Elevate CA Blog

Welcome to the Elevate CA blog - a mixture of interesting and useful observations from our team.

Property Development

Tonight a contingent of professionals of different disciplines headed North from Whangarei to Kerikeri to discuss property development. This seminar was organised by Cato Bolam surveyors and held at the Kerikeri Sports Complex. It was a repeat of the successful session held in the Whangarei Cato Bolam offices back in April. The subject matter tonight included the latest issues in resource management, taxation, governance and the latest legal issues surrounding property development.

On the tonight’s panel was Dean Subritzky – Director of Elevate CA Chartered Accountants, Simon Reiher – Principal of Cato Bolam, Alistair Nicholls – valuer from Telfer Young and Roger Bell – Partner from Webb Ross.

Spark $100k Challenge

The Spark $100k Entrepreneurial Challenge is billed as New Zealand’s premier business planning competition. This competition is open to all ventures where at least one of the team is either a staff member or a student of Auckland University. And up for grabs is $100k in cash and kind, which is a bit of a motivator!

The competition is run jointly by the University of Auckland and The ICEHOUSE. This year, close to 100 entries were received, and the 12 finalists were announced at an event at the Auckland Business School on Friday night.

The driving force behind the Spark $100k Challenge is Geoff Whitcher, Commercial Director at the University of Auckland – and a Board member and Trustee of the ICEHOUSE. Unfortunately there is only one Geoff Whitcher, because I have a feeling that if there were 100 of him spread around New Zealand, this country’s budding entrepreneurs would be taking the world by storm. That’s a big comment, but Geoff is one of those guys with seemingly limitless energy for the cause who is constantly connecting people – and inspiring those around him to move and shake a little bit harder.

So back to Spark. Spark is a bootcamp for entrepreneurs that is equal to anything I have seen, and I have spent some time in similar initiatives in Bangkok, San Francisco and Boston over the past few months. The 12 finalists in Spark are given intensive training in the practicalities of bringing a start-up to fruition – and are put in front of some smart folk with battle scars and gems of wisdom.

Out the other end of it, in October, the 12 finalists are put through their paces in a Dragon’s Den style pitching session which decides how the $100k is divvied up. Nerve wracking stuff. I know, as along with Dr Yvette Ahmad I was one of the 12 finalists in 2008 with the BrightMind LABS venture, and we were lucky enough to take the overall runner’s up prize for Spark 2008.

Spark is fantastic for New Zealand. They boast that 35 companies have been formed from the Spark ranks over the past seven years. These companies now employ 160 plus people and sell into 18 countries. That’s worthy of a boast, I would say.

Imagine the difference if we had 100 Spark Challenges operating around New Zealand?

Logo - Spark $100k Challenge

Fraser Hurrell is one of three directors of Elevate CA Limited, Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors in Whangarei, New Zealand.

Shareholder Current Accounts

Thanks to everyone who joined us at the Business Owners Forum this week with Stuart Spicer, Geoff Griggs and myself on the panel. Feedback has been great. There was plenty of quality discussion around shareholder current accounts – and how to make sure they are tax efficient, protected from creditors – and equitable between shareholders.

The Business Owners Forum is a means for business owners to get together for quality discussion around a relevant topic with a panel knowledgeable on the subject. Format is casual over pizza, beer and wine. The supporters are ElevateCA Limited, The Bottom Line Expense Reduction, BNZ, Webb Ross and The ICEHOUSE – and the ethos of the supporters is to keep the forum free from sales.

Business Owners Forums are held monthly – and alternate between Auckland and Whangarei.

The September Business Owners Forum will be held at The ICEHOUSE in the Textile Centre, Parnell, Auckland on 17 September from 6:00pm to 7:30pm. The topic will be “Cashflow”, and the panel of three will consist of Michael Masterson, a senior BNZ banker and myself.

Entry is limited to business owners, and is by invitation. There is no charge.

The October Business Owners Forum will be back to Whangarei in the ElevateCA Limited offices on 15 October from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. The topic will be current employment issues – and an expert panel will be assembled for the session.

The forum is tailored to owners of businesses turning over $1m and upward – so if you fall into that categoty and would like to be included on the invite list, contact me. In a nutshell, the Business Owners Forum is all about quality discussion with no sales.

Oh, and enjoying a beer or wine and pizza with peers.

Fraser Hurrell is one of three directors of Elevate CA Limited, Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors in Whangarei, New Zealand.

Winner – What’s your problem, New Zealand?

I have been criticised for being a bit harsh about the lack of initiatives to help Kiwi entrepreneurs get their products to the world – compared to what is available in America and other OECD countries. I stand by my previous comments, but of course there are some great initiatives here – some of which I have blogged about previously. [Read more…]

Business Owners Forum – Auckland & Whangarei

The August Business Owners’ Forum will be held on Thursday 20 August from 5:30pm to 7:00pm at level 4, 35 Robert Street, Whangarei. The Business Owners’ Forum is for Business Owners to meet and discuss issues of interest and relevance with a panel of experts – and without a sell from the supporters.

This month’s topic is “The mechanics, pros and cons of financing your company through the shareholders’ current account” – and the panel will be Stuart Spicer from Webb Ross, Geoff Grigg from BNZ Whangarei and Fraser Hurrell from Elevate CA.

The topic is big, and here are some details of what will be discussed:

Tax treatment where shareholders finance their company through their current accounts;
Structures to ensure maximum tax deductibility;
Issues around unequal current accounts where there are multiple shareholders;
Protection of shareholders’ interests in their company through means such as GSAs;
How to deal with other parties conflicting claims over the company’s assets;
isuues around cross-collateralisation;
Potential issues should the company fail;
Options around financing the company through the current account from the point of view of the bank and ways this can be structured.

Format will be a casual panel discussion over beer, wine and pizza. For more info, email forum@businessownersforum.net.nz.

The Business Owners’ Forum is held on the third Thursday of every month alternating between Auckland and Whangarei, and is supported by The Bottom Line Expense Reduction, The IceHouse, Webb Ross, Elevate CA and the BNZ. The forum is targeted to owners of businesses turning over $1million or more.

Fraser Hurrell is one of three directors of Elevate CA Limited, Chartered Accountants & Business Advisors in Whangarei, New Zealand.