directions

WELCOME TO OUR HOLIDAY ISSUE OF PILOT DIRECTIONS

PAGE 2

Introducing Daniel Gill

Draft Legislation Reveals Shades of Grey for Not-For-Profits

Protecting Our Clients Against the Cost of ATO Audits and Investigations

PAGE 3

Client Spotlight – Flight Experience

How Will the Changes to the Personal Property Securities Act A!ect Your Business?

PAGE 4

Director Liability for Unpaid Super on Hold

Welcome to the Team!

Pilot’s Cadet Program

Promotions and Designations

Congratulations

Pilot in the Community

As the year comes to a close we have to look back

and say – what a year it has been! Queensland

had a disastrous start to the year however as

2011 draws to a close we are seeing signs of

recovery in our local economy. Within our Pilot

client base we have observed an increase in

demand for Queensland-based goods and

services however some flood-affected

businesses are still in recovery mode.

With the local economy not free

from the impacts of the GFC and

the floods we see that 2012 may

continue to be quite challenging.

In this issue we have several

exciting announcements to

make. For those who may not

have seen our notices in the

Courier Mail and Financial Review,

I am very proud to announce

the recent appointment of

Daniel Gill as Partner in the

firm’s Corporate Advisory and

Assurance Division. Daniel brings

to the partnership extensive

experience in his field of

expertise as well as an effective

insight into the operations of our

client’s businesses. Please take

a moment to learn more about

Daniel on the following page.

Welcome to the Christmas edition of Pilot

Directions, our newsletter that provides news,

industry alerts and staff updates.

We are also very proud to introduce our new

Business Performance Indicator (BPI). The value-

add strategic business planning tool reviews the

financial and non-financial areas of our clients’

businesses. We have already started work with

some of our clients on implementing BPI with

positive results.

Lastly, after 10 years in our current premises,

Pilot will be relocating to Waterfront

Place, 1 Eagle St Brisbane in April 2012.

Due to our growth in the past few

years we no longer have sufficient

space in our current location. By

moving to Waterfront Place we

will be able to continue to keep

all our staff on one level thus

helping to maintain our strong

team culture and operational

efficiencies.

On behalf of the team at Pilot,

we wish you a merry Christmas

and a safe and prosperous new

year.

We look forward to working

with you again in 2012!

BRIAN MCDONALD

MANAGING PARTNER

At Pilot we are always looking for new ways

to increase cash flow and develop growth

strategies for our clients businesses.

As a part of our e!orts we are introducing the

Business Performance Indictor (BPI). This service

reviews the health of a business by analysing and

testing the financial and non –financial areas of the

business. BPI can be implemented to:

Enhance your business performance

Improve your cash flow

Set KPIs and monitor trends

Ensure that your business is complying with bank

loan covenants

Assist with bank finance approval

Develop budgets for your business

Plan future directions through goal seeking analysis

Benchmark your business with like businesses

Assist with identifying potential sale or purchase

opportunities

Evaluate new markets

Based on our findings the Business Advisory team will

work closely with you to develop the right strategies

to guide your business towards success.

Should you wish to know more about the

Business Performance Indicator, please contact

Allan Godbee or your Pilot representative on

(07) 3023 1300.

goods and

fected

mode.

Daniel on

PILOTPARTNERS.COM.AU 1

Our New Year’s Resolution –

Grow Your Business!

Daniel Gill was appointed as a Partner in the Corporate Advisory and Assurance

Division in July 2011. We outline below an interview with Daniel which gives you a

little insight into Pilot’s newest Partner.

How do you help clients?

I deliver high quality audit services by working with clients to make sure they successfully

identify, monitor and mitigate risk. I always try to offer clients advice that is practical and

commercial and also ensures that the risks and compliance issues are properly addressed.

What is your focus?

My focus is on delivering audit and assurance services. In addition, as an expert in financial

reporting I advise on complex transactions, which ensure optimal solutions for achieving

compliance with accounting standards and law.

What do you enjoy most about being an Accountant?

I enjoy the great variety of people and organisations. I love meeting, working with and helping

people with their business challenges.

What do you think makes Pilot different from other accounting firms?

The people. It follows on from my answer above. At Pilot we genuinely seek to help clients

maximise their business and personal goals. We offer clients direct access to the Partners.

Pilot’s Daniel Gill recently landed single-handedly and safely a Boeing 737 at

Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak airport at night and in a thunderstorm ...

This took place in the flight simulator at Flight Experience in Newstead. Flight

Experience is an owner-managed franchisee business run by Captain Todd Mickleson.

The business offers a wide range of flight simulator and training experiences for both

pilots and the general public. They also cater for all types of corporate training and

functions.

In the current economic climate, any business with a retail offering faces many

challenges. Pilot is consulting to Todd by providing guidance on his strategic plan for

his business and advice on his tax affairs and financing needs so that he can better

address his challenges and maximise his opportunities.

