reason, maybe it's time that you moved on.

What would your standards be if you ran a business that took that long?

This is one of the key numbers that we measure as the Clarke McEwan team – one that we see is important in the eyes of our clients.

What technology does the accountant use?

It's important to know how you'll be interacting with your accountant on a regular basis. It's all very well to throw ideas around on a whiteboard in the boardroom, but what about for the "in-between" times?

Do they use the internet, a website and technology to communicate with you or enhance web meetings to describe concepts and run scenarios?

Be sure that the technology they use makes sense to you.

How often does the accountant talk to you each year?

At Clarke McEwan, what we really love about working with our clients is that we get to learn about their business and their lives. Accountants can't do that if they only speak to you once or twice a year.

This is how an accountant will be able to provide you with real insights into your business. It's important that you understand how often you'll be in touch with your accountant, and that you're comfortable with this.

Is the accountant a member of an association?

It's best to choose an accountant that is part of an association. The three main associations in Australia are:

  • CPA Australia
  • Institute of Public Accountants Australia
  • The Institute of Chartered Accountants

All three have different levels of requirements to join, different membership levels – but all have a set of standards that members must adhere to. If you've got a problem with an accountant, you can usually take it to their association.

Can you have a coffee or a beer with them?

It's important that you can hold a conversation with your accountant, outside of your business. Ask whether they will meet you for a coffee to get acquainted.

By the way, John likes his coffee with a dash of milk.

Could your business survive without you?

By Clarke McEwan • September 17, 2025
Would your business still thrive, or would it suffer a catastrophic failure if you suddenly stepped away? It’s tough to remove yourself from the day-to-day operations when you’re passionate and busy. However sudden accidents, illnesses, or family emergencies can – and will – happen and you need to be able to step back knowing your systems are robust enough to cope. Build in resilience For your business to work for you, you need to make yourself replaceable. Large corporations have plans in place to mitigate what’s known as ‘Key Person Risk’. But when you run a small entrepreneurial venture, who is the backup?  The more you can train and empower your team to perform the business’s essential daily functions without micromanagement, the closer you'll be able to enjoy a lifestyle business. Establish repeatable and scalable support infrastructure to run the daily operations and create a great team that you can lean on. Your staff need a common purpose – knowing why what they’re doing matters – as well as clear expectations around their roles. By creating a suitable work environment, where employees both individually and as a team are more efficient and likely to enjoy what they do, you’ll breathe easier knowing they have your back (and your business) in an emergency. Finally, it’s important to know what the business looks like without you. An exit strategy is often thought of as the way to end a business — which it can be — but in best practice, it’s a plan that moves a business toward long-term goals and allows a smooth transition to a new phase. That may involve re-imagining business direction or leadership, keeping financially sustainable, or pivoting for challenges. A fully formed exit strategy takes all business stakeholders, finances and operations into account and details all actions necessary to sell or close. Strong plans recognise the true value of a business and provide a foundation for future goals and new directions. Top Tips: 1. No one is irreplaceable – Challenge yourself to step away for a week. Which systems fall over? Which procedures get left hanging? Which duties get ignored? Go cold turkey as a test case for the time you may have to leave your business in the hands of others. 2. Embrace innovation – Get systems that are simple, streamlined, effective and can be used by multiple key team members. Make sure anyone can log in and see exactly what’s needed for what reason at any time. 3.Recognise the value you’re creating - A business that doesn’t rely on its owner is worth a lot more when the time comes to sell or pass the reins to someone else. Talk to our team about structuring your business to make it more reliable.

Keeping your tax and expenses in check when you are self-employed

By Clarke McEwan • September 16, 2025
Working for yourself or running your own business? Setup robust systems for expenses & tax requirements so you can focus on your important tasks. We can help take the headaches out of your business accounting. #freelancelife #taxtalk #smallbusinesstips #contractors #medicalcontractor #businesscontractors #ABN

A win for those carrying student debt

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
20% reduction in student debt The reduction is expected to benefit more than 3 million Australians and remove over $16 billion in outstanding debt. The 20% reduction will be automatically applied to anyone with the following student loans: · HELP loans (eg, HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, STARTUP-HELP, SA-HELP, OS-HELP) · VET Student loans · Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans · Student Start-up Loans · Student Financial Supplement Scheme. The reduction will be based on the loan balance at 1 June 2025, before indexation was applied. Indexation will only apply to the reduced balance. The ATO will apply the reduction automatically on a retrospective basis and will adjust the indexation that is applied. No action is needed from those with a student loan balance and the Government has indicated that you will be notified once the reduction has been applied. If you had a HELP debt showing on your ATO account on 1 April 2025 but you paid the debt off after 1 June 2025 then the reduction will normally trigger a credit to your HELP account. If you don’t have any other outstanding tax or other debts to the Commonwealth, then the credit should be refunded to you. The HELP debt estimator is a useful tool to get an idea of the reduction amount, please reach out if you need any help in working out eligibility. Changes to repayments The Government has also modified the way that HELP and student loan repayments operate, primarily by increasing the amount that individuals can earn before they need to make repayments. The minimum repayment threshold for the 2025-26 year is being increased from $56,156 to $67,000. The threshold was $54,435 for the 2024-25 year. Under the new repayment system an individual will only need to make a compulsory repayment for the 2025-26 year if their income is above $67,000. The repayments will be calculated only against the portion of income that is above $67,000. Repayments will still be made through the tax system and will typically be determined when tax returns are lodged with the ATO. For many people the change in the rules will mean they have more disposable income in the short term, but it will take longer to pay off student loans. The main exception to this will be when an individual chooses to make voluntary repayments.

