New Zealand

Audit and assurance updates

Knowledge is power – but only if it is delivered to you in a timely and easily accessible and understandable way.

There will always be changes. But an early understanding of a change often turns it from a threat to an opportunity.

Our audit and assurance updates seek to cut through the clutter, boil down the issues to their important essence, and keep you ahead of the game.

Why you should consider being audited

11 February 2020
Colin Henderson
This article explores the benefits of being financially audited for entities not required by law or regulation to be audited. Why are entities audited?
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New Audit Partners Announced

6 February 2020
Brendon Foy, Wayne Tukiri
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Accounting for revenue under PBE accounting standards

29 May 2017
Jason Stinchcombe
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Accounting for Heritage Assets - why and how?

29 November 2016
Brendon Foy, Wayne Tukiri
Question: How do you value a church or a museum collection?
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Anti-money laundering and countering financing of terrorism coming to an accountant, lawyer, and real estate agent near you …

4 October 2016
Craig Fisher, Kumar Aravinda
Combatting money laundering and financing of terrorism is an increasingly big issue internationally.  As part of the global community this also increasingly impacts New Zealand. 
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Congratulations to the New Zealand Paralympians and Paralympics New Zealand!

20 September 2016
Craig Fisher
RSM heartily congratulates audit client Paralympics New Zealand and the entire New Zealand Paralympics Games team on their incredible results at the Rio 2016 Paralympics. 
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Villa Maria wins top three prizes at Bragato Wine Awards

29 August 2016
Brendon Foy
RSM congratulates Villa Maria on their success taking out the top prizes at the Romeo Bragato Wine Awards. 
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Special deals for Charities

8 June 2016
Craig Fisher
What's in a name? Well, possibly quite a lot if that name means your organisation is classified as a charity. 
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Key Management Personnel disclosure for charities

1 June 2016
Craig Fisher, Mithun Lal
One of the financial reporting changes that now impacts a large proportion of charities is a mandatory requirement to disclose information regarding remuneration of key management personnel.  
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Understanding the Importance of Due Diligence

31 May 2016
Steve Hayes
Thinking of buying or selling a business?  Perhaps counter-intuitively we urge you to pause and take a step back. 
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Governance | Core functions of a governing body

12 May 2016
Craig Fisher
Good governance can make or break an organisation.  Or perhaps more commonly; it is a key factor in whether the organisation truly thrives and achieves its purpose, or alternatively just struggles on painfully, producing a mediocre result at best. 
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Is your charity ready to comply with the new accounting standards?

21 April 2016
Craig Fisher, Jason Stinchcombe
Effective 1 April 2016 New Zealand’s charities regulator has a new role – monitoring and checking compliance with the new mandatory financial reporting standards.  So how is the DIA Charities Services likely to approach this? The background to the changes
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How to write a great statement of service performance report

7 April 2016
Craig Fisher, Wayne Tukiri
A key part of the new performance reports required of charities and other entities adopting the XRB’s PBE accounting standards is the requirement to present a statement of service performance report.  So how does an organisation write a great one?  Background
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A spotlight on transport

6 April 2016
Profit margin is a measure used to define job effectiveness.  Third party logistics (3PL) companies remain relevant and competitive by being cost effective.  Longer route times, trickier cargo and an increase in customer demand around time and cost have driven the need for 3PL companies to collaborate for effective solutions.
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New Trends in Financial Reporting – Integrated Reporting

24 March 2016
Craig Fisher
In an earlier article we have previously written about new trends influencing financial reporting including the concept of Integrated Reporting. 
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Charitable Entities raising money from Investors

14 March 2016
Craig Fisher
Many charities and not-for-profit entities want to explore different forms of funding.  We are also increasingly seeing a blurring of the lines between charitable entities and commercial entities. 
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Budgets – Your guide to a perfect(?) one

29 February 2016
Craig Fisher, Wayne Tukiri
Budgets are important.  Done well they help people and organisations plan their future, monitor their progress towards it, and achieve their goals.  Hence creating a good budget for your organisation is a key skill and tool in your creating the future you want and hopefully sustainable success.
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The Purpose of your Incorporated Society - Can it make money? And who can take it home?

