When the same questions keep coming up with our clients, we pay attention. Right now, for Rebecca Mihalic of our Sydney office, 3 key topics are driving conversations across businesses of all sizes and industries.

Rebecca has joined me to discuss these topics [and you might notice I’m sporting my new mo’ for Movember]. Check out what we had to say in the video below.

 

Supporting worthy causes like men’s mental health is important to us – you can check out my Movember journey and make a donation to help men’s health here.

 

video transcript:

John: Joining me today to keep you in the loop is Rebecca Mihalic from our Sydney office. I thought I’d ask you, Rebecca, what are you talking to your clients most about at the moment?

 

1. contractors

Rebecca: Well, the number one thing I seem to be talking to my clients about nowadays is contractors and whether or not they should be using them in their business.

John: Well, it’s a bit of a minefield, isn’t it? It can bring in great flexibility to your resources. But, what are some of those, I suppose, issues with contractors?

Rebecca: There could be a range of things, whether or not they’re actually employees, whether or not they’re running legitimate businesses. It’s not necessarily the best way for everybody to go. And there’s a push I’m seeing on both sides by both the business owner and the contractor/employee are interested in these contractor arrangements for a variety of reasons.

John: Yeah, of course. We’ve got income tax, we’ve got payroll tax, we’ve got work cover, we’ve got super. We’ve got a whole range of issues we’ve got to run through with that.

 

2. cashflow

John: What about cash flow? Is cash flow an issue with your clients?

Rebecca: Absolutely. And an issue or an opportunity. I’m having lots of different cash flow conversations with my clients. Some of them are really stressed about cash flow and what that looks like over the Christmas period or the run into Christmas, early next year as well can be tight for a few different industries. Or alternatively, I’m having some conversations with clients around accessing the cash in their business.

“Can I pull that out? Can I take some dividends or can I reinvest that money back in my business? Have I got enough money to buy that piece of equipment or invest in that new asset?”

John: So are we talking cash flow projections, looking at debtor day, debtor recovery, bank finance a bit more?

Rebecca: A whole range of different things. We’re actually getting really stuck into deep dive on what is happening with cash in businesses at the moment.

 

3. valuations

John: What about one more thing, Rebecca, maybe some sort of bigger picture thing that you’re talking to your clients a lot about at the moment?

Rebecca: Valuations are really, really key at the moment. A lot of clients want to know “what is my business worth?”.

John: Why do they want to know that? Is it the baby boomers wanting to get out or what is the reason that people are getting these valuations done?

Rebecca: We’ve got a bit of a mix. So we’ve got baby boomer clients who are interested in, you know, getting out of their business or potentially transferring the ownership of that business to the next generation, which we know requires  a valuation. Or alternatively, I’ve got some younger startup entrepreneurs who are looking to value their business to get either borrowings against that business to grow or potential investors.

John: Yeah, there’s a lot of chats, isn’t there about sort of that next horizon business. We’ve had lots of chats about transferring the business from the baby boomer to the next generation or like you say, to access cash.

 

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