Pro Experts

Expect the best, plan for the worst and prepare to be surprised

It is important for every business to have formal Terms of Trade. When comparing large businesses to small, it’s fair to say the larger the business the more likely it will have written Terms of Trade. While there may be some who have operated for a substantial amount of time without written Terms of Trade and have never had cause...

Pro Business advice

Stick to what you know

The topic of how difficult it is to find a tradie with capacity is a popular one at the moment, which leads me to believe that accounting, paperwork and tax will not be top priority for those in the industry. Now is a great time to look forward and decide what direction you want your business to go in 2018....

The value of a registered valuer

Late last year Napier City Council updated the Rating Valuations (RV) for properties within its Territorial Authority (TA). Also known as Government Valuations (GVs) these property valuations are undertaken every three years and are based on mass appraisal techniques. The values are used primarily for assessing local authority rates and in many cases the subject property has not been inspected....

Lightbulb Moment – An alternative to Wifi, that’s worth considering?

The summer holiday season is here! It’s been good to have a few days off over Christmas and enjoy this little piece of paradise with friends and family. It’s been great to keep in touch and there haven’t been many places I haven’t been able to get access to Wifi to check emails and generally carry on with business. Wifi...

Do you want tulips with your bitcoin?

The cryptocurrency bitcoin continues to make the news. What many New Zealanders don't realise is that if they hold loyalty cards like Fly Buys or an air points card, they already own digital currencies. However, when we read in December of a Wellington waterfront property for sale in bitcoin, and that bitcoin futures recently debuted on Wall Street, the subject...

Pro RMA

New national standards for Forestry sector

National Environmental Standards for Plantation Forestry (NES-PF) will come into effect on 1 May 2018 in an attempt to get greater consistency across the country Plantation forestry is New Zealand’s third largest primary sector. According to the Ministry for the Environment and the Ministry for Primary Industries, it employs over 26,000 people and generates around $5 billion in export earnings...

NOW Co-Founder Embraces Study at EIT

Widely known in the business community as the co-founder of NOW, Ben Deller delights these days in telling people he is a student. Having left the successful telecommunications company early last year, the 38-year-old is now dovetailing business consultancy work with part- time postgraduate studies at EIT. Ben enjoyed his 14 years heading NOW’s sales and marketing team, but over...

Pro Finance

Goals-based Investing – A New Approach to an old Question

When discussing a client’s financial planning needs, and specifically what portfolio to establish, an adviser is required to navigate through the client’s specific needs and goals. This is with an ultimate view to provide a portfolio from within the specific discipline and processes that will meet the client’s expectations, while importantly avoiding as much risk as possible. While focusing on...

Pro Business advice

Addressing partner misalignment

Whether you want to grow, to retain market share or even explore exit options, it's important that you have a good idea of what's going on in your business now. Sometimes this can be difficult when you have more than one stakeholder, as is the case with many small to medium sized businesses with multiple owners. Certainly, it is important...

Where there’s a will, there’s a way

On death a person’s assets form their “estate” which is subject to the wishes or intentions of the deceased’s Will or if they do not have a Will by the “rules on intestacy.” While many would acknowledge that they should have an up-to-date Will, it is surprising how many people do not have a current Will or one at all....