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Discover how the impacts of global events show up in your numbers and what signals to monitor.

BUSINESS  •  18 MAY 2026  •  1 MIN READ

From increasing fuel costs to slower customer payments, global tensions are showing up in everyday business data. Here's what to look out for and how to respond.

What NZ businesses should watch as global tensions rise

New Zealand businesses are in a delicate position. The economy is still recovering from the downturn in 2024, which marked the country’s sharpest contraction since 1991. While sales activity began improving through 2025, based on the latest data from Xero, many businesses are still operating with tight margins and cautious demand.

At the same time, global tensions are beginning to push new pressures into the system. Fuel volatility, shipping disruptions, and shifting supply costs are early signs that international developments may once again influence local business conditions. 

For SME owners, the key question is about recognising the signals that may affect costs, demand, and cashflow in the months ahead.

In uncertain conditions, the most useful signals show up in everyday business data and operational changes. 

A few indicators that we recommend watching include: 

Cost pressures often appear first in supplier communications rather than economic reports. Businesses may start receiving notices about updated pricing, fuel surcharges, or revised freight costs. Rather than viewing these changes individually, it can help to track them collectively. 

If several suppliers begin adjusting prices within a short period, it often indicates broader cost pressure building upstream in the supply chain. 

When that happens, it may be worth reviewing a few things early: 

Whether current pricing still protects margins

Which cost increases can realistically be absorbed

Whether inventory purchasing or supplier mix should be adjusted

Spotting these patterns early can give you more time to plan before higher costs fully work their way into your financial results.

Fuel volatility tends to move through transport and logistics fast. Freight forwarders may revise rates or adjust schedules as shipping conditions change. Businesses that rely on imported goods or materials often see these shifts before they appear in official inflation data. 

If freight costs begin changing, it can be helpful to assess how exposed your business is to transport pricing. For example, how much of the product cost is tied to shipping, whether current freight assumptions in pricing still hold, and whether inventory planning should be adjusted to manage cost volatility. 

For some, even small changes in freight rates can significantly affect margins, particularly when goods are imported or move frequently through distribution networks. 

Monitoring these changes early can help business owners adjust purchasing or pricing decisions before higher transport costs begin showing up in financial results.

Monitoring customer demand remains critical in uncertain economic conditions. Changes in order volumes, booking activity, or sales cycles can provide early signals about changes in the broader economy. 

Rather than waiting for a clear drop in revenue, watch for more subtle changes, such as: 

Customers delaying purchases or extending decision timelines

Smaller order sizes or more cautious buying patterns

A shift toward lower-cost products or services

These usually appear gradually before they show up in monthly revenue figures. Recognising them early can help you adjust inventory, marketing activity, or cost planning before a slowdown becomes more visible in financial results. 

One of the earliest signs of economic pressure often appears in accounts receivable. If customers start taking longer to pay, it usually reflects tightening cashflow somewhere in the supply chain. This doesn’t always appear as outright late payments. Sometimes invoices simply sit longer before they are processed or approved. 

Looking at trends in receivables can reveal these changes early. If average payment times begin drifting upward across multiple customers, it may indicate that financial pressure is building within the wider community. 

In these situations, keeping a closer watch on outstanding invoices and projected inflows can help businesses avoid unexpected cashflow gaps. 

Turning uncertainty into better financial decisions

Periods of global uncertainty tend to expose weak spots in a business's financial structure. When costs move quickly or demand shifts unexpectedly, the businesses that respond faster are usually the ones with the clearest visibility over their numbers.

Here are a few practical steps that can help strengthen that visibility:

Rising costs don't always appear immediately in profit figures. Monitoring margins regularly helps identify when freight, supplier pricing, or operating costs are beginning to erode profitability. 

2. Update cashflow forecasts more frequently

Forecasts are most useful when they reflect current conditions. Updating projections regularly helps businesses anticipate potential pressure points rather than reacting once cashflow tightens.

When suppliers begin adjusting prices or adding surcharges, it can indicate broader cost pressures across the supply chain. Identifying these patterns early gives businesses more time to review pricing or purchasing decisions. 

