ARH Accountant Services Ltd News

Local Enterprise Partnerships must have a strong business foundation

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:29:13 +0000

Local Enterprise Partnerships must have a strong business foundation

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has written to the Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles MP, to encourage Government to ensure the partnerships have proper business representation as the deadline for local councils to submit plans for Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) closed this week.

The Government has received 59 proposals in total, some of which will be very strong. However, the FSB has concerns that in some areas, business engagement has not reflected the Government’s call that businesses be fully involved in developing the proposals.

Small and micro businesses are the drivers of the local economy and it is imperative that their views are heard and properly represented on any LEP.

The FSB has urged the Government to ensure that where LEP proposals put forward have not been properly backed by business, that it stands firm and does not give the green light to continue until a clear vision for doing so is set out.

Mike Cherry, Policy Chairman, Federation of Small Businesses, said:

“Through our regional offices we have developed excellent relationships with local authorities, which give us a strong perspective on how LEPs should be run.

“The Government will undoubtedly have received many strong proposals, but we are concerned that in some of the proposals submitted there has been a lack of proper business engagement.

“We are today urging the Government to ensure that where there has been insufficient business input into the proposals that they are asked to go away and work further with business to set out a plan with enterprise involved.

“The FSB is the only national business organisation that is truly member-led and it is vital that our members – the local businesses supporting the local economy – have their interests properly represented.”

www.fsb.org.uk

Deloitte warns on electronic tax filing

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:17:08 +0000

Worries over new legislation

Accountancy firm Deloitte has warned moves to make all tax returns electronic could impact how many businesses prepare accounts.

Less than 30 per cent of companies currently file their annual tax return electronically however new tax legislation will make e-filing compulsory for every UK company from April 1 next year.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is currently holding a series of exhibitions in Scotland to explain the impending requirement for businesses to file their tax returns electronically.

Douglas Farish, corporate tax partner with Deloitte in Glasgow, said: “HMRC see the move to electronic filing as key in their drive to reduce operating costs and reliance on manual document processing – while providing a platform for more sophisticated data analysis and interrogation within both tax returns and financial statements.

“They have chosen the iXBRL format which, while unfamiliar to many UK businesses, is rapidly becoming a global standard. It works by producing a web-page of data with a series of computer readable tags embedded within it. These tags essentially barcode the information with common definitions that streamline communication, processing and reporting across different technology platforms.”

But Farish said the scheme will result in an immediate headache for many businesses.

He added: “HMRC have produced an online iXBRL filing system, but this is only suitable for very small companies as it requires manual online input.

“For the majority, getting the tax return and computation into the right format will mean using a tax agent or buying some software.”

By Colin Calder

www.business7.co.uk

HMRC accused of arrogance

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 22:10:27 +0000

Accountant hits out over PAYE

A Scottish accountant has accused the tax authorities of stupidity and arrogance overthe handling of exposed inadequacies in the PAYE system.

Liam McKenna, a partner with Glasgow firm Martin Aitken & Co, decided to speak out after the extent of the huge problems with the PAYE system recently came to public knowledge.

This has resulted in millions of people across the UK facing demands to pay back billions of pounds of underpaid tax.

McKenna said: “Amid the widespread media reports of blunders and calls for the resignation of HM Revenue and Customs boss Dave Hartnett, it has announced -without any prior warning or consultation – that it will no longer be sending copies of PAYE coding notices or tax calculations to taxpayers nominated agents, ostensibly to save money.

“It is dreadful that accountants are being cut out of the loop at a time when our clients will expect us more than ever before to be on top of PAYEcoding details.

“The consequences of this measure are entirely predictable. Without the involvementof agents, more HMRC errors will go undetected for longer and the extent ofunderpayments and overpayments will escalate.

“In the circumstances, the announcement smacks of crass stupidity and arrogance.”

By Colin Calder

www.business7.co.uk

New banking rules might lead to even less business borrowing

arhaccountantservicesltd — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 18:47:27 +0000

New rules being drawn up following a meeting of central bank governors and regulators from around the world in Switzerland at the weekend could see even less money being lent to small businesses.

The new ‘Basel III’ rules agreed following meeting the meeting means that banks will be forced to hold much more capital to prevent a repeat of the recent financial crisis.

Banks will have to increase their core tier-one capital ratio to 4.5% under the plan. In addition, they will have to carry a further “counter-cyclical” capital conservation buffer of 2.5%. Any bank that fails to meet the new requirements is expected to be banned from paying dividends to shareholders until it has improved its balance sheet.

Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, said raising the total common equity requirements to 7% was “a fundamental strengthening of global capital standards”.

But the British Bankers’ Association cautioned that the rules had to be implemented gradually. Angela Knight, the BBA’s chief executive, said last night: “Once the new rules and requirements are in, this may well improve stability of banks and of the financial system.

