Clarity Mag

Why sustainability is the ultimate business advantage in a divided world

In today’s shifting political landscape, the conversation around ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and sustainability has never been more critical. Recent political changes in the northern hemisphere have sparked a wave of questions, concerns, and even polarising debates about the future of sustainability. But here in Australia, we find ourselves...

Jim Allenby

Managing Director, PKF Parvate Sustainability

Clarity Mag

Are you captured by the new money laundering laws?

In November 2024, the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing (AML/CTF) Amendment Bill was passed and, as a result, from 1 July 2026 a range of new services and entities will fall into the financial crime regulatory regime for the first time, imposing a significant regulatory burden. To assist in...

Insights

Fraud prevention: it’s all about opportunity

Fraud in Australia is a persistent fact of life, affecting businesses of all sizes and across all industries. While there is no foolproof method of preventing fraud, the risk can be minimised by taking a systematic and considered approach to its management. It is generally accepted that there are three...

Insights

Is your business system still fit for purpose?

As a partner at PKF Digital, I’ve seen many clients in the same frustrating position: financial audits that were once manageable have turned into time-consuming torture. If you’re spending more time and energy than ever preparing for audits, your business system might be the culprit. Business systems should streamline processes,...

Insights

Sustainability and the role of organisations

Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards are now live. In this article, we explore where your business can start to address these new requirements.

2 contributors

Melbourne,

Insights

Cyber risk: secure your business like you secure your home

There are two types of businesses—those that have been hacked and those that will be. We often work with companies that don't realise how vulnerable they actually are, until it's too late. The biggest mistake? Ignoring key cyber risks, leaving critical information exposed, and not knowing what threats exist. Protecting...

Insights

The future of AI regulation in Australia: understanding the proposed mandatory guardrails for high-risk AI

Regulation is coming: are you ready? Artificial Intelligence (AI) has grown from simple, single-task systems to powerful large-language models (LLMs), like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Co-Pilot, but there hasn't been much regulation or control over its development. The rapid pace of technological advancement has outstripped the ability of regulatory frameworks to...

Rory O'Kane

Senior Data Scientist

Melbourne

Insights

AI as an enabler

AI’s enabling power spans diverse applications and fields. Unlike traditional technologies, AI possesses the ability to learn, adapt, and perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, making it a versatile tool for organisations seeking to stay competitive in a rapidly evolving market. AI fosters collaboration between humans and machines, augmenting...

5 Partners

Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth

Insights

AI risks and opportunities

The integration of AI into various sectors presents a unique blend of risks and opportunities that organisations must skillfully navigate. This section explores the dual nature of AI’s impact, focusing on the practical implications for business and society, offering a more pragmatic exploration of how AI reshapes industries and introduces...

5 Partners

Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth

Insights

AI ethics and governance

The rapid advancement of AI underscores the necessity for robust ethical frameworks and governance mechanisms. AI ethics and governance have emerged as essential areas of study and practice, aiming to ensure that AI technologies are developed and deployed in ways that are responsible and safe. There are a wide range...

5 Partners

Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth

Insights

Elevation and maturity of the internal audit function

With less than six months to go, has your organisation considered how to implement the new internal audit standards? Internal Audit (‘IA’) plays a vital role in helping organisations achieve improved performance, in ensuring risks are adequately managed in an increasingly complex landscape, and in protecting the public interest. To...

Amy Daley

Manager

Sydney and Newcastle

Insights

Time is running out to implement foreign bribery prevention measures

In March 2024, the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024 (Cth) was passed. The Act is designed to remove barriers to foreign bribery investigations and prosecutions previously faced by law enforcement and prosecutors. The key changes include: A company will be criminally liable if an associate (an officer,...

Insights

Enabling a consistent approach to tax affecting your leases and decommission responsibilities

For the year ended 30 June 2024 (and 31 December 2023), entities are required to recognise a related deferred tax asset (DTA) and a deferred tax liability (DTL) for leases and decommissioning liabilities. In June 2021, the Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) published AASB 2021-5 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards...

Garry Mathoda

Partner

Sydney

Insights

ASIC focus to improve investor confidence and knowledge

In May 2024, ASIC published its Focus Areas for the 30 June 2024 reporting season, giving priority to educating and building the confidence of investors. ASIC focus areas are now classified as either: Enduring focus areas, orParticular focus areas. ASIC highlighted financial reporting areas which they have determined to be...

James Lee

Partner

Sydney, Newcastle

Insights

Unpacking the new consolidated entity disclosures

As a result of the introduction of the Treasury Laws Amendment (Making Multinationals Pay Their Fair Share – Integrity and Transparency) Bill 2023, from 30 June 2024 onwards, Australian public companies who prepare a consolidated financial report (except those companies that report to the ACNC) must include a new consolidated...

Ken Weldin

Partner

Melbourne

Insights

Strengthening resilience: Considerations for Australian business following the largest global outage in history

On Friday, 19 July 2024, worldwide infrastructure crumbled in what is now recognised as the largest outage the global economy has ever seen. A critical error in CrowdStrike Falcon led to a widespread outage affecting organisations relying on their endpoint protection services. The error was introduced during a routine software...

Clarity Mag

Changes to financial performance reporting to bring investors more consistency

On 9 April 2024 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued its new standard IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements.IFRS 18 (AASB 18, when adopted in Australia) will replace IAS 1 (AASB 101) Presentation of Financial Statements.This standard is effective for most for-profit entities for financial years commencing...

Simon Fermanis

Audit and Assurance – Lead Partner

Perth

Clarity Mag

Revenue recognition for cloud software providers

The days of desktop versions of software files downloaded and installed on local computers (remember MYOB desktop?) are numbered and providers of software applications such as accounting applications, software security systems, ERPs and a myriad of others are moving to cloud deployments. This presents complexity for the provider of the...

Clarity Mag

PPP operators — have you considered AASB Interpretation 12?

Governments, including local governments and other public sector entities, often enter into arrangements with private sector entities, including charities, to operate and fund public services.These arrangements are commonly referred to as public private partnerships (PPPs). A common example is where, where a private sector entity (the operator), constructs and operates...

Kym Reilly

Partner

Sydney, Newcastle

Clarity Mag

Proposed changes to the ASX corporate governance principles and recommendations

The 4th Edition of the ASX Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations were issued in 2019.On 27 February 2024, the ASX Corporate Governance Council released its Consultation Draft for the 5th Edition of the Principles and Recommendations. The proposed changes are intended to strengthen listed entities’ governance and increase transparency for...

Clarity Mag

Mandated climate reporting in Australia

On 27 March 2024, a Bill was passed in the Australian Government to mark a new era in mandated sustainability reporting for all Australian businesses. Schedule 4 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024 (Cth) was introduced into the House of Representatives to establish...