Published by Credit Matters Pty Ltd.
Welcome to Credit Matters Newsletter for August 2017. Our monthly newsletter contains information about financial risk management issues, blogs, advice of new business listings and free advice from organisations such as ASIC.
You can always view past copies of our newsletters via our website at www.creditmatters.com.au
If you tried to contact us lately on our office number of 03 9886 6707 and it did not get through, we apologise. Credit Matters is another victim of the NBN despite our best efforts to remain connected after the changeover. We are working to rectify this situation. In the meantime, you can still contact us on the after-hours and mobile numbers.
In case you missed it last month, we will now be offering an audio version of our newsletters. The audio newsletter will normally appear at creditmatters.com.au within about seven days after sending out our regular version.
As a service to our readers, we have prepared a PDF of "What Does a fraudster look like?" and a copy is attached to this newsletter. You may wish to keep a copy of the PDF handy at your workplace as fraudsters operate under many different disguises. It is also important to understand that fraudsters are always circling your business and looking for a way to steal your assets.
Advertising via Credit Matters
If you are interested in reaching business prospects who need your services or products, contact Kim to see what he can do for you. There are many different opportunities to advertise your business via Credit Matters and it may not be as expensive as you might imagine.
This month, you will find attached brochures regarding Enable's September workshop, the Small Business Risks Update compliments of CreditorWatch, and details of the A.I.P.I.'s September Conference.
Today a business operates in a complex global and social environment. Creating a viable business is amongst the most difficult assignments for all business owners and their management teams.
There are no certainties, secret formulas and little support from Governments in helping us create a viable business. However, not all is lost. There are specific actions and ethos we can operate by which will help us to survive over the long-term from most events.
It would seem that the first place to begin in building our business would be at the foundations, just as if we were building a house. The nursery rhyme "Three Little Pigs" and the type of houses they built, comes to mind as one useful example of the importance of creating a strong business. Two of the little pigs built their houses on the cheap and without due regard for the environment and the threats to their safety.
The third little pig took his time in finding a safe environment, creating strong foundations to build a strong house to withstand the elements and the big bad wolf. Taking your time to build a strong business with solid foundations and structures, is therefore important if we want survive over the long-term.
Managing change is important, notwithstanding it is happening at a frightening pace. You don't always have to be the first adaptor in everything however. There is some merit in taking a little while to assess the value of what is happening elsewhere and how any new innovations might affect your business. After all, as many business people have found to their cost, it is no good throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
Employing and surrounding yourself with quality people is another essential component of creating a solid business. Employing or listening to the wrong sort of person can lead to expensive problems in the future.
Strong leadership is essential because you need strong disciplines to operate a business. The hard part is being empathetic to those who break the rules, yet also being strong enough to let them go. It is of no value in keeping or associating with people who risk the moral and operating ethos of your business.
No business is an island. Every business is part of a wider social and business community. Operating in a fair manner with all your stakeholders is vital for long-term success. This does not mean putting the needs of others ahead of your business. It does mean not trying to take an advantage when there is no need to; e.g. delaying the payment to your suppliers just because you can!
Protecting your reputation has always been important. It is even more important now in an era when social responsibility is at the forefront of many people's minds. In addition, with the advent of social media, there are no secrets any more. Two examples come to mind.
First, doing business with stakeholders which have bad reputations may be profitable in the short term. Inevitably however, they drag your business down to their level and can destroy your reputation.
Second, many people today, particularly the younger generation, try to avoid being associated in any way with a business with a poor social responsibility profile. For example, those businesses which pollute their local community with waste, or use toxic materials in their products, or use child labour etc.
Building a business in today's world is a difficult assignment for all business people and their management teams. Whilst there are no guarantees of survival, there are specific actions and ethos you can operate by, which will help you to survive over the long term from most events.
Amongst the key elements for business survival and growth are, (i) there no secrets or support from governments, (ii) solid business foundations, (iii) managing change properly, (iv) employing and surrounding yourself with quality people, (v) strong and disciplined leadership, (vi) remembering you operate in a community and (vii) protecting your reputation.
Word of the Month - The aim of Word of the Month is to share those many words used in Australian English which cause confusion. The confusion arises because there's often two spelling variations.
The spelling curb or kerb?
With the NBN continuing to roll out across Australia, one technology commonly being referred to is FTTC, or fibre to the curb. (Also referred to as fibre to the cabinet.)
The words curb and kerb in Australia are words that sound the same but have different meanings. The word kerb has a number of meanings with one being the raised edge at the side of a road. In America the spelling for the raised edge at the side of the road is curb. In America FTTC makes sense, but in Australia the acronym should be FTTK, but this doesn’t happen because often when using overseas technology, we also bring across the language of the origin of the technology.
