Insights & News

The landscape of Hollywood shifted permanently with David Ellison’s Skydance Media moving to acquire the legendary Paramount Global. While the headlines focused on the merger of two creative powerhouses, the real story is written in the ledger: a ...

In February 2026, McKinsey & Company published a definitive guide on “How Companies are Valued.” The article argues that valuation is not merely a verdict from the market based on short-term signals, but a result of fundamental str...

By Mark Churchmichael, Head of Compliance & Tax With insolvency on the rise and tighter compliance enforcement from the Australian Taxation Office, there is now far less tolerance for tax debt, late lodgements and broken payment arrangements. ...

A brilliant strategy is a competitive advantage, but execution is the multiplier. For most Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs), the challenge isn’t a lack of ideas – it’s the translation gap. This is the space between the business owner...

As we move through 2026, the boardroom conversation has shifted from “how do we govern AI” to “how can AI help us govern”. The rise of Agentic AI – systems capable of independent planning, executing multi-step tasks, ...

A practical tax, cashflow and wealth comparison for Health Professionals By Mark Churchmichael, Head of Tax & Compliance This guide shows, in real numbers, how moving from employment into your own structured practice can change:tax outcomes ...

When a high-growth technology company loses its CFO, the instinctive response is often to recruit another one quickly. But that isn’t always the smartest decision. This Australian software start-up, backed by $30 million in capital and servicing m...

By Mark Churchmichael, Head of Compliance & Tax As Australians approach the end of the 2026 income year, there’s no better time to take a deeper look at your Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) than right now. With ongoing ATO focus, looming budget...

The collapse of Barbeques Galore into voluntary administration on 12 February 2026 is a chilling case study for every Australian SMB leader. It demonstrates that even a 50-year-old iconic brand can be dismantled in just eight weeks if the gap betw...

When you’re running a fast-growing business, bookkeeping is often seen as a transactional, administrative function – something to be automated or outsourced at the lowest possible cost. At Stewart & Smith, we take a different view. We un...