With nearly half the companies in the FTSE 250 having recently switched auditor or planning to tender their audit in the next two years, the £185m UK audit market is going into overdrive, reports Philip Smith
Yvette Nunn CTA, director at Berkeley Associates, considers the complexity of wear and tear relief for landlords, outlining the winners and losers in the new relief for replacement of domestic items for landlords
Switching from a paper tax disc to an online system for collecting Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) has prompted a fall of over £200m in the amount of tax collected by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in the first six months of operation, new figures suggest
ICAS is warning that big business needs to do more to explain their approach to paying tax, after a survey found that only a third of those polled believe the UK’s largest companies are paying their fair share
Moore and Smalley, ranked at number 47 in the Accountancy league table, has revealed its best ever financial year for turnover and employee numbers, with fee income up 11%. Managing partner Graham Gordon explains the firm's growth strategy
The National Film and Television School (NFTS) has launched a part-time 12-month diploma in production accounting in partnership with the Production Guild, a membership organisation for film and TV production
Taxpayers are being urged to doublecheck their P60s this year to avoid overpaying tax as a result of a raft of changes to tax on personal savings which sees banks and building societies paying interest without tax deductions at source
Mark Boughey and Matthew Haw, partners of RSM Restructuring Advisory, have been appointed joint administrators of Cooper Callas Ltd, the UK’s largest independent bathroom and kitchen distributor, which has collapsed with the loss of over 60 jobs
Deloitte has named Matt Ellis as managing partner for tax in the UK and Switzerland, replacing Andy Hodge who has led the practice for five years and is now retiring from the Big Four firm
HMRC is consulting on proposals to amend the definition of a taxable disposal at a landfill site and for information on the disposal on certain types of hazardous material, as part of a bid to clarify the landfill tax and provide greater certainty about its operation
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced it is to investigate KPMG over the firm’s consideration of and compliance with ethical standards in connection with the provision of non-audit services during the audit of the financial statements of Ted Baker, the designer retail brand
The European Commission has issued guidance urging member states to ensure their taxation and regulatory regimes support the growth of the ‘collaborative’ or ‘sharing’ economy such as Airbnb and Uber, and indicated that new online platforms may also help cut the costs and effort required for tax administration
International businesses are predicting a 5% average increase in effective tax rates as a result of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) action plan, but are split on who will shoulder the burden, according to research by RSM which suggests middle market companies as well as multinationals will feel the impact
There has been a 50% hike in the amount collected by HMRC via the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED), with an extension of the charge boosting tax revenue to £174m last year according to analysis by law firm Collyer Bristow, which warns of the potential impact on foreign property investors
In a long-running case involving film schemes, HMRC has won a case involving the abuse of a tax avoidance scheme estimated to be worth around £100m run by Little Wing Films, after four men falsely claimed to have invested £275m into offshore companies
There has been a 15% reduction in the number of HMRC investigations into high-value big companies suspected of using transfer pricing to avoid tax, according to analysis from UHY Hacker Young which suggests concerns over reputational damage, coupled with cuts in corporation tax, may have played a part
Changes to the rules on benefits and expenses mean that fewer employers have to complete P11Ds but proper record keeping is vital to ensure that HMRC compliance meets stringent rules, says Meg Wilson CTA
Following failures of governance at charities such as the Kids Company, the Charity Commission has issued a consultation on changes to guidance on the external scrutiny of charity accounts and the introduction of a simpler format for the examiner’s report to improve transparency
The increasingly rare fiver is due for an overhaul with the release of details of the final design for a brand new polymer-based £5 note set for release this September
When Finance Mole is asked to join the steering committee for the annual conference, he loosens the purse strings on the finance budget, although he is left confused by wrangling over the contents of the goody bags
HMRC has published guidance for charities to help them decide whether they have to report financial account information under the automatic exchange of information requirements, which are designed to curb aggressive tax planning
Career news this week includes a new banking partner at PwC, BDO gains regional lead partner, OECD appoints tax head, senior tax manager at Hawsons, three lawyers join Carey Olsen, PKF Littlejohn gains a tax partner
Today is Tax Freedom Day in the UK, the first time Britons start earning rather than paying tax in the calendar year and for the first time since 2001, the date has fallen in June
The accounting profession has been criticised for being too elitist in its recruitment policies, favouring graduates over those who have pursued vocational paths into accounting, according to the latest AAT report into the prevalance of vocational education across firms
Changes to the rules under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) could have an unexpected impact on creditors as lawyers warn that sub £100,000 claims against companies entering administration are unlikely to go ahead due to greater protection for directors of dissolved businesses