Pilot is once again proving itself to be the preferred advisor to owner-managed

businesses and showing them that the sky is the limit!

The 2011 Federal budget proposed reforms

pertaining to the not-for-profit (“NFP”) sector.

The reforms aim to ensure the tax concessions

provided to NFPs are only applied to activities that

directly further a NFP’s altruistic purposes. Despite

draft legislation regarding these changes being

released the definitions of NFPs commercial and

altruistic purposes are still not clearly defined.

EXISTING NFP TAXATION CONCESSIONS

The Government currently supports the NFP

sector by providing various taxation concessions

which include:

Income tax and capital gains exemptions;

Fringe benefit tax exemptions and rebate;

Goods and services tax concessions; and

Deductible gift recipient status.

The Personal Property Securities Act 2009

(PPSA) is set to make radical changes to the

registration of legal interests in personal property.

Failure to register or understand the changes

could place the assets of your business at risk.

The PPSA which was to take effect on 31 October,

2011 has how been postponed to at least 31

January, 2012.

Currently, there are more than 70 Commonwealth,

State and Territory Acts and more than 40

registers that rule on security interest in personal

property. This new reform will achieve greater

consistency and transparency and thus, reduce

legal disputes.

We are witnessing an alarming trend with an

increasing number of clients being contacted

by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or other

government agencies and subjected to random

audits, reviews or investigations.

At the end of June 2011, the ATO confirmed they

have planned a 25 per cent increase in audits of

the 2.8 million organisations with sales under $2

million.

There are dozens of scenarios that may trigger an

ATO audit and just because you are certain that

you are doing the right thing in your business or

Self Managed Super Fund, you may not be immune

to ATO scrutiny.

To protect our clients from these potential costs,

we offer the opportunity for you to participate

in our Audit Shield Service. This service provides

a low cost, set fee solution that means any

ATO audit related work we need to do for you is

covered (up to a prescribed limit).

If you would like further information in regards

to Audit Shield Service, please contact Jason

Bayliss from our Business Advisory Division on

(07) 3023 1300 or

jbayliss@pilotpartners.com.au.

The NFP reforms do not seek to remove these

taxation concessions. However, the proposed

changes will limit the activities conducted

by NFPs to which the tax concessions can be

applied.

This means NFP entities will pay income tax

on profits from their unrelated commercial

activities that are not directly linked to their

altruistic purpose.

WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT?

We have observed a substantial increase in

audits of NFPs by the ATO in recent years. In

these audits the ATO have been cracking down

on commercial activities that are not linked to

the NFP’s core purposes.

With the draft legislation still not clearly defining

the parameters as to where the commercial

activity stops and the altruistic activities begin

we recommend that NFPs continue to exercise

caution in this area.

For more information contact Murray Howlett

from our Tax Consulting Division

on (07) 3023 1300 or

mhowlett@pilotpartners.com.au.

DRAFT LEGISLATION REVEALS SHADES OF GREY FOR NOT-FOR-PROFITS

HOW WILL THE CHANGES TO THE PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES ACT AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS?

There will now be a single national PPSA Register

that will be accessible online. It will enable users to

create a registration, search for existing security

interests, make amendments to a registration and

create and maintain account details.

The term “personal property” is a very broad

term and applies to all property, other than land,

fixtures and water rights. Personal property

covers tangibles such as goods, livestock, crops,

equipment and motor vehicles and intangibles like

trademarks, IP and other contractual rights.

If the PPSA applies to you, the changes will

fundamentally affect the way your business will

operate. Should you supply goods by sale, lease,

hire or bailment or provide finance on conditional

sale contracts, you run the risk of suffering

substantial losses if your interests are not

recorded on the PPSA Register.

Under the new PPSA, your security interest must

be noted on the Register, otherwise title alone will

not determine that you can reclaim or repossess

your goods in the event of a default by a customer

or client. Without registration, there is the risk

your claim over goods will be exceeded by another

party, such as a bank or liquidator, whose interest

would take priority.

The Register also enables you to check ownership

and charges over goods before making a purchase.

As more assets are able to be registered, there is

also likely to be more opportunities of obtaining

finance.

A further advantage of your interest being on

the PPSA Register is that you will be entitled to a

“super priority” – also known as a Purchase Money

Security Interest (PMSI) – over other creditors and

other registered or unregistered parties. You will

have a right to trace your interest in the proceeds

of sale of your goods. Importantly, you will be able

to defeat claims by liquidators and receivers of the

customer who would otherwise be able to sell your

goods and leave you as an unsecured creditor.

If the new laws are applicable to your business

and you wish to secure your interest in property,

you must ensure you have a documented security

agreement in place with your customers. We

recommend that your customer or debtor agree

to the new trading terms in writing, which can be

achieved by them signing the amended trading

terms.

