Entries by Rebecca

Financial Management for Medical Professionals

As a medical professional, your focus should be on your patients, not tax returns and spreadsheets. However, the reality is that sound financial management is crucial for managing your practice, having patients return, and ensuring long-term financial security. That’s where working with a medical accountant can make all the difference. This article explores what medical professionals need to know about financial management in order to make informed financial decisions. For personalised advice, contact our team at Foresight Accounting today. The Unique Nature of Medical Practice Finances All businesses manage their workflows and systems differently. In medical practices, medical professionals also need to juggle strict compliance requirements, complex payment and billing systems, and other unique challenges. This means that medical professionals need effective financial management that goes beyond basic bookkeeping. Key Areas of Financial Management in Healthcare Managing finances in healthcare calls for a forward-thinking, strategic mindset. Requiring insight into and understanding of the complex healthcare system, it’s important to understand these key areas when it comes to financial management: 1. Planning Before you can improve your financial situation, you need a clear picture of where you stand. Regularly evaluating your practice’s performance, along with planning for future growth, is essential. This includes looking at profitability, assessing the viability of your current services, and considering the financial impacts of expanding or restructuring. 2. Budgeting and Forecasting Budgeting is the foundation of your practice’s financial management. It sets your expectations around income and helps you make decisions about equipment, staff, and other areas of your practice. Forecasting takes this a step further by helping you anticipate trends, seasonal changes, and unexpected disruptions to stay one step ahead. 3. Generating Income Finding ways to generate more income doesn’t always mean going out of your way to find new patients. It’s about being strategic by doing things like reviewing your fee structure, offering new services, or implementing telehealth. Your goal should be to support your mission and your patients while strengthening your bottom line. 4. Compliance Australia’s healthcare system is governed by strict regulations. Compliance is compulsory when it comes to areas like Medicare billing, patient privacy, and insurance. Staying abreast of these rules and understanding how they affect your financial operations is vital to avoid liabilities and also maintain trust with your patients. 5. Supply Chain Management Every GP, specialist, and allied health professional relies on timely access to medical equipment and supplies. Managing your supply chain means keeping costs down, avoiding waste, and ensuring continuity of care. To ensure your supply chain runs smoothly, you should regularly negotiate supplier contracts, review purchasing patterns, and have a contingency plan for potential shortages or price increases. 6. Cash Flow Forecasting Cash flow isn’t just what’s in the bank today, but rather knowing what is coming in and going out over time. Forecasting your cash flow allows you to know how much you need to set aside for wages, tax, and other financial obligations, so you don’t end up in the red. It also helps to identify future gaps so you can be proactive about your finances, instead of reacting when it may be too late. 7. Financial Risk Management Healthcare itself comes with risks, including financial. Having plans in place to identify, monitor, and mitigate these risks is crucial in healthcare financial management. This includes insurance, backup systems, cash flow contingency plans, succession planning, and more. Why Work With a Medical Accountant? With many financial areas to consider on top of your clinical responsibilities, it’s easy to overlook or miss key tasks. This is where a medical accountant can help. By providing financial support tailored to your profession, they can help you make smarter decisions and ultimately focus more on your patients. Working with a medical accountant offers: Peace of mind that your finances are well-organised Understanding of your business performance Guidance for strategic decisions Support with financial reporting, such as tax returns More time to focus on your patients Gain Financial Foresight into Your Practice Located in Melbourne, our team of medical accountants works with medical professionals to create the correct tax structure, manage tax returns, assist with self-managed superannuation funds, and more. Book your obligation-free consultation today.

September 2, 2025 /0 Comments/by

End of Financial Year Tax Strategies

As the end-of-financial-year approaches, it’s more important than ever to assess your tax plans or start actioning new ones. In Australia, poor taxation planning means more than simply missing out on valuable deductions; it could result in costly fines and penalties.

Effective financial year tax planning might be the difference your business needs to succeed and grow. In this article, we’ll outline the top strategies you should use to put your business in the best position.

For personalised business accounting and end-of-financial-year taxation advice, contact our team at Foresight Accounting today.

The Financial Year and Common Practice

In Australia, the financial year runs from July 1 to June 30, and it’s crucial to lodge your returns at least a few months prior to the end date. Your specific due date will depend on your business structure.

