Business &amp; Accountancy Daily

Companies

Image for dencher vat pub apportioned using floor space matthews

Tax | Dencher on VAT: pub apportioned using floor space in Matthews

When it comes to property transactions and VAT compliance there are some tricky issues to surmount. Stanley Dencher, specialist tax writer at CCH Online, considers the complexities of VAT treatment highlighted in the Matthews [2016] TC 05426 case about apportionment of a public house and upstairs flat

13 Nov 2017

Tax

VAT

Case Reports

Image for small businesses face digital filing early if vat threshold drops

Tax | Small businesses face digital filing early if VAT threshold drops

Proposals put forward by the Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) suggesting a potential reduction in the VAT registration threshold could impose digital record keeping requirements on small businesses earlier than expected, as well as increasing costs and administrative burdens, the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) is warning

13 Nov 2017

Business | UK foots £190bn annual fraud bill

The annual cost of fraud in the UK is put at £190bn currently, down from an estimate of £193bn in 2016, mostly due to reduced levels of expenditure in key areas such as procurement, according to a research study compiled by Crowe Clark Whitehill, Experian and the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at the University of Portsmouth

13 Nov 2017

Companies

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Finance | Charities challenged on board diversity

Charities are being urged to do more to ensure their boards reflect diversity, encouraging applications from women, young people and people from ethnic minority and socially diverse backgrounds, after a research study focused on trustees found men outnumber women two to one

13 Nov 2017

Charities

Image for hmrc smashes ps108m fake eco investment scam

Tax | HMRC smashes £108m fake eco-investment scam

Six men have been jailed for a total of 45 years for a £107.9m tax crime, which HMRC says is one of the UK’s biggest, based on a fake eco-investment scheme they sold as a tax break for wealthy investors

13 Nov 2017

Business | PwC set to acquire customer relations specialist business CDecisions

PwC has conditionally agreed to acquire UK-based Salesforce consultancy, CDecisions, which specialises in customer relations for financial services firms

13 Nov 2017

AI & Technology

Image for film producer who hid ps180k bankruptcy spotlight faces further restrictions

Business | Film producer who hid £180k in bankruptcy spotlight faces further restrictions

Stephen Wilkinson, a bankrupt film producer from Sussex, will now be bound by bankruptcy restrictions for a further ten years after failing to disclose over £180,000 of income and the existence of three bank accounts, following an Insolvency Service investigation into the failure of a company in which he was involved

13 Nov 2017

Restructuring & Insolvency

10 Nov 2017

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Business | Top tips: how to make your accountancy website perform better

Tim Butler, founder of Innovation Visual, a digital marketing consultancy, provides ten tips on how accountancy firms can improve the performance of their website and generate more leads by including current content, ensuring it is mobile friendly and keeping on top of traffic, among other things

10 Nov 2017

HR | Millennial interviews: the audit director

This week CCH Daily talks to Joe Aswani, an audit director in BDO’s London office, on the struggles of being a trainee, his unique role in audit and how he gets to travel the world

10 Nov 2017

Careers

Image for uber loses appeal payment national minimum wage drivers

Tax | Uber loses appeal on payment of national minimum wage to drivers

In a blow to one of the largest operators in the gig economy, Uber has lost its appeal to overturn last year’s Employment Tribunal decision that its drivers should be paid the national minimum wage and holiday pay, which could result in a hike in NICs payments for the company

10 Nov 2017

Finance | IASB looking to expand sustainability reporting

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is considering whether to expand its current practice statement on management commentary to include wider reference to environmental and societal issues in corporate reporting, after admitting it is currently ‘silent’ on sustainability

10 Nov 2017

Tax | Stamp duty and Brexit dampen property market

Brexit worries and the general election result have taken their toll on the UK-based property and construction sector, with half of businesses viewing the impact as negative and just 9% as positive

10 Nov 2017

Finance | £16m Standard Bank audit transfers to EY

FTSE 100 international banking group Standard Chartered has chosen EY to take over from KPMG as its auditor from the year ending 31 December 2020, ending a relationship of over 40 years in response to new requirements to ensure auditor rotation

10 Nov 2017

Tax | No inflation increase to HMRC worldwide subsistence rates

HMRC has confirmed that worldwide subsistence rates for expenses claims for employees travelling outside the UK will not be increased to account for post Brexit currency depreciation or inflation

10 Nov 2017

Business | EY rated best accountancy firm for student leavers

Ten accountancy firms feature in a new ranking of the top 100 employers in the UK for school and college leavers, with EY leading the way in a table drawn up by RateMyApprenticeship

10 Nov 2017

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Business | Scottish financial services firms target women returners

Seven top Scottish employers including RBS, Standard Life Aberdeen and Prudential, have signed up to a government-funded programme to help professional women get back into skilled financial services jobs after an extended career break

10 Nov 2017

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Business | Insolvency Service guidance on compensation orders for directors

The Insolvency Service has published guidance on compensation orders, which apply if a director is subject to a disqualification order or undertaking and their conduct has caused a quantifiable loss to one or more creditors of an insolvent company

10 Nov 2017

HR | People in the news: Baldwins, RSM, BDO

Career news this week includes three directors join Baldwin’s North East tax team, RSM appoints an indirect tax partner in its London office, BDO’s Birmingham office gains an audit partner from PwC

10 Nov 2017

Careers

Image for 23 accounting firms allow pets office

Business | 23% of accounting firms allow pets in the office

One in five accounting firms now allow employees to bring pets into the office despite 22% of workers complaining about the pet friendly