This is one of those cases where you know the spelling is wrong, but for simplicity everyone conforms. Unfortunately using language in this way is not ideal, as it often leads to confusion with spelling.
For more information on the Preferred Australian English spelling visit www.Australian-Dictionary.com.au .
GAMING & LEISURE Alert – Member Meeting Notices – The Law just got much tougher!
The Supreme Court of NSW recently issued an injunction to prevent a Special General Meeting of members considering approval of a major residential project. This is a very important decision for all clubs when deciding what to put in their notices to members. What happened? Castle Hill Country Club had been exploring opportunities to significantly […]
Introduction It is commonplace that a development will require some form of access through neighbouring properties during the course of construction. This might take the form of permanent access, such as easements for driveways or underpinning. It may also take the form of temporary access, such as a licence granting construction access to the site, […]
CHARITIES ALERT – Various important ACNC developments for charities
Below is a list of various Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) developments which we consider are important for charities to consider: Crowdfunding by charities The ACNC has released a Charities and crowdfunding guide to assist charities, donors and fundraisers. Crowdfunding usually involves an individual or an organisation setting a fundraising target online and then […]
Every year an untold number of organisations are affected by data breaches. These can be accidental or inadvertent (eg leaving an external hard drive of sensitive information on the train), but are more frequently malicious attempts by external parties to obtain sensitive information (eg hacking). From 22 February 2018, organisations affected by an “eligible data […]
Drones1 are rapidly becoming a part of everyday life. Revolutionising new methods of data acquisition, their use in agriculture, mining, energy, telecommunications, research, environmental management, news gathering, criminal investigation and cinematography is now widespread. The latest advance in drone technology, that is so appealing, is their use in food aid. In remote and difficult areas […]
Would you like to know more?
Peter Mills | Special Counsel | +61 7 3338 7921 | pmills@tglaw.com.au
What is the Importance of Building Corporate Culture?
A company’s corporate culture is extremely important. It is the foundation of a healthy working environment and fosters positive employee attitudes. A healthy corporate culture values each employee, and as such employees are more inclined to work together as a team to meet the company’s core competencies. Three main reasons why a strong corporate culture is necessary is because it leads to greater employee retention, greater productivity and greater quality products and services.
Employee Retention
If you create a workplace which encourages growth and development, it ensures your employees have a high morale and have positive attitudes towards their work, as well as the organisation they work for. Ultimately, this reduces employee turnover and reduces costs.
Greater Productivity
Increased moral, increases productivity. Employees gain a sense of satisfaction from their work and enjoy performing their tasks. As such, this improves the financial health of the company and drives profits and sales.
Greater Quality
Building a positive corporate culture increases the quality of the products and services. A company which prides itself on high quality products and services and builds an atmosphere of high standard ensures that they are met. As such, employees are willing to meet these standards because, due to the development of a strong corporate culture, they take pride in their work.
Keeping the right person for your company. We’re here to help! Contact Paul on 9218 5466 or email Paul at paul@tracepersonnel.com.au
Credit Matters provides access to blogs written by Kim Radok. Just go to www.creditmatters.com.au to read these and previous blogs.
Since our last newsletter, we presented the following blogs.
Since our last newsletter, the following posts have been added to the Invaluable Reading From Australia and Around The World section.
Credit Matters is a financial risk management resource centre for the Australian business community. If you are in business, Credit Matters is your ideal source of financial risk management solutions.
"The past is a thief, it steals the present & the future from us"- time to let it go, clearly no way back for me!The nature of the global business environment guarantees that no matter how hard we work to create a stable and healthy organisation, our organisation will continue to experience dramatic changes far beyond our control. (Margaret J. Wheatley)
"The past is a thief, it steals the present & the future from us"- time to let it go, clearly no way back for me!
Our ‘Inconvenient Truths’ are facts-of-business that too many owners and managers either aren’t aware of, have forgotten, or lost sight of. Symptoms of overlooked truths are increasing expenses, depleting cash flow, diminishing profits and/or lack of winning new business opportunities.
Email us at info@creditmatters.com.au to discover the ‘Inconvenient Truths’ and how they can redirect your business back to success.
All unpaid invoices cost you something.
Irrespective of whether your business is a supplier or a customer of another business, every unpaid invoice affects your ability to be paid, increases costs or risks your business’s payment reputation.
