It’s official, increasing interest rates are starting to ‘hurt’.  While it seems a little perverse that the Reserve Bank’s solution to prices rising too quickly is to raise the price of something, it does appear to be having the intended effect with inflation beginning to fall.  Obviously, inflation falling is good news, but how do […]

It is often the case that our greatest strength can also be our greatest weakness.  This is true in our personal lives as well as business.  One of the great things about small businesses is the number-8 wire mentality of just getting the job done.  But the flipside is that we aren’t always all that […]

It’s finally here! It’s official.  June saw the feared ‘R’ word go from a prediction to reality, NZ is officially in recession.  Which is hardly surprising considering it has been forecast for what feels like an eternity. As a brief recap, this is how we find ourselves with a Reserve Bank actively trying to push […]

The tax man is coming After a few quiet years of cutting a lot of slack during Covid, IRD have now found another gear. They are ramping up both on the ‘recover’ side by chasing outstanding tax debt, and on the ‘compliance’ side by taking a more proactive stance on investigations. Particularly with recovery, it was […]

As another day passes, it seems that there is yet more doom and gloom in the economy.  It’s hard to avoid hearing about businesses doing it tough. And more bad news begets more bad news. It’s like we’ve got compounding bad news! But, historically speaking, how tough are we really doing? Well colour me shocked, […]

What a tumultuous financial year the 2023 year was. 2024 looks like it might be more of the same. NZ continues to have elevated inflation, higher (although historically pretty reasonable) interest rates, reducing property prices, trimmed milk price forecast, shortage of labour, excess demand, and a plethora of other factors determining how the year will […]

Self-employed or a shareholder taking drawings? Chances are that you’ve got ACC’s default cover in place. If you’re unlucky enough to suffer an injury that means you can’t work for a period of time, you would get to find just how difficult it is being self-employed or a shareholder taking drawings and having to claim […]

It’s been more than a tad wet for much of the North Island. The flooding in many parts of the Island have been catastrophic. Our thoughts are with those who have been affected. As the flood waters recede, talk turns to what caused the disaster and what could be done in the future to prevent […]

It’s been a rough start to the year. And for many, this latest disaster is far from over. If you have been affected, our thoughts are with you. Businesses aren’t immune from the effects. We know that this will be a stressful time for many business owners, and there will be some difficult decisions that […]

Wet weather Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the recent flooding, its scale was both dramatic and terrifying. At the time of writing, it appears that it may not be over as more rain is forecast. If you or your business has been affected by the flooding, the first priority is […]