Creating a more dynamic and resilient economy

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
The Productivity Commission (PC) has been tasked by the Australian Government to conduct an inquiry into creating a more dynamic and resilient economy. The PC was asked to identify priority reforms and develop actionable recommendations. The PC has now released its interim report which presents some draft recommendations that are focused on two key areas: · Corporate tax reform to spur business investment · Where efficiencies could be made in the regulatory space (ie, cutting down on red tape) The interim report makes some interesting observations and key features of the draft recommendations are summarised below. Corporate tax reform The PC notes that business investment has fallen notably over the past decade and that the corporate tax system has a significant part to play in addressing this. The PC is basically suggesting that the existing corporate tax system needs to be updated to move towards a more efficient mix of taxes. The first stage of this process would involve two linked components: · Lower tax rate: businesses earning under $1 billion could have their tax rate reduced to 20%, with larger businesses still subject to a 30% rate. · New cashflow tax: a net cashflow tax of 5% should be applied to company profits. Under this system, companies would be able to fully deduct capital expenditure in the year it is incurred, encouraging investment and helping to produce a more dynamic and resilient economy. However, the new tax is expected to create an increased tax burden for companies earning over $1 billion. Cutting down on red tape The interim report notes that businesses have reported spending more time on regulatory compliance – this probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most business owners who have been forced to deal with multiple layers of government regulation. Some real world examples include windfarm approvals taking up to nine years in NSW while starting a café in Brisbane could involve up to 31 separate regulatory steps. The proposed fixes include: · The Australian Government adopting a whole-of-government statement committing to new principles and processes to drive regulation that supports economic dynamism. · Regulation should be scrutinised to ensure that its impact on growth and dynamism is more fully considered. · Public servants should be subject to enhanced expectations, making them accountable for delivering growth, competition and innovation. These are simply draft recommendations contained in an interim report so we are a long way from any of these recommendations being implemented. However, the interim report provides some insight into areas where the Government might look to make some changes to boost productivity in Australia. The PC is inviting feedback up until 15 September on the interim report before finalising its recommendations later this year.

Non-compete clauses: the next stage

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
Back in March this year the Government announced its intention to ban non-compete clauses for low and middle-income employees and consult on the use of non-compete clauses for those on higher incomes. The Government has indicated that the reforms in this area will take effect from 2027. This didn’t come as a complete surprise as the Competition Review had already published an issues paper on the topic and the PC had also issued a report indicating that limiting the use of unreasonable restraint of trade clauses would have a material impact on wages for workers. Treasury has since issued a consultation paper, seeking feedback in the following key areas: · How the proposed ban on non-compete clauses should be implemented; · Whether additional reforms are required to the use of post-employment restraints, including for high-income employees; · Whether changes are needed to clarify how restrictions on concurrent employment should apply to part-time or casual employees; and · Details necessary to implement the proposed ban on no-poach and wage-fixing agreements in the Competition and Consumer Act. Treasury makes it clear that the Government is not planning to change the way the rules apply to restraints of trade outside employment arrangements (eg, on sale of a business) or change the use of confidentiality clauses in employment. If the proposed reforms end up being implemented, then this could have a direct impact on a range of employers and their workers. Existing agreements will need to be reviewed and potentially updated. However, it is too early at the moment to guess how this will end up, we will keep you up to date as further information becomes available.

Superannuation guarantee: due dates and considerations for employees and employers

By Clarke McEwan • September 9, 2025
On 1 July 2025 the superannuation guarantee rate increased to 12% which is the final stage of a series of previously legislated increases. Employers currently need to make superannuation guarantee (SG) contributions for their employees by 28 days after the end of each quarter (28 October, 28 January, 28 April and 28 July). There is an extra day’s allowance when these dates fall on a public holiday. To comply with these rules the contribution must be in the employee’s superannuation fund on or before this date, unless the employer is using the ATO small business superannuation clearing house (SBSCH). The ATO has been applying considerable compliance resources in this space in recent years which can have an impact on both employees and employers. Employers To be eligible to claim a tax deduction on SG contributions the quarterly amount must be in the employee’s super account on or before the above quarterly due dates. The only exception to this is where the employer is using the ATO SBSCH. In that case a contribution is considered made provided it has been received by the SBSCH on or before the due date. Employers using commercial clearing houses should be mindful of turnaround times. Commercial clearing houses collect and distribute employee contributions and may be linked to accounting / payroll software or provided by some superannuation platforms. Anecdotally it seems that turnaround times for some clearing houses could be up to 14 days, so it is recommended that employers allow sufficient time before the quarterly deadlines when processing their employee SG contributions. If these deadlines are missed (yes even by a day!) that will trigger a superannuation guarantee charge (SGC) requirement which will result in a loss of the tax deduction and other penalties. The SGC requirements are outlined in the ATO link below: The super guarantee charge | Australian Taxation Office Employers do have the option to make SG payments more frequently than quarterly and this is something that employers will need to become used to if the proposed ‘payday’ superannuation reforms become law. This change is proposed to commence from 1 July 2026 and would require SG to be paid at the same frequency as salary or wages. There is some discussion on the payday super proposal at this link (noting that this is not yet law). The SBSCH will close at this time so employers using this service should start to consider transitioning to a commercial clearing house, please let us know you would like assistance with this. Employees It is recommended that you regularly check your superannuation fund statements and reconcile employer contributions to the amounts listed on your pay slips. Where SG contributions are not received on time (or at all!) employees are encouraged to discuss this first with their employer. Should this not result in a satisfactory conclusion, employees can consider bringing this to the attention of the ATO. There is some helpful discussion on this process at the following link .
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