Recap: What happened in New Zealand public practice in 2023

This article was current at the time of publication.

Tax

From 1 April, the Inland Revenue (IRD) acquired considerably extended powers of data matching following the enactment of the Tax Administration (Regular Collection of Bulk Data) Regulations 2022.

According to the legislation, the regulations, “enable the department to ensure business taxpayers comply with their obligations by identifying those who may not be paying the correct amount of tax”.

To align with the NZ tax year end, CPA Australia unveiled NZ-specific tax resources, including a suite of checklists and templates, including a GST checklist, a company tax return preparation checklist and a transfer pricing guide. Look out for 2024 resources coming soon.

Some 400,000 New Zealand trusts and their advisers were left pondering their next step following the announcement in Budget 2023 that the trustee tax rate will lift from 33 per cent to 39 per cent, effective for most trusts, from 1 April 2024. 

Advisers believe that this is unlikely to affect wealthy individuals; instead, smaller “mum and dad trusts” are likely to be hit hard. 

Audit

In 2023, audit quality was under the spotlight with a new standard focusing on quality rather than process. 

New Zealand’s External Reporting Board (XRB) is focusing on continually scrutinising audit quality. PES 3, a standard that sets out how audit firms should go about establishing and monitoring a system of quality management for the audits they undertake, has been revised.

ChatGPT, cyber fraud, public practice and more!

The world was awash with ChatGPT advice. But can accountants actually use generative AI in their practices?  We spoke to some practitioners who have been dipping their toes in the AI pond.

Accounting salaries were on the rise this year, with one recruitment firm earlier this year predicting 2023 to be “the year of the raise”. 

A survey of 294 New Zealand accounting firms and 243 accountants found that 97 per cent of employers will increase salaries at the next review, up from 94 per cent last year. While this was great news for accounting staff,  there is also some hope on the horizon for employers.

With invoice fraud, data theft and phishing scams on the rise, here’s some cyber security advice for practices. 

Finally, here are some tips to keep your practice profitable and your clients happy.