16 February 2016
Craig Fisher
One of the interesting clarifications under the proposed Incorporated Societies Bill relates to money making activities undertaken by societies and member's access to monies or assets of the incorporated society.
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Incorporated Societies Bill - Timeline? And do we have to act now?

9 February 2016
Craig Fisher
As we've highlighted previously the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 is up for an overhaul.  The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) released their Exposure Draft of the Incorporated Societies Bill in November 2015.  So what is the timeline from here?
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Donated Goods Amendment Issued

2 February 2016
Craig Fisher
We've previously written on the topic of Opportunity Shops and the potential practical problem created by the new accounting standards and how these require accounting for donated goods.   We are now pleased to provide an update.
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Consolidations – an accounting or a strategic issue?

26 January 2016
Craig Fisher, Mithun Lal
We’ve previously advised that consolidations of entities for accounting purposes is likely to be one of the more challenging aspects of complying with the new mandatory accounting standards.  While the accounting concept and mechanics need working through, it is perhaps more important and possibly more beneficial to consider this issu
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Exemption notice | Respite for some Australian subsidiaries

18 January 2016
Steve Hayes
Australian subsidiaries that apply Class Order 98/1418 no longer need to prepare another set of accounts for themselves (and any subsidiaries) for the purpose of their New Zealand reporting obligations
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Incorporated Societies Bill - Proposed Accounting & Audit Requirements

14 December 2015
Craig Fisher
As previously advised the proposed overhaul of our Incorporated Societies legislation has now been released for public consultation in New Zealand.  [Involved in an Incorporated Society?
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Involved in an Incorporated Society?  Big changes coming!

16 November 2015
Craig Fisher
As we’ve previously advised and written on; a significant overhaul of New Zealand’s Incorporated Societies legislation is currently underway. 
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Resident Director Rule Now in Force

11 November 2015
As we reported previously the Companies Amendment Act 2014 (‘the Act’) became effective from 1 May 2015.  As highlighted to you in an earlier publication, a significant change as a result of this new legislation, is the requirement for all companies registered in New Zealand to have at least one New Zealand resident director.
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Social Impact Investing

30 October 2015
Craig Fisher
Is it the new Holy Grail for the charitable/NFP sector?  Or just a theoretical concept and lot of hot air?  We look at this new area of funding in the charitable/NFP sector and some words of wisdom from a recent visiting UK expert and explorer in this area; David Carrington.
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PBES: Which Tier should we report in?

1 October 2015
Craig Fisher
Now that the transition to the new Public Benefit Entity (PBE) accounting standards is fast becoming a reality some organisations are thinking about which tier they should be in.
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New Trends in Financial Reporting

15 September 2015
Craig Fisher
Financial reporting is not a static discipline.  It changes and evolves in response to new legislation, requirements of regulators and changes in accounting standards, as well as various other demands from other stakeholder groups and new initiatives. 
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Transparency for Charities | A double-edged sword

8 September 2015
Craig Fisher
A culture of increased transparency – Welcome to the new world for charities.  However this could also be known as ‘the outing of charities in the press.’  Is your charity prepared? Heard about charities in the media lately?
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New charity financial reporting and audit requirements | An opportunity for alignment?

20 August 2015
Craig Fisher
The biggest change in financial reporting in 20 years, and for many charities; the biggest change to their financial reporting ever, has recently been legislated. We look at the opportunities this presents for the entities themselves as well as for funders and stakeholders. Background
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Accounting Legislation Change

19 August 2015
Jason Stinchcombe
The accounting world in New Zealand has been going through the most significant changes in the past 20 years. Much of this has been the result of the comprehensive legislative reform that is now in effect. We highlight some changes that may be important to you or your clients.
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Opportunity Shops | New accounting standards a problem and a pragmatic solution

18 August 2015
Craig Fisher
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Groups and consolidations | New financial reporting standard challenges for charities

15 August 2015
Craig Fisher
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How's your governance team?

30 July 2015
Craig Fisher
Getting your governance team right can be the key to extraordinary success in any organisation.  NFPs and charities have some unique features in this regard.  To really succeed they also need to heed governance best practice. 
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RSM Auditors achieve Qualified Auditor status

23 July 2015
Colin Henderson, Craig Fisher, Jason Stinchcombe, Steve Hayes
The New Zealand Government has introduced a new requirement where auditors of entities required by legislation to be audited (i.e. they have a statutory audit requirement) now need to be recognised as being qualified to undertake such engagements.
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Who holds the keys to change?

