Posted on February 27, 2013 by Christabelle Harris
An experience to share
It is the dark of the early morning, no sun, no wind, no movement on the water, complete stillness. The chatter subsides, the feet clip in, as one unit we begin to glide through the stillness of the morning. Each pedals pushing harder than the next, a shortness of breath as the speed builds with the rising of the sun. It is the morning of a brand new day which you have just completed 32km on the bike, what an achievement by 6.00am !
In today’s increasingly obese society, have you ever considered the impact this may have on your workforce or more importantly, on you as a leader ?
As published in a recent article by the University of South Australia, a fit leader can be a better leader, and here are five reasons why:
- Energy and Productivity – a regular exercise routine will give you more energy. Being the leader is tough enough, make sure you have the energy to face challenges effectively and efficiently.
- Confidence and Creativity – some of the best ideas come directly after exercise. Studies show that our cogitative ability increases with moderate levels of exercise. A fit leader will have more confidence and be able to think and solve problems more creatively.
- Facing Challenges – people in high pressure roles face challenges every day. Pushing yourself through an exercise routine provides you with a sense of achievement. As a leader you will be able to face tough challenges every day while maintaining mental focus on priorities.
- Mental Wellness – Exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress because it boosts your brain’s “feel-good” neurotransmitters called endorphins. Also, by solely focusing on your body’s motions for a period of time, you focus less on the day’s stress, at least for a while. Let’s not take the smart phone !
- Influence – It is widely believed that healthy employees are happy employees. A fit workforce is also less likely to get sick. This, of course, takes us back to leading by example. You can’t expect to foster a culture of fitness unless you, as the leader, are physically fit and promote overall wellness.
Many top CEOs are known for keeping to rigorous fitness regimens, despite the demands of their job. Some even go so far as to compete in ironman triathlons in their spare time.
As a business leader what are you currently doing to ensure a happy, healthy, and productive workforce, not only for you but your team?
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Posted on February 23, 2013 by Christabelle Harris
When you use a tax agent such as GeersSullivan to prepare and lodge your Tax Returns, Fringe Benefits Tax Returns and Activity Statements you benefit from an extension of the due dates to lodge these documents. For example, if you prepare your own tax return using the Tax Pack or e-Tax software you will have to lodge your return by the 31st October each year. Depending on your circumstances you can have this extended to as far out as May the following year if you are with a registered tax agent. Another example of this is the automatic four week extension on the due date for lodging quarterly Business Activity Statements.
These lodgement concessions serve a number of important purposes and assist us in spreading our workload throughout the year. They can also be used to assist in managing the cashflow of your business by deferring lodgement and payment to the latest possible date.
We at GeersSullivan work with our clients who may for whatever reason are unable to meet the Tax Office’s due dates. However a recent legislative change has put more onus on us to act as the Tax Office’s ‘police’.
From 1 July 2013, tax agents will be required to lodge 85% or more it’s clients’ current year returns by the lodgement program due date, or by the deferred due date if a deferral is granted. It should be noted at this point that even if you don’t think you need to lodge a return with the Tax Office for whatever reason (i.e. your income is too low or you have moved overseas), you still need to lodge a form to advise them of this otherwise you will be considered an overdue return. Overdue returns are charged a flat penalty of $110 per month for each month they are overdue up to a maximum of $550 plus any interest on overdue tax.
If the agents’ yearly averaged performance percentage does not meet the 85% benchmark, the Tax Office can remove access to the concessional lodgement program. As these concessions are fundamental to the functioning of a tax agents business, the threat of losing its concessions has forced many agents to review their client lists and remove those clients that aren’t actively working with their agents to bring their outstanding returns up to date. The Tax Office has encouraged this by providing a mechanism to delete bulk clients from lodgement lists.
Although the majority of our clients are up to date, if you do have concerns that you are behind or unable to meet the upcoming due dates, we encourage you to discuss this with us prior to the due date so we can make alternate arrangements with the Tax Office and allow us as a firm to continue to provide you with the extended dates to lodge your returns.
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