INDEPENDENT FINANCIAL ADVICE

Given that self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) enjoy substantial tax concessions, it comes as no surprise that the Australian Taxation Office wants to ensure trustees play by the rules and don't take advantage of the system.

Hence the existence of independent SMSF auditors, whose role is to check compliance and maintain the integrity of the SMSF sector through yearly audits.

From July 1, 2019, this will change for eligible...

Here’s something you might not expect to hear a financial planner say: maybe repaying your debt is the last thing you should do.

We should explain. Not all debt is equal. Financial planners divide debt into two broad types: deductible and non-deductible. As these names suggest, deductible debt lets you claim a tax deduction for the interest that you pay. Non-deductible debt does not. This means that you have to pay the int...

The last person you would expect to get into $50,000 worth of debt is an accountant. But debt can sneak up on anyone.

Five years ago accountant Najlaa Neetoo was in the process of going through a divorce and had little more than $1,000 to her name.

"We did the asset settlement and I got the investment property, which now in hindsight was not a good financial move," she told Claire Hooper, host of The Pineapple Project podcast.

"I...