In volatile environments, pricing models built on last year's cost structure may no longer hold. Periodically reassessing pricing assumptions helps protect margins. 

Changes in how quickly customers pay invoices can reveal early signs of financial stress across an industry. 

While global events are outside of your control, how quickly you see their impact on your business and respond to them isn't.

In uncertain times, financial visibility is especially important as it helps separate reactive decisions from informed ones.

At Beany, our accounting and advisory services can help clients gain insight and understanding from their numbers. If you're looking for a full-service accounting firm that helps with not only tax but can also provide regular CFO-level insights, book a free discovery call.

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What New Zealand businesses should watch as global tensions rise

Business advice

Find out what can trigger an IRD audit and what reduces the risk of being on IRD's radar.

COMPLIANCE  •  18 MAY 2026  •  6 MIN READ

Find out how the IRD selects businesses for audit, what patterns trigger a review, and what business owners can do to reduce their risk.

How the IRD chooses businesses to audit

Most business owners assume an IRD audit happens because someone has done something wrong. 

In reality, audits are often the result of uncertainties or inconsistencies in the information a business reports. It’s very rarely a single issue that leads to an audit, but rather a lack of clarity in how the numbers fit together.

Understanding IRD’s selection process can help remove some of the uncertainty and reduce the stress that an audit can bring.

It can feel like audits happen out of nowhere, but the IRD generally selects businesses based on risk rather than at random.

Tax information is regularly assessed against risk indicators. The information filed with IRD is analysed and compared with what would normally be expected for businesses of a similar size, structure, and industry. Current figures may also be compared with previous filings to identify any unusual changes or inconsistencies. When something stands out, it can trigger a review.

Inland Revenue also regularly updates its compliance focus. This means certain industries, activities, or behaviours may be under closer scrutiny at different times.

If you’re selected for an audit, the IRD may not tell you exactly why you were selected. This is done to protect the integrity of their selection process.

Signals the IRD may look for in small and medium businesses

When Inland Revenue reviews a business, they are not looking for small mistakes. They are looking for patterns that don't make sense when compared with the information they hold. 

These patterns usually appear across your tax returns, bank activity, and reported income and expenses. 

Common signals that may attract IRD's attention include:

Spending that does not match reported income

Bank deposits that don't align with declared sales

Gross profit margins that sit well below industry norms

Regular cash jobs while materials and expenses are paid on credit

Using undeclared cash for personal expenses or asset purchases

Credit card use in places that don't match the nature of the business

Links to other people or businesses already under investigation

Transfers between personal and business accounts without clear explanation

On their own, any one of these may not mean much, but when several appear together, they can form a pattern that IRD's systems flag for further review.

Industry and compliance focus matters more than you think

Each year, the IRD sets specific compliance focus areas based on where they are seeing the highest levels of risk, error, or non-compliance across the country. These focus areas often relate to particular industries, business activities, or types of transactions. 

If your business operates in a sector that is currently under review, you may be more likely to be selected.

This is one of the reasons audits can feel unexpected. You may not have changed anything in your business, but IRD's focus may have shifted toward the type of work you do. 

The IRD periodically publishes information about its compliance focus, but many business owners aren't aware of it. Being in a focus industry doesn't mean you've done something wrong. It simply means your business sits in an area that the IRD is currently monitoring closely.

The IRD doesn't just look at the most recent return. Patterns such as late filings or payments, frequent corrections, or gaps in record-keeping can all contribute to how your business is viewed from a risk perspective.

If a business has previously been audited, required adjustments, or had ongoing difficulty meeting tax obligations, this history may influence how future returns are reviewed. This doesn't mean you are permanently flagged, but IRD considers past behaviour when assessing whether further scrutiny is warranted.

Many audits don’t start as a full investigation. Instead, it starts with what IRD calls a “risk review”. A risk review is generally handled through written requests and information gathering to evaluate the risk of non-compliance. In many cases, once they have the information they need, the review does not progress further.

You will usually receive reasonable notice when Inland Revenue begins a risk review or a formal audit. If you use a tax agent for the tax type being examined, IRD will typically contact them first. Both you and your agent will then receive written confirmation outlining what they intend to review and the expected timeframe. 