For more information go to our website and

review our PPSA FAQs or alternatively, contact

Nigel Markey from our Business Performance

and Recovery Division on (07) 3023 1300 or

nmarkey@pilotpartners.com.au.

32PILOTPARTNERS.COM.AU PILOTPARTNERS.COM.AU

Pilot’s newest Partner Daniel Gill gets ready for takeoffwith Todd Mickleson from Flight Experience

Chartered AccountantsLevel 5, 175 Eagle St. Brisbane 4000 I PO Box 7095 Brisbane 4001 Queensland Australia

P +61 7 3023 1300 I F +61 7 3229 1227 I pilotpartners.com.au

DISC LAIMER: This publication contains general information only and is not intended to constitute financial advice. Any information provided or conclusions made,

whether expressed or implied, do not take into account individual circumstances. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional advice.

Pilot is a trade mark of Pilot Nexia Pty Ltd ACN 105 267 061 ABN 58 144 064 946 Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Member of Nexia International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and consulting firms.

chartered accountants

Pilot welcomes the following new team members:

BUSINESS ADVISORY

Ramona Amos is a Senior Accountant in the

Business Advisory Division. She has more

than eight years experience. She has previous

commercial and banking experience both in

Australia and overseas. Ramona is a CPA with a

Bachelor of Commerce from the University of

Southern Queensland.

Samuel Hall joined Pilot as Accountant and he

has four years experience. He graduated from

Queensland University of Technology with a

Bachelor of Business majoring in Accounting.

With more than three years of experience, Marissa

Bates relocated from the Sunshine Coast to

Brisbane to work at Pilot Partners. She is currently

The personal liability of company directors is being

significantly increased by new legislation that was

announced in the 2011/2012 Federal budget.

The government is looking to extend the current

Director Penalty Notice regime from unpaid PAYG

to include unpaid superannuation.

On 22nd of November, directors were given a

temporary reprieve from the potential of personal

liability to meet employees’ superannuation

obligations.

Congratulations to Jennifer Veitch for her recent

promotion to Manager in the Forensic Accounting

Division. Thank you for your commitment and hard

work at Pilot.

Also, congratulations to Pilot’s newest Chartered

Accountants! Brendan Bassa, Kylee Sempf and

Cameron Woodcroft completed their studies

earlier in the year. We are very proud of your

outstanding achievement.

Pilot is dedicated to supporting the Brisbane

community. We provide financial support as well as

the expertise of our Partners and staff.

Earlier in the year, Pilot participated in Cupcake

Day for the RSPCA, the biggest bakeoff in the

Southern Hemisphere. Pilot was one of the many

offices around country to bake animal-themed

cupcakes to help support the services of the

RSPCA.

Congratulations to Angela Stavropoulos who

welcomed her second daughter, Nicola Melina.

Nicola joins the Stavropoulos family and her little

sister Sophia. Angela is currently working part-

time for the firm as a Manager in the Business

Advisory Division.

taking six months off her studies and plans to

graduate from the Queensland University of

Technology in 2014.

Jacky Xu has a Master of Accounting from

Australian National University. She has previous

experience at a national accounting firm.

Courtney Bella is an Undergraduate, studying a

Bachelor of Business at the Queensland University

of Technology.

FORENSIC ACCOUNTING

Welcome back Forensic Accounting Partner

Natalie McKay. She has returned to work at Pilot

after her maternity leave. Although she is missing

her little man she is looking forward to a busy year

ahead.

4

Welcome to Matthew Arvier, Eliza Jones and

Steven Wang who have all chosen to launch their

careers at Pilot as a part of our Cadet Program. We

are very excited to have them at the firm. We hope

that they have opportunity to put their knowledge

into practice and grow with Pilot.

Both Matthew and Steven are working part-

time for the Business Advisory Division and

will complete their studies at the University of

Queensland next year. Eliza has joined the Taxation

Services Division and she is in her first year at the

Queensland University of Technology.

“Working at Pilot has helped improve my

motivation towards my studies, as I now have an

insight into the practical application of what I

am learning at uni. The firm is being very flexible

with my time so that I can balance uni and work.

Working at Pilot so far has been a great

experience and it has given me a better idea of

what a career in the accounting industry entails.”

Matt Arvier

A few of Pilot’s crazy critter cupcakes for the RSPCA’s Cupcake Day

Josh Meggs lines up for the goal at the Institute of Chartered Accountants’ annual Six Aside Soccer Tournament

Nicole Melina Stavropoulos

Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten said the

measure would be re-introduced in early 2012

following more consultation with stakeholders.

For now, it remains that Director Penalty Notices

relate only to unpaid PAYG – but this is most likely

to change in 2012.

Should you wish to know more about how the

proposed changes may affect you, please

contact Bradley Ryan from our Business

Advisory Division on (07) 3023 1300 or

bryan@pilotpartners.com.au.