Knight added: “The transition, though, is the critical bit, as the rules suck money out of the economy. Even though the UK banks are in a much stronger place than most on capital, the Basel changes need to be implemented over a long timetable and very carefully sequenced to avoid prolonging the downturn.”

Britain’s banks are seen as relatively well capitalised today. The european stress tests held in July showed that Barclays had a tier-one capital ratio of 13.7%, followed by Royal Bank of Scotland with 11.2%, HSBC with 10.2% and Lloyds Banking Group with 9.2%.

www.bmmagazine.co.uk

Scottish exporting strongest in the UK

arhaccountantservicesltd — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 18:07:24 +0000

Figures show 5.2pc rise to £15bn

companies and some of our member companies are doing very well there.

“We have groundbreaking development in renewable energy technology in Scotland, and it has huge future export potential for us.

“Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Development, the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service and Scottish Development International are all working extremely hard at the moment to encourage Scottish businesses to think bigger in their sales ambitions.”

Scottish Development International (SDI) has helped more than 900 Scottish businesses develop overseas markets – 100 more than a year ago.

Sdi said that efforts to increase inward investment in Scotland and develop export opportunities contributed £325million in added gross value to the Scottish economy last year.

Anne MacColl, SDI’s interim chief executive, said: “Scotland’s exports are growing and we export more than we import, indicating the positive contribution of our trading performance to Scotland’s GDP.”

Scotland’s imports rose by 3.7 per cent to £11.07bn.

Scottish exports outperformed those from the rest of the UK, according to the latest figures.

Statistics from HM Revenue & Customs show Scotland’s exports were up 5.2 per cent to almost £15billion in the 12 months to June 30.

Manufacturing, engineering and food and drink were among the industry sectors which performed well.

The Scottish performance compared to a four per cent rise in exports in England and double digit falls in Wales and Northern Ireland. The total value of UK exports increased four per cent to £242.4bn.

Dr Peter Hughes, from Scottish Engineering, said:”In the last 10 years Scottish manufacturing and engineering exports have been around £8bn a year on average, which is roughly four times the value of the entire Scottish drinks industry exports.

“Europe, North America and China are all very strong export markets for Scotland”

Sep 10 2010 Scott Mcculloch

www.business7.co.uk

The FSB call for the resignation of Lord Alan Sugar

arhaccountantservicesltd — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:49:34 +0000

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) today called for the resignation of the Government’s Enterprise Tsar, Lord Alan Sugar
Following a meeting of the FSB’s National Council this afternoon (Wednesday, 4 November) in central London, the ruling body of the organisation was unanimous in its agreement that Lord Sugar’s position was no longer tenable.
Responding to a series of comments at business meetings around the country, made by Lord Sugar about small businesses, FSB National Chairman John Wright said:

“The Federation of Small Businesses is extremely disappointed by the comments made recently by Lord Sugar about small firms. Despite being appointed by the Government to champion business in the UK, Lord Sugar seems to have no grasp of the hard work small businesses do and the role they play in employing six in 10 of the country’s private sector workforce and contributing to more than half of UK GDP. Lord Sugar appears to have let his TV personality from ‘The Apprentice’ take over and the language he has used to describe this country’s small business owners is hardly appropriate given his current role.
“Members of the FSB have been in touch to complain about Lord Sugar’s recent performances around the country and we have to call that he resign from his position. We urge the Prime Minister to appoint someone with a greater understanding of, and more empathy for, the small business sector.”

Firms miss out on millions in tax relief

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:53:10 +0000

Every year around £540m R&D benefits go unclaimed

Scottish businesses are missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds in research and development tax relief every year.

Latest estimates suggest up to £540million is going unclaimed by firms which are eligible for the benefit.

However, the most recent figures show less than 6,000 SMEs and 2,000 larger firms in the UK applied to receive tax credits.

The scheme – launched a decade ago – can be perceived as difficult to understand and only for technology businesses, but it is actually open to all sectors.

One successful example was a cake maker which experimented with a new form of caramel and was able to claim a seven figure sum back.

Jumpstart UK, which specialises in assessing eligibility for R&D tax relief, suggests less than 10 per cent of eligible firms in Scotland apply.

Brian Williamson, director, said: “Scottish Enterprise figures suggest there are around 280,000 SMEs in Scotland, and we estimate around five per cent of those companies would be eligible from a size and activity aspect.

“That equates to roughly 14,000 firms, and if you add to this the number of large companies also eligible but not claiming – around 1,000 we estimate – this means overall less than 10 per per cent of eligible Scottish companies apply to the scheme.

“This means there is potentially £540 million in tax credit relief going unclaimed each year in Scotland, and that excludes existing claimants whose claims we help to uplift on average by 390 per cent.”

