Emma Partis, Accounting Times Journalist Profile

Articles

Retailers to face $50m penalties for data mismanagement, BDO warns

1 day ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

The Australian government has imposed stricter laws for managing customer data, drawing severe penalties for retailers who don’t take proactive steps to identify, store or remove customer data appropriately, BDO said in a press release on Tuesday. “Loyalty programs collect vast amounts of personal data—addresses, phone numbers, transaction histories, and preferences—often without revisiting this information for years,”BDO forensic services partner Conor McGarrity said.
Consumer and business conditions remain weak in tariff aftermath

1 day ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute found that consumer sentiment climbed marginally in May but fell short of the optimism levels reached before sweeping tariffs were announced in early April, indicating that tariffs could pose ongoing headwinds to domestic consumer confidence. Business conditions eased slightly in April, driven by weaker profitability, NAB’s Monthly Business Survey found. Business confidence improved but still remained in negative territory.
ATO second commissioner highlights tax avoidance red flags for investors

2 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

In a speech at the Australian Shareholders' Association Investor Conference, ATO second commissioner Jeremy Hirschhorn called tax compliance the silent ‘T’ in ESG, flagging it as an important component of corporate-social responsibility. “Tax is inextricably linked to social licence,” he said.
Labor government shifts its focus to productivity through R&D and manufacturing

2 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

As the Labor government returns for its second term, Chalmers has pledged to address a lingering issue that has hampered the Australian economy - our stagnating productivity performance. “The best way to think about the difference between our first term and the second term …[is] the first term was primarily inflation without forgetting productivity, the second term will be primarily productivity without forgetting inflation,” Chalmers told ABC Insiders on May 4.
US-China tariff pause a welcome reprieve for global economy

2 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

The US and China agreed to a 90-day reduction in tariffs on Monday night following negotiations in Geneva, bringing US tariffs on China down to 30 per cent (from 145 per cent) and Chinese tariffs to 10 per cent (from 125 per cent). While global markets were buoyed by the tariff pause, economists were sceptical about the odds of China and the US striking a deal within the three-month window.
‘Evolution not revolution:’ how Pitcher Partners is adapting to new technologies

3 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

Adam Irwin, managing partner at Pitcher Partners Sydney shared that one of the most important aspects of embracing new technology was getting employees on board with change. “Finding time to think about the projects is important, but [so is] taking the time needed to be comfortable with the change and make sure everybody's comfortable,” Irwin told Accounting Times. “Our people are very responsive to change. And they're certainly willing to embrace anything.
Wined and fined? Grant Thornton flags strict NSW land tax exemption requirements

3 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

Under NSW law, vineyards may not be eligible for primary producer land tax exemptions if they primarily sell processed products such as wine, Grant Thornton warned. They outlined a recent case where a vineyard in the Hunter Valley was found to be ineligible for land tax exemptions because they primarily raised revenue through wine sales.
Deficit and trade war among key challenges for next term of government: CBA

4 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

The US-driven trade war and Australia’s budget deficit are among the most significant economic challenges that the Labor government will have to manage over its next term of government, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has said in an economic update. “The volatile global trade war sparked by President Trump’s tariff policies is the greatest immediate economic risk facing the Government,” CBA economists wrote.
Overseas funding application deadline for RDTI fast approaching, RSM warns

4 days ago | accountingtimes.com.au | Emma Partis

There are less than two months left for companies to lodge Advance and Overseas Finding (AOF) applications for overseas RDTI claims in the 2024–25 financial year, RSM says. “With less than two months to go, this is relevant for companies conducting or planning eligible R&D activities in Australia which ‘would be incomplete’ without overseas activities such as manufacturing, trials, or contract work,” RSM wrote in a release.
ATO ‘hypervigilant’ with oversight of AI activities, Hirschhorn assures practitioners

1 week ago | accountantsdaily.com.au | Emma Partis

The Tax Office is becoming increasingly data-driven, but has implemented safeguards and procedures to prevent “high-impact errors” from occurring, the deputy commissioner has said. • • 8 minute read Jeremy Hirschhorn outlined the importance of human oversight when implementing AI systems at a UNSW conference in April, likening AI to a bionic arm as a tool, not a replacement. “AI may be a helper.