A formal audit is different. In certain situations, the IRD has the legal authority to visit business premises without prior notice. If this occurs, you are required to allow the IRD officer access to relevant records and systems. 

Understanding the difference between a review and an audit makes the process far less confronting. Many cases stop at clarification. Only when concerns remain unresolved does the IRD escalate the matter to a more formal audit.

The IRD approaches large enterprises differently from small and medium businesses, but the underlying principle is the same. They are looking for risk. 

Large enterprises are subject to ongoing risk assessment rather than one-off reviews. The IRD may monitor different parts of the business over time, including specific tax types, internal systems, and compliance processes. If a significant issue is identified, it may lead directly to a formal audit. Potential risks may also be scheduled for review at a later date. In some cases, targeted reviews of certain business areas or systems are carried out as part of Inland Revenues broader compliance plan. 

For smaller businesses, this process tends to happen in stages through risk reviews and data analysis. For large businesses, monitoring is more continuous.

Regardless of size, the IRD focuses its attention where risk signals are strongest.

One part of Inland Revenue's process that many business owners are unaware of is voluntary disclosure. If you realise there is an error in your tax affairs, you can tell IRD before they discover it themselves.

Making a voluntary disclosure can significantly reduce the penalties that would otherwise apply. It shows IRD that you are acting in good faith to correct a mistake rather than trying to avoid detection. 

Voluntary disclosure is still possible even after you've received notice that IRD intends to review or audit your business. The earlier you do this, the more favourable the outcome is likely to be. 

For businesses that suspect something in their records may not be quite right, addressing it proactively can make a substantial difference to how the situation is handled. 

What actually keeps you off the IRD's radar

While much of the discussion around audits focuses on what triggers IRD’s attention, it’s equally useful to understand what indicates low risk.

Businesses that present consistent, logical, and well-documented information across their returns are generally considered lower risk. When your reported income matches your bank activity, your expenses make sense for the type of work you do, and your profit margins sit within expected industry ranges, your numbers don't raise questions. 

Clear record-keeping also plays an important role. Being able to explain how figures were calculated and keeping business and personal finances separate helps create a consistent picture of how your business operates.

Filing and paying on time and responding promptly to any IRD communication also contribute to a stronger compliance history over time.

In most cases, IRD audits are triggered by patterns rather than a single mistake. Understanding how patterns are identified helps remove some of the mystery and highlights the importance of clear, consistent reporting.

For further information, view Inland Revenue’s official audit guide.

New IRD crypto reporting rules, what gets captured, and how to get your records in order. 

INDUSTRY NEWS  •  24 APRIL 2026  •  4 MIN READ

Changes for NZ crypto investors from 1 April 2026. New IRD reporting rules, what gets captured, and how to get your records in order.

2026 crypto reporting changes

The IRD has already identified around 227,000 cryptoasset users in NZ, linked to roughly 7 million transactions with a total value of about NZ$7.8 billion. This is now an established financial activity, not a niche edge case. 

From 1 April 2026, that activity moved into a more structured reporting system and a new era of transparency. While this isn't a change to how gains are taxed, what changes is how much the IRD can see and how consistently that information is captured.

The system being adopted is the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), an OECD framework that is now being used across multiple countries for tracking and reporting on crypto activity.

From 1 April 2026, crypto platforms must begin collecting data that will be reported to the IRD. 

That data covers 3 key types of activity: 

Crypto to local currency transactions: Buying or selling crypto using New Zealand dollars.

Crypto-to-crypto trades: Swapping one asset for another, such as bitcoin for ethereum or stablecoins.

Transfer between wallets: Moving crypto between accounts or platforms where it meets reporting thresholds. 

The first reporting period runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, with reports due by 30 June 2027. While reporting happens later, the data capture starts from the beginning of the 26/27 financial year.

That information is then shared with the IRD and where relevant, exchanged with tax authorities in other participating countries. 

Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers (RCASPs)

On the platform side, Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Providers such as exchanges, brokers, and wallet providers are required to collect user information, track relevant transactions, and submit reports each year. They must also keep records for a set period and register for reporting through the IRD. 

