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Many years ago I formed a couple of personal family trusts.  They were put in place for the protection of assets, a common reason for forming a trust.

There has been quite a lot of discussion around family trusts of late.

As a lot of people know, a new Trusts Act comes into force on the 30th of January 2021.  The Trustee Act 1956 (it’s predecessor) was well and truly overdue for review, and that has now happened.

Many of our clients have trusts which have done the job well for them over the years.  But now is definitely the time to review trusts with a view to making sure they are fit for purpose going forward under the new Trusts Act 2019.

A number of our clients are looking to wind up their trusts, and others will be making amendments before the 30th of January.

We’ll be contacting our clients shortly to discuss what this all means for them – and please, look out for our webinar “How Robust is your Trust” coming your way in October.

Craig

This morning I presented a speech at my regular Toastmasters meeting.

The title was Dr Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”.

I have long been a fan of the late Dr Stephen Covey.  He has left a legacy of thought and action that encourages us to be the best version of ourselves.

He tells us how we can apply 7 Habits into our lives that move us through dependence to independence to inter-dependence (ie working productively with others to get great outcomes for all parties).

Probably the key thing that stands out to me in what he says is that in order to be effective in our public life we must first be effective in our private life.  This means being “glass half full” type of people, having the “end in mind” and putting “first things first” (doing the important things, not just the urgent things).

His recently updated book is a great read and life changing (and is a very low cost right now on Kindle).

How did I get on with the speech? – I received the Toastmaster of the Day Award.

Thank you, Dr Stephen Covey!

What a change.

6 weeks ago I was out with my 3 old scouting mates doing our annual 4 day run of mountain bike trails – this time we biked the Waikato trails – really good, challenging and much more interesting that I first expected.

The first day was easy – biking beside the gentle flow of the Waikato river – life was good.  Until day two – much different terrain – hilly, demanding, unusual, needed the team to stay focused, needed to watch out for each other.  What a contrast.

And now 6 weeks later here we are….. it’s lockdown.

Most people are prohibited from usual activities.  Most businesses have ground to some kind of halt or a radically changed level of activity.  A bit like day two….it’s hilly, demanding, unusual, we need to stay focused, and watch out for each other.

What do I as an accountant make of all this?

I am heavily influenced by the interactions I have had with my clients.  Many like me were initially stunned by the turn of events and wondered what this would mean.

As time has gone on good practical help has become available:

• There has been lots of help out there from various industry groups, individuals and Government.  I have been particularly impressed by a group that I am a member of – the Franchise Association of New Zealand.  This represents 37,000 individual franchised business in New Zealand and accounts for $27.6 billion of turnover (11% of GDP).  The Association has run a series of webinars for members focusing on what local franchisors are doing to help their franchisees, with experts in law, accounting and banking giving good advice.  Good down to earth advice from people wanting to help people.  Love this.
• As accountants we are part of a group of 400+ other accountants based in NZ, Australia and the UK.  This group is known as GAP. Good solid advice and help coming from this group too as we seek to help our clients get to grips with that they can do to make the most of this time and beyond.  Through this group we were able to circulate our Business Continuity Plan resource and a number of our clients have used this to help them plan out their futures.
• Cash Flow – this is the key to staying in business.  We have been assisting clients with simple forecasts for the bank – predicting what their bank balances will be for the next 12-36 months.  This Service is registered with the Management Capability Development Voucher Fund.

There are still lots of unknowns out there but lots of help available.  Its Kiwis helping Kiwis.

Biking? – as I reflect on the above, life was relatively smooth and easy up to COVID-19, like the “gentle flow of the Waikato river” ….. and now it’s hilly, tough, and we need each other.

So, I’m looking forward to my annual bike trip next year and looking back and thinking, yes we all did the best we could together and while there are still big challenges ahead…. for the most part we as a country are succeeding!

Craig