HEALTH & LIFE’S BEST PRACTICE NEWS ALERT Current circulation:
6985
DATE: ISSUE NO:
23rd October 2006 134
Welcome to Health & Life’s free email newsletter service. Tell a friend that we would be happy to add their email address to the distribution list. This service is to provide Health and Life’s clients and those who attended our presentations with up to date information on key financial and practice management issues that may affect your practice. Please do not use this as a substitute to seeking professional advice.
Writer in charge: Mr David Dahm CPA, BA Acc, FTIA, FFin, FAAPM,GLF.
Health and Life Practice Visits & New “Shadow Directors” & Service Trust Seminars Update
I) Practice Visit – Update David will be visiting practices throughout October and November. The confirmed dates are below. If you would like to catch up with him, feel free to email us. Please hurry as we are nearly booked out at most locations. The travel dates are: Brisbane Melbourne Perth Hobart
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26 , 27 and 28 October 2006 3rd, 9th and 10th November 2006 th th 15 and 16 November 2006 December dates to be advised
For practices new to Health and Life, if you are interested in a practice visit and would like to be put on our wait list in any state please email us. We will contact you when our next series of practice visit dates become available in your home town. Thank you to those practices that have already contacted us to date. II) Seminars – Update Two new seminar topics will cover the issue that practice managers and administrators can be held personally liable under the Corporations Law and recent case law under the “Shadow Director” rules. Furthermore, our seminars will cover common mistakes practices and advisers are making under the new service trust rules. Two new seminar dates and details are below. A new seminar date has been set for Melbourne and the other is in Adelaide. 1. AAPM Practice Management Seminar - Victoria We are pleased to be invited on behalf of the Victorian Australian Association of Practice Managers to present for them in Melbourne. Time: Friday, 3rd November 2006 2.00pm - 5.00pm
Venue: The Travel Inn Hotel Corner Grattan & Drummond Streets, Carlton Contact: Amanda on (03) 9432 0311
The topics we will be covering include: NEW TOPIC ! 1. “Who’s the boss? Please don’t take it personally! As practices move to incorporate their practices under the new industrial laws or operate practices that use corporate trustees, the Corporations Law’s Shadow Director rules may implicate practice managers/spouses and practice staff. Are you a cheque signatory to your practice’s bank account or do you have your name on a practice minutes? What constitute’s a “Shadow Director”? Will you be personally liable? Moving assets into a spouses name may be a great idea but pretty dumb if the same person is also involved in running the practice. What should you do? Topics covered include: •
Duty of care of practice staff – case law and Corporations Law
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Be careful - you can be held liable as a shadow director or negligent employee
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What steps you can take to protect yourself such as job descriptions, insurance, written approvals, practice policy manuals, systems and procedures, etcD
2. Doctor Contracts & Service Entities (Trusts) the Final Ruling Deadline April 2007! – The most common mistakes advisers and practices are making! David was invited by the Federal Australian Medical Association to comment on the Final Tax Office Draft Ruling in relation to healthcare practices. Health and Life also directly lobbied Senior Tax Office legal counsel to have the percentage of gross fees approach used by most medical practices to be accepted by the Australian Tax Office. This has since been accepted in the final service trust ruling. Topics covered include: 1. Yes a service fee of 60% of gross fees can be a commercial rate for a healthcare practice D who cares what the Tax Office says! 2. Service Trusts are still worth it - what legal documents, systems and procedures do you need now. 3. Most common mistakes made by advisers and practices: o Wrong types of provider contracts o Inconsistent arrangements - some providers are employees, some contractors and some are tenants - does the ATO like this? o Using the wrong type of trust e.g. discretionary or fixed unit trusts o Setting service fees too low o Practical problems using the percentage of gross receipts approach when calculating service fees
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No audit trail – where are the monthly paper trail and banking procedures!
2. Adelaide Central and Eastern Division of General Practice - Adelaide th
Date: Tuesday, 7 November 2006 Venue: Wakefield Auditorium Contact: Stephanie Colta (08) 8273 5919 “Vicarious Liability Practice Managers / Practice Staff Networking Evening” As practices move to incorporate their practices under the new industrial laws or operate practices that use corporate trustees, the Corporations Law’s Shadow Director rules may implicate practice managers/spouses and practice staff. Are you a cheque signatory to your practice’s bank account or do you have your name on a practice minutes? What constitute’s a “Shadow Director”? Will you be personally liable? Moving assets into a spouses name may be a great idea but pretty dumb if the same person is also involved in running the practice. What should you do? Topics covered include: •
Duty of care of practice staff – case law and Corporations Law
•
Be careful - you can be held liable as a shadow director or negligent employee
•
What steps you can take to protect yourself such as job descriptions, insurance, written approvals, practice policy manuals, systems and procedures, etcD
Which topics would you like to be covered? If there is a particular topic that you would like covered in one of our future News Alerts, please email pa@healthandlife.com.au and let us know what it is. We will then endeavor to cover your requested topic. Do we have your email address? It is apparent feedback we are receiving that there are persons receiving this regular email who are not on our email list. If you are receiving this email ‘second-hand’ from another source, we would be delighted to receive your email address and we will add you to our list so that you can receive it first-hand on the day that it is sent. This invitation is open to all medical practices. Please send your email address to pa@healthandlife.com.au Do you wish to unsubscribe from our list? Please email pa@healthandlife.com.au if you wish to be removed from out distribution list
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Health & Life Pty Ltd’s Best Practice News Alert is designed as a comprehensive and up-to-date Accounting and Practice Management news service to alert readers to the latest in practice and related developments affecting the medical, dental and allied profession as they happen. It is published when there is news to report. No responsibility can be accepted for those who act on its content without first consulting us or obtaining specific advice.
Health and Life Pty Ltd (formerly acpm.com.au) Accounting & Practice Management Services. “Looking after your future” PO Box 8145 Station Arcade, ADELAIDE SA 5000 Telephone
(08) 8415 5400
Fax
(08) 8231 6767
Email:
pa@healthandlife.com.au
Web Site
www.healthandlife.com.au