For investors, this applies to anyone using those platforms, whether trading locally or through overseas exchanges. If you hold or transact crypto through a provider that falls under the framework, your activity can be captured and reported. 

It also extends beyond local New Zealand platforms. Information will be shared between tax authorities in participating countries, which means activity on overseas exchanges can still be reported back to the IRD if you are an NZ tax resident.

What happens if requirements aren’t met

Crypto platforms that fail to meet their reporting obligations can face fines for non-compliance. Meanwhile, investors who don’t provide the required information to those platforms can also be penalised. 

Beyond fixed penalties, the bigger risk sits in how reported data is used. If the IRD identifies gaps or inconsistencies between reported activity and tax returns that can lead to a reviews of prior years. 

Where adjustments are required, additional tax, interest, and penalties may apply depending on the circumstances. 

With reporting becoming more structured, now is the time to get your records in order:  

Pull together a complete transaction history across all platforms used: Include trades, swaps, and transfers, not just activity involving cash. 

Identify where disposal events may have occurred: Crypto-to-crypto traders are often missed but can still create tax positions. 

Check whether past reporting reflects actual activity: Gaps usually come from missing records or misunderstood transactions. 

Address incomplete or unclear records early: Reconstructing activity becomes harder once reporting data starts to build.  

The focus is simple. Make sure what's been reported in past returns (or will be reported in the future) reflects what actually happened.  

From here, the focus moves to whether your past crypto activity can be backed up. If trades, swaps, or transfers haven't been taxed properly, that becomes harder to ignore over time. It's not about a single transaction, but it's whether your full history can be explained and supported if it's ever looked at in detail.  

If you're unsure how your crypto activity should be treated, Beany can help you work through it and get everything into order.  

Industry news

Miel Meyer on his family’s legacy, commitment to quality and what's churning for the next fifty years.

Business Spotlight •  13 April 2026  •  6 min read

We talk to Miel, CEO of Meyer Cheese, as he outlines his family’s legacy, commitment to quality and strategies for growth.

Beany Business Spotlight: 50 years of Meyer Cheese and building the next 50.

From a side hustle in the family cellar to award-winning dairy, Miel Meyer on heritage, craft, and what's churning for the next half century.

It started with a boy and a block of cheese. When Miel Meyer's father was young, his mother would send him to the local shop to fetch cheese for the family. That simple errand, the walk, the shop, the block wrapped and carried home left something lasting in him. Coupled with a childhood spent watching the local monastery make cheese from milk supplied by their own farm, a seed was planted that would take decades to fully bloom.

By the 1970s, that seed had become a side hustle. A trained engineer working for Philips, Miel's father missed working with his hands. So he started making cheese in the evenings and on weekends, selling it from the cellar of the family home. His wife, a teacher, kept the household steady while he found his footing. The first cheese was sold on the books in 1976, and that's the year Meyer Cheese was officially born. Miel arrived eight years later, born into a world already shaped by cheese. 

Fifty years on, that engineering instinct his father brought to the bench hasn't gone anywhere. Now retired for two decades, Meyer still joins his son for lunch most days and still makes his feelings known when a cheese falls short. "He'll let me know when a cheese is bad" Miel says with a smile. That perfectionism, that quiet insistence on doing it properly regardless of scale, remains the standard Meyer Cheese is built on.

And right now, that standard is being applied to something close to the family's heart. Meyer Cheese turns 50 this year, and Miel's goal for the milestone is the launch of a secret new whipped dairy product. A recipe his father has made at the end of every season for Miel's entire life. The story behind it is pure Meyer, when his mother first visited his father's family home as a teenager, she fell in love with this dairy product before she fell in love with her future husband. 

The launch is planned for October, as part of the opening of a new 800 square metre factory extension. The tagline Meyer Cheese is running with says it all: Est 1976 - 50 years. Building the next fifty.

That forward momentum runs through everything the business is doing. 2026 will also see the introduction of new formats designed to meet changing consumer needs for convenience and added value. Alongside that, Meyer Cheese is continuing their commitment to something increasingly rare: a completely preservative-free product line. No flavour numbers. No shortcuts. Clean labels that reflect how the Meyer Cheese products have always been made.