In the case of a supplier, their unpaid invoice can be considered to be an asset until it becomes past due for payment. Then the invoice becomes a liability for two reasons. First, the unpaid invoice represents the supplier’s money sitting in their customer's bank account. Secondly, it becomes a cost liability until paid.
If you are a customer, all suppliers’ invoices received are a financial liability until paid. If these invoices become past due for payment, they also place your firm's credit reputation at risk.
In today’s world, a customer’s payment reliability has become a key focus. If the customer does not pay on time, their credit reputation is at stake and they may not be granted credit in the future.
If you do not understand this Business Inconvenient Truth, contact Kim
To view the full list of Business Inconvenient Truths, become a member at www.creditmatters.com.au. Membership is free.
21 July | 17-246MR Former Gold Coast director Bradley Silver charged with fraud and dishonesty offences |
Be wary of scam emails pretending to be from ASIC
News From ASIC - Help with ASIC online services
Are you registering, renewing or cancelling a business name? Check out ASIC's new series of YouTube videos to help you use its business names register and other online services.
As part of National Missing Persons Week 2017, AUSTRAC, Australia’s financial intelligence agency, together with its Fintel Alliance industry partners, will support police investigations of financial crime that may impact missing persons.
AUSTRAC seeks civil penalty orders against CBA
Australia’s financial intelligence and regulatory agency, AUSTRAC, today initiated civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) for serious and systemic non-compliance with the AML/CTF Act.
A draft restructure of the AML/CTF Rules compilation is now available for public consultation.
Submissions to the AUSTRAC industry contribution 2017–18: Stakeholder consultation paper published.
Register now – Victoria’s Corruption Prevention and Integrity Conference
Register Now IBAC is partnering with the Victorian Ombudsman (VO), Victorian Auditor-General's Office (VAGO) and IPAA (Institute of Public Administration Victoria) to convene an engaging and highly relevant conference to help prevent public sector corruption and strengthen integrity. The conference will also include a special focus on police oversight and integrity issues. The Victoria’s Corruption Prevention and Integrity Conference will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, over two days, on 3 – 4 October 2017. - See more at: http://www.ibac.vic.gov.au/Events/event/corruption-prevention-and-integrity-conference#sthash.Mmxgl9x5.dpuf
9th of August 2017
Information sheet - Public sector corruption hurts all Victorians
This information sheet provides examples of corruption and misconduct and red flags for corruption. It also explains the importance of reporting corruption, and IBAC’s role in preventing and exposing it.
7 August 2017
Corruption hurts the community, but we can all do something about it
Victoria's independent anti-corruption agency, IBAC, is continuing a community education campaign that encourages all Victorians to speak up and report suspected corruption in the public sector through advertising in newspapers, on radio and digital, this week.
9 August 2017
Former primary school principal sentenced following IBAC's 'banker school' investigation
A former primary school principal has been convicted and placed on a two-year good behaviour bond following a major IBAC investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct by senior officers of the Department of Education and Training (DET).
9 August 2017
Victorian paramedic sentenced following IBAC investigation
A Victorian paramedic has been sentenced following an investigation by Victoria’s anti-corruption agency, IBAC.
10 Aug 2017
A twice-yearly report providing a summary of the ACCC’s work and activities amongst the small business sector.
10 Aug 2017
New car retailing industry market study: independent repairers' guide to the draft report
In August 2017, the ACCC released its draft report for the new car retailing industry market study. The ACCC has also prepared an independent repairers’ guide to the draft report.
16 August
ACCC proposes to approve collective bargaining between Licensed Post Offices and Australia Post
25 July 2017
Lululemon pays infringement notices
25 July 2017
Egg producer penalised $750,000 for misleading 'free range' claims
31 July 2017
Prysmian to pay penalty of $3.5m for engaging in cartel conduct
3 August 2017
NYK convicted of criminal cartel conduct and fined $25 million
11 August 2017
ACCC takes action against domain registration businesses
16 August
ACCC proposes to approve collective bargaining between Licensed Post Offices and Australia Post
A free smartphone app developed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will help business owners undertake important checks before they enter into business transactions with other organisations.
For more information ASIC APP INFORMATION
Credit Matters is continuing to grow and provide marketing and knowledge about financial risks to the Australian business community.
Furthermore, we invite marketing and knowledge ideas from our readers and contributors on how we can assist our respective firms grow. If you have any ideas, please contact me at Click to see email
If you are interested in finding new ways to reach your marketplace, why not try Credit Matters. Our prices for advertising are very reasonable and advertising packages are on offer to make any cost, even more affordable. So if you are interested in reaching your customers at the right price, please contact Kim at Click to see email for options.
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