PAH Accountants

As you can assume from the term Bribery Act it essentially is a piece of legislation that has been produced to counter bribery from taking place within an organisation. Moreover the act also includes businesses that you deal with. It is this aspect that will become a significant issue for many business owners.

What the Bribery Act will increase is the potential prosecution of corporations based in the UK however it has been noted that the Bribery Act does have the potential to also have a positive impact on UK corporates in the long term.

The legislation states that an organisation must be able to convey they have quality controls in place and controls that go to other companies the business deals with such as suppliers, customers, contacts etc. As this is new legislation it does mean that a business may have to alter the way they have ‘done business’ for decades which to some

It has long been the common conception of accountants that they are merely number crunchers and form fillers. But is this really what they do? It could easily be argued that the external accountant of a business is the most valuable adviser to that business. The numbers in the Financial Statements can tell a lot about a business and its financial position.

Factors your accountant can advise on

Particularly in smaller owner managed businesses, the client focus of the accounts is on how much tax is there to pay at the end of the year and, more importantly, can this be reduced as much as possible.

Whether the business is making a profit or loss is usually obvious; however, is that profit analysed any further. Are profits being reinvested to build the business or drawn out immediately by the owners? Are drawings being made in excess of profits, therefore,
putting the business in a negative cash flow position?

Often in reality the Balance Sheet is the most important factor on a set of financial statements. This shows the true position of the company at a point in time. The Net Assets on a Balance Sheet should really reflect how much a business is worth; however,
this can often be

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are on the lookout in 2011 for small business tax under payments and tax evasion with the HMRC’s introduction of making tax compliance spot checks on small United Kingdom businesses.

These compliance spot checks are one of the last things that small UK businesses need as they try to battle the poor economic climate that exists today. What is expected is that roughly 50,000 small UK businesses will be visited, closely examined and if their books do not meet the minimum standards set then they could end up facing a fine of up to £3,000 which for many small businesses could be devastating.

The reason for the compliance spot checks is because

Many companies take the unfortunate view that breaching health & safety is rather like getting a corporate parking ticket – an irritation; mildly expensive; but something which can just be put down to experience.

They couldn’t be more wrong.

A conviction for a health & safety breach is not only a criminal matter (and individuals as well as companies can be prosecuted) but it can also cripple the company’s ability

One of your customers has just contacted you to say that they have decided to switch their service provider. How do you deal with it? Whilst you are obviously disappointed it is important to consider why they may have chosen to switch.

Find out why?

Ask them for the reasons why they have chosen this route. It is likely to be one, or a combination of, two main reasons

• Price – they have found something cheaper
• Service – they don’t feel they have received the service they expected

If it is a question of price, then

Anyone that knows me will know that I am a big football and sports fan. I play in the Cheltenham league, albeit at the bottom end of the scale.

One thing that I am particularly passionate about is getting children playing sport. My son currently plays for Bishops Cannings under 7′s and participates in the after school football club. He also attends Judo classes at his school. I firmly believe that children should be encouraged to be active and not part of the ‘Playstation generation’.

So what has this got to do with accounting? Well nothing really; however, I have recently agreed

It is not often I blog about topical entertainment shows such as the apprentice; however, this weeks episode (10th May 2011) has infuriated me so much that I felt obliged to. I watch the apprentice mainly for entertainment as I don’t feel it represents real business; however, I like to think how I could approach most of the tasks involved.

This particular episode featured an accountant, Edward Hunter, who basically did nothing to enhance the reputation of accountants. He was

The objective of the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) scheme is to support the transport needs of business.

Employees that use their own car for business journeys can be paid the AMAP, free of tax and NIC.

The AMAP rate has been fixed at 40p per mile for what seems like forever (actually 2002!); However, the recent budget

The issue of travel and subsistence is considered to be one of the most problematic and grey areas within small business accounting, particularly for self employed individuals.

The basic reality is reasonably simple; in order to qualify for tax relief, any expenditure must be wholly and exclusively incurred for the purpose of the trade. Where an expense is incurred for a non trade or private purpose

Many businesses ask what are the most important things they need to know about Intellectual Property so here goes:-

1 – If you have an idea or invention DO NOT TELL ANYONE

To be protectable by patent a new invention must be novel and inventive. As soon as you tell someone you have destroyed the novelty and hence made your invention un-patentable. If you do need to discuss your idea make sure you do it under the cover of a Non-Disclosure or