In a market where authenticity is increasingly easy to fake, Meyer Cheese is leaning into the real thing, farm visits, community engagement, and paddock-to-plate storytelling. Real experiences that no algorithm can manufacture.

As for what comes next beyond October? Meyer Cheese will enter its full range at the World Cheese Awards later this year. No New Zealand company has ever taken the top spot across more than four thousand entries.

And Miel’s favourite cheese dish? Garlic and chives, in a grilled cheese sandwich. Every time.

Meyer Cheese is the feature of this Beany Business Spotlight. Celebrating the businesses that know where they've come from and exactly where they're going.

Meyer Cheese has been working with Beany to take control of their financial future. With Beany's support, and in particular that of senior accountant Natalie, Miel has been able to step back from the day-to-day of the accounts and focus on what matters most: building the new factory, developing new products, and planning for the next 50 years. For the first time in decades, Meyer Cheese is looking forward, forecasting P&Ls and budgets with confidence rather than backward.

Thanks for your time, and for sharing your story - here’s to more awards and the next half century.

50 years of Meyer Cheese and building the next 50.

Business spotlight

Hear from leadership speaker and author Ellen on helping organisations rethink leadership and performance.

CASE STUDY  •  10 APRIL 2026  •  4 MIN READ

Hear from Dr. Ellen Joan Ford as she shares her story as a speaker and facilitator, helping organisations rethink how they lead and support flexible ways of working.

Ellen Joan Ford - Redefining work around real life

Meet Ellen Joan Ford, leadership speaker, facilitator and author

Ellen Joan Ford runs a purpose-led business in the leadership, culture, and high-performance teams space. With a background in the army, corporate leadership, and academic research, including an MBA and PhD in leadership, Ellen left the corporate sector to build a business centred on one core belief: leadership can be done differently. 

Now in her fifth year of business, Ellen works as a speaker and facilitator, helping organisations rethink how they lead people, measure performance, and support flexible ways of working. She is the author of #WorkSchoolHours, which challenges traditional ideas about work, parenting, and productivity, particularly for working parents. Her work has been recognised nationally, including a Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year Local Hero award and a Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award. 

Running a solo business brings a different kind of pressure. Ellen does not have a fixed salary, and as a single mum, her household relies entirely on her ability to secure bookings and bring in work consistently. That reality makes financial uncertainty more than inconvenient. It makes it stressful. 

In the early stages of building the business, managing cash flow and forecasting expenses carried weight. Without predictable income, budgeting becomes more deliberate.

Her previous accounting setup added to that pressure. Fees were billed by the minute, which meant even asking questions required caution. Conversations that drifted into broader business context or personal circumstances could later appear as additional line items. Over time, that created hesitation. Instead of feeling supported, there was an undercurrent of needed to be efficient with every interaction. 

For a founder already navigating the uncertainty of self-employment, that added mental friction. What Ellen needed was clarity and predictability around a core business function, not another variable to manage. 

What initially drew Ellen to Beany was the fixed fee model. Knowing exactly what her accounting costs would be each month made budgeting easier and removed the fear of asking questions. The cost certainty mattered immediately. 

Over time, her experience with Beany went beyond pricing. As she interacted with the team, Ellen noticed something important. Beany operates in the same way she encourages organisations to work. The team is remote-first, works flexibly, and focuses on deliverables rather than hours. Many of the people she interacted with were working mums balancing work and life in a way that did not feel competing. 

For Ellen, that alignment mattered deeply. Beany was not just providing accounting support. It was living the principles she teaches: trust, flexibility, and respect for people as whole humans. 

“It's an organisation that cares about offering great client service, but provides conditions for the team members to be able to do work and life in a way that's not completely competing. I've enjoyed working with Beany because they provide good services, and give me that stability of costs. So I really like that. But I also enjoy the fact that they are kind of practicing what I'm preaching. So I feel really positive being aligned with Beany on that regard,” Ellen said.

Ellen believes belief in what you are building is essential. Especially in a small or solo business, purpose is what carries you through pressure. 

