INTHEBLACK September/October 2025 - Magazine - Page 27
HOW WILL
TARIFFS IMPACT
ACCOUNTANTS?
For companies like Treasury Wine Estates, the
response was multifaceted. Its plan, which was outlined
in an announcement to the ASX in November 2020,
included reducing global costs of doing business such
as supply and overhead costs, and reallocating certain
ranges to other luxury growth markets where there
was unsatisfied demand. It also included accelerating
investment in sales and marketing resources and
capability across these markets to drive incremental
demand and to expand their distribution footprint.
“I think that the recent experience of higher tariffs
was an instructive experience for Australia in terms
of how we deal with trade tensions,” says Branson.
“Now that all of those tariffs have been wound back,
I would suggest that many of those businesses that
established broader relationships with customers in
different markets are therefore more resilient.”
As the new tariff order reshapes the global
business landscape, finance chiefs are preparing for
fundamental shifts in demand, financial conditions
and global trade.
In the Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2025 Tariffs
Report, 72 per cent of respondents said their
companies are already changing, or are considering
changing, sourcing patterns to better manage
US-imposed tariffs. More than half were either
considering or are currently renegotiating
contracts with suppliers, and 49 per cent were
frontloading inventory prior to effective tariff dates.
“CFOs are certainly looking at their contracts
to understand who is responsible for the payment
of the duties in a legal sense,” says Branson.
They are also considering how this cost is shared
throughout their supply chain.
“CFOs can look at restructuring the supply chain
and changing the origin of the goods, but we
haven’t seen a lot of action in that regard due to
the significant uncertainty — tariffs have been rolled
The indirect impact of tariffs may be felt
across all industries due to slower economic
growth. However, industries reliant on
international trade, and especially those
selling to the US, will be impacted most.
For accountants, the impact of new tariffs is
likely to drive demand for professional advice
on issues such as tariff compliance, transfer
pricing adjustments and mitigation strategies
like tariff classification reviews.
Jenny Wong, tax lead, policy and advocacy
at CPA Australia, notes that the current global
tax landscape is shaped by geopolitical
developments, resulting in a “complex and
fragmented regulatory environment”.
“While some jurisdictions advance with
global minimum tax/OECD G20 BEPS Pillar 2
frameworks, others are stepping back from
multilateralism, leading to a resurgence in tax
competition,” she says.
“Accountants need to be able to advise
clients on increasingly divergent regulations,
while also anticipating the impact of
geopolitical tensions on tax policy and
outcomes like transfer pricing.”
Wong believes this positions the accounting
profession as a critical strategic partner in
helping businesses adapt their operations
and investment strategies to mitigate risk,
and therefore recommends that accountants
“develop geopolitical awareness and scenario
planning skills”.
on, rolled off, paused and negotiated with many
different countries, so it’s hard to make a decision
about where to go if you’re going to move your
production,” says Branson.
He adds that CFOs are exploring ways
to optimise transactional structures to lower
the duty value of imports.
“There are permitted adjustments that can be
made to those values that businesses haven’t had
to focus on until recently,” he says. “Sometimes there
are multiple tiers in an international supply chain
GLOBAL GAME CHANGERS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 27