Simon Cowie, head of corporate finance at accountancy firm Hall Morrice, thinks the actual figure could be far higher.

He said: “I think there is an ignorance of this scheme. If you look at the R&D being carried out in Scotland just in the oil and gas sector each year, it’s amazing the number of firms still not picking up on it, so the actual amount lost each year could be a lot higher.”

Hmrc’s own figures outlining the uptake of the scheme suggest take up, particularly among SMEs, has been poor since its launch in 2000.

Ron Barrie, spokesman for HMRC in Scotland, said: “The problem we have is people simply don’t apply, so we have no way of knowing if they are eligible for the scheme or not.”

Simon Burton, head of tax at Johnston Carmichael, believes the scheme is overly complex and widely misunderstood.

He said: “Many accountants are not up to speed on how to apply and how to make an application on behalf of their clients.

“Hmrc has made some efforts to simplify its own guidelines, but there has been a lot of incorrect advice given by accountants to companies in assessing their eligibility.

“Even modest claims can make a huge impact for a small company.”

Scottish Enterprise said it is trying to publicise the scheme but stressed firms should be asking accountants and financial advisers to take a closer look at eligibility.

Sep 3 2010 Scott Mcculloch

www.business7.co.uk

Darling admits bank bonus tax failed

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:43:37 +0000

Former chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted that the tax on bankers’ bonuses he introduced failed as City financiers devised “imaginative” ways to work around the rules.

Speaking at a financial services conference, Darling said the tax was unlikely to be reinstated by the current government as “the very people you are after here are very good at getting out of these sorts fo things” reports the Financial Times.

The 50% tax on bonuses over £25,000 had also failed to change the behavior of the industry over pay, he admitted.

Written by Paul Grant

Accountancy Age, 02 Sep 2010

One in ten accounts rejected by Companies House

arhaccountantservicesltd — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 12:34:05 +0000

One in ten accounts filed to Companies House has been rejected due to basic formatting errors.

The body, which holds records for all business across the United Kingdom, has issued plea to businesses to have their accounts in order or risk hefty penalties.

Almost 91,000 accounts were rejected between January and June, of these almost a third due to filing incorrect statutory statements. Accounts for periods before 6 April 2008 require different statements included. Companies House rejected 33,349 accounts on this basis.

Other errors included conflicting duplicate accounts or missing signatures from balance sheets.

If accounts are rejected close to the filing deadline, Companies House issues an automatic late filing penalty of between £150 and £1500 for private companies.

Kathryn Cearns, a member of the ICAEW’s Financial Reporting Committee, said new legislation may have caused some of the errors.

“As we all know, it only takes one technical breach along these lines for a company to incur a fine and put the directors in breach of their duties for filing accounts.”

“Undoubtedly, some of this has been caused by the new Companies Act coming in to force, but Companies House has also changed its own rules in some areas, such as names/signatures of directors and where they need to appear,” she said.

Written by Mario Christodoulou

Accountancy Age 02 Sep 2010

Forth Ports to meet takeover suitors after reporting drop in profits

arhaccountantservicesltd — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 14:18:04 +0000

FORTH Ports, the UK’s biggest listed ports operator, today said it would meet with a bidding consortium after rejecting two takeover approaches.

The Edinburgh-based company has agreed to meet with its suitors, “in their capacity as shareholders” following news earlier this month of a £612 million takeover approach by a group of major shareholders.

It also reported full-year figures showing a return to the black in 2009, with pre tax profits of £36.3 million against losses of £30.7 million in 2008. On an underlying basis, profits dropped from £36.3 million to £33.2 million.

Forth Ports owns seven UK ports, including Tilbury in London, Scotland’s largest container port at Grangemouth and Leith in Edinburgh.
The group has seen shares leap ahead after revealing takeover interest two weeks ago.

It rejected an improved 1340p a share proposal from a consortium which currently owns 27.4% of Forth’s shares, following an initial approach in January.

The group said: “The board considered both of these proposals carefully and, having discussed them with its financial advisers, Commerzbank London Branch, and its corporate broking advisers, Investec Bank, the board is of the unanimous view that these proposals fall far short of the value of Forth Ports.

“We have agreed to meet the consortium in their capacity as shareholders.”

The consortium is led by Arcus European Infrastructure Fund, an investment firm formed by the management buyout of part of Babcock & Brown’s European infrastructure business in July last year. Arcus holds 23.5% of Forth.

Other members are Peel Ports – a 3.5% shareholder in Forth with interests including the Manchester Ship Canal and Mersey Docks – as well as RREEF, which is the infrastructure fund of Deutsche Bank.

By DAVID GUNN

Source: scotsman.com