She said, “My leadership model is Belonging, Autonomy, and Purpose. And so you've got to believe in what you're doing. There's got to be a reason for it. And so I feel really lucky that I'm kind of living my purpose. Like, I believe that I'm meant to be trying to change the world. And yeah, when you believe in something, I think you can really go to the nth degree to make it work.”

She also believes leaders often underestimate the impact of flexibility, belonging, and autonomy. Helping people thrive as human beings is a drive of performance. When people feel trusted and supported, they deliver better outcomes for the business. Those principles apply whether you are leading a team or choosing the partners you work with. 

Ellen is currently working on her next book, focused on leadership lessons drawn from her experience volunteering in the evacuation of people from Afghanistan. Alongside that, she plans to continue building year-on-year growth, expanding her reach, and turning leadership ideas into practical action. 

As a single mum running a viable, purpose-led business, her focus remains on sustainability. Doing meaningful work, creating real change, and building a business that supports both life and livelihood. 

You can find out more about Ellen's work at www.ellenjoanford.com

Case study

Learn the tax rules for rental income, from deductions and GST to interest deductibility and brightline tests.

TAX  •  13 FEBRUARY 2026  •  4 MIN READ

How tax works for rental income in New Zealand

The moment rent starts hitting your account, it also enters the tax system. Knowing how these two worlds connect is what separates confident landlords from confused ones. 

New Zealand's property tax system isn't designed to be intimidating, yet the details can get tricky. The good news is once you understand the basics, it becomes much easier to stay on top of things and keep more of what you earn.

Understanding how much you get taxed on rental income makes it easier to manage your investment confidently and avoid surprises when it's time to file.

How rental income is taxed (and how much you'll pay)

In New Zealand, the tax on rental income depends on who owns the property.

If the property is owned by an individual

Rental income is taxed at the owner's marginal tax rate, as part of their annual income tax return. If the property is jointly owned, each owner returns their share of the rental income and expenses.

Rental profit (or loss) is part of the company's income and is taxed at the company tax rate (currently 28%). 

Rental profits form part of the trust's income. Broadly speaking, the tax amount depends on whether income is retained by the trust or distributed. For trustee-retained income, the trustee tax rate is 33% when trustee income is $10,000 or less, and 39% when it's more than $10,000 (with some exceptions). If the income is distributed to beneficiaries, it’s taxed at their personal tax rate.

If you're a New Zealand tax resident, you're generally taxed in NZ on your worldwide income, which can include rental income. 

If you're non-resident for New Zealand tax purposes, your NZ-sourced rental income is still taxable in NZ, and you'll generally need to declare it in a NZ return and keep records for expenses. 

You may be able to claim relief to avoid double taxation through a double tax agreement, depending on your situation and the relevant treaty.

Important: Non-resident withholding tax (NRWT) does not apply to the rent you receive. However, if you have a mortgage with an overseas lender, NRWT or Approved Issuer Levy (AIL) may apply to the interest paid on that loan.

GST treatment depends on whether the property is residential or commercial, and how it is used. 

A common question landlords ask is “does rent include GST?” and for long-term rentals, the answer is no because this type of rent is GST-exempt. This means you do not charge GST on the rent you receive. You also can't claim GST on expenses related to providing that residential rent. This applies to standard tenancy arrangements where someone lives in the property as their home. 

If you provide short-stay accommodation such as Airbnb, Bookabach, or serviced accommodation, this is treated differently from long-term renting. 

This type of activity is considered a taxable supply for GST purposes. If your total turnover from all taxable activities exceeds $60,000 in any 12-month period, you must register for GST. 

The platform you use to list the property may be required to collect and return GST to IRD on your behalf. You can read more about it in our article about GST and digital marketplaces. 

Commercial property rentals (e.g. offices, shops, warehouses) are generally GST-taxable if the owner is GST-registered. In that case, you charge GST on the rent and claim GST on related expenses. When seling the property to another GST-registered person for a taxable activity, the sale can be zero-rated for GST.

Every property costs money to run, but not every cost counts when it comes to tax. The IRD only lets you claim expenses that are directly related to earning rental income. It's quite simple - you can deduct what keeps your property running, not what improves its value. 

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