14 July 2015
Craig Fisher
Getting change to occur in any organisation is difficult. Often it seems even more so in the NFP/charity sector. We explore some of the reasons why and seek to answer the question; “Who holds the most effective keys to facilitating change.” Background
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Is membership dead or dying?

30 June 2015
Craig Fisher
Are you involved in an incorporated society? Is your incorporated society struggling to attract and retain members?  Are you noticing that many people now just seem to want a more casual involvement?
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Please don't set up a new NFP entity!

10 June 2015
Craig Fisher
Are there too many entities in our Not for Profit sector?  At over 100,000 for a small country like New Zealand with a population of under 4.5m many people think so.  Yet why is it so common that one hears the discussion about setting up another new legal entity?
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Fewer, deeper, longer | A philanthropic funding trend

26 May 2015
Craig Fisher
Back in early 2013 we wrote an article on an emerging philanthropic funding trend which we called Fewer, Deeper, Longer.  Fast forward to 2015 and this trend is even more applicable with the concept also being picked up by some Government funding agencies. Hence we thought it was worth an update.
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Anti- Money Laundering Legislation | Are you caught?

3 May 2015
Craig Fisher
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Mandatory performance reporting for charities

28 April 2015
Craig Fisher
Out with annual financial reports and in with the more comprehensive performance reports.  Why this mandatory change for registered charities and what does it mean?
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The passion conundrum in the NFP/charitable sector

7 April 2015
Craig Fisher
Passion is an essential requirement for success. But can there be too much passion? Is passion sometimes actually a handbrake on success?
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Incorporated societies act | Time for an overhaul

27 March 2015
Craig Fisher
In 2013 The Law Commission released their report on their comprehensive review of theIncorporated Societies Act…and a sensible well considered report it is too!   We look at what this is likely to mean in summary for New Zealand’s 23,000 + Incorporated Societies.
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Are you a New Zealand Incorporated Society?

14 March 2015
Jason Stinchcombe
New Zealand company legislation has, and is continuing to undergo some quite dramatic changes of late.  The latest changes come in the form of the Companies Amendment Act (No 4) 2014 which introduces a number of new requirements for New Zealand companies. 
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Demystifying donee status

6 March 2015
Craig Fisher
Donee status.  Most people will have heard of this concept in relation to charities.  But scratch the surface a bit deeper and one commonly finds a lack of any further knowledge, and some common misunderstandings.  Hence we thought it would be helpful to provide a summary of some key features of donee status.
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Impact of New Zealand's financial reporting changes

25 February 2015
Craig Fisher
There has been huge change in financial reporting legislation in New Zealand in recent years. A direct result is different financial reporting and assurance requirements for different types of entities going forward.
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I've seen the future | And I like it!

25 January 2015
Craig Fisher
Over the next few years annual financial reporting is changing for charities and not-for-profit entities in New Zealand. This means different requirements, and given that change is generally painful at first; will it be worth it? And what result can we expect for most?
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Risk in charities and Not-For-Profits

14 January 2015
Craig Fisher
Risk in any organisation is a big issue, albeit one that gets vastly differing levels of attention in New Zealand charities and Not-For-Profit entities (NFPs). From a fundraising perspective risk is often just viewed as the potential for loss of funding streams, however it is much more than that.
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What you need to know about share based payments

7 October 2014
A key challenge for owners big and small is how best to keep the attention and motivation of management aligned with those of the board and ultimately the owners of a company.
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