To prepare for the end of financial year, it’s common practice for businesses to employ year-round recordkeeping services. These are vital so that you can track your finances accurately and compile and submit them on time.

Likewise, many businesses may try to plan ahead. This means setting aside money to invest in software that streamlines bookkeeping, as well as taking full advantage of tax deductions and business write-offs.

However, to do so, you will need a thorough understanding of how the tax system works to ensure compliance. This is why so many businesses rely on a professional business accountant for advice and support.

July 25, 2025 /0 Comments/by

Understanding Cash Flow Management in Your Business

Your cash flow is crucial to your business's success. Without the right management strategies, you could risk losing money and putting your business at risk. In the last 12 months alone, 80% of small to medium businesses experienced a negative impact on their cash flow. This could significantly hamper operations, resulting in missed financial opportunities or declining profits. While you may think it's simply keeping an eye on your accounts, it's actually a bit more complex than that. This article outlines the key steps to effective cash flow management, helping you keep your business on track. For personalised business accounting advice, contact our team at Foresight Accounting today. Understanding Cash Flow The first step to better management is to understand what cash flow includes. Put simply, it refers to all payments made into or out of your business. This generally includes: Revenue from sales Including cash and digital payments Business expenses From products to employee salaries, rent and more Investment or income interest Whether from savings accounts or stocks and bonds So when it comes to managing your cash flow, you’ll need to keep track of each of these elements. Some key strategies and steps your business should take to stay ahead of the curve include: 1. Ensure Accurate Accounting Business accounting is crucial for managing your cash flow. A professional business accountant can ensure your books are managed effectively and offer key insights on your current position and future prospects. With this understanding, you can make more informed business decisions by investing or withholding funds where necessary to maximise revenue. It will likely also make it easier to identify wasted or redundant costs that can be reduced, streamlining your processes and mitigating losses. At Foresight Accounting, our team brings years of accounting experience, providing tailored support to businesses of all sizes across various industries. From meticulous bookkeeping to tailored financial planning, Superannuation management and more, we’ll help ensure your business is in the best position possible. 2. Credit Options Offering credit options to your customers can increase the likelihood of purchase. It means a customer can ‘buy’ your product now and pay later. This not only increases your number of potential customers, but can also encourage them to spend more and more frequently. However, employing credit options without significant oversight may put your business at further risk. Ensure you have tight credit terms and be proactive about following up payments, either with reminder invoices or clear terms and conditions. Failing to follow these steps when employing credit for your customers could increase your chances of late payments or non-payment debts. This means your business will not enjoy a consistent cash flow, and may be left waiting. This could slow down your own purchases, making it harder to restock or meet demand. If you already have a credit option, carefully review your policies to see if they can be improved. 3. Keep a Cash Reserve While cash flow is crucial, ensuring you have access to funds when necessary may be even more important. Building a cash reserve ensures you can access a cushion of cash when unexpected expenses arise. By planning your cash flow, you can consistently put aside small amounts of profit to steadily build a cash reserve. While this may ‘reduce’ your current profit, it ultimately safeguards you against future loss. Currently, only 27% of Australian businesses maintain a cash reserve, which provides them with a competitive advantage in sustaining and supporting their operations. If your business has not established a cash reserve, consider how you can adjust your cash flow to do so. 4. Assess Your Inventory Regularly check your inventory to determine which items are in high demand and which are occupying unnecessary storage space. Do your best to eliminate items that are in low demand and reorganise the timing and quantity of stock orders to avoid excess. This not only frees up space but also ensures you are only spending what you need at any given time. Having responsive yet controlled stock allows you to increase your efficiency and cut redundancies. In Australia, 58% of retail brands and D2C manufacturers had inventory accuracy below 80%. This often resulted in overstocking, costing these businesses an average of over $300,000, making it clear why accuracy is crucial to your bottom line. Take One Step Closer to Financial Security with a Business Accountant Melbourne Are you seeking a more effective way to manage your cash flow? Contact Foresight Accounting today for proactive, expert advice. With a free consultation in our Malvern office, we’ll get to know you and your business's needs to offer real support. Help your business thrive and book a meeting with our team. BOOK NOW FOR AN OBLIGATION FREE ACCOUNTING CONSULTATION

July 25, 2025 /0 Comments/by