How to meet the end of financial year (EOFY) calm and confident

There’s a lot of noise out there at this time of year: Messages about the end of financial year (EOFY) with an undertone that ranges from frazzled to chaotic. The broad-strokes assumption is that everyone’s financial anxiety peaks during this time. This might be true for some, but it couldn’t be further from what we see in our clients. There’s no scrambling, no anxiety, no nasty surprises.

Our clients are stepping into the new year calm and collected, and our team is right there with them. In fact, for the entire Ulton Wealth community—clients, advisers, team members—I’d even go so far to say that this time of year is one of reflection: an opportunity to look back on the past year’s big challenges and wins and deliberate on our goals for the year ahead.

The ability to embrace this time of year without the typical wash of stress has nothing to do with mindset and everything to do with action. With good financial hygiene practices the norm, proper planning around every big decision, and ongoing advice from experts who know all areas of their lives inside and out, our clients don’t need to be fearful of what’s waiting around the EOFY corner because they can rest assured, they’ve taken all the right actions at the right times.

We understand that not everyone is in this boat. For those who have maintained a historically shaky grip on their financial management, either through inaction or an absence of planning, the end of the financial year can be a time when the proverbial chickens come home to roost.

This insight into the other side was made all the more clear recently, when I met with a brand new client. This person had sold a business two years ago but didn’t understand which financial year the sale fell into, or what the capital-gains consequences would be. After reviewing the documents, I had to point out to them that the capital gain was in the ‘24 year, which means that you’re potentially looking at $1 million in tax with no way around it.

That is a really nasty surprise for anyone—and what makes it harder to stomach is that it could have been avoided with the right financial planning. This individual’s situation is one that our long-term clients would never find themselves in. When there are big things happening in their lives, like selling assets, we’re talking about it and planning for it well ahead of time. We work out the tax implications and do everything we can—legally—long before the date of sale arrives.

Over the past twelve months that forward-looking stance has been tested more than once. Two developments, in particular, had the potential to unsettle even the most financially experienced individuals: the draft Division 296 super tax, aimed at balances above $3 million, and December’s amnesty on legacy defined-benefit pensions and reserve accounts. Both changes were technical, yet each carried real financial weight. Because we already support our clients with ongoing strategic engagements, we had the capability to act early—identifying who might be affected, modelling the potential impacts, and crunching the numbers. By the time most people were hearing the details for the first time, our clients already had a plan in place.

That rhythm—spot, model, advise, act—creates calm and confidence that outsiders might mistake for luck. Really, it’s the result of deliberate and consistent attention.

If you’d like to enter the next financial year with this sense of calm confidence, try asking yourself three simple questions:

What major life event—business sale, succession, sea-change—is pencilled in for the next three to five years, and have you properly mapped the financial implications of this?
Who, besides you, sees your entire financial picture and is brave enough to challenge your assumptions for better outcomes?
If you work with a financial adviser, how confident are you in their ability to nimbly respond to curveball legislative shifts?

If those questions leave you feeling uneasy, reach out to the Ulton Wealth team for a private and confidential conversation. Our job is to keep watch on the legislation, the markets, and the milestones, so you can keep watch on the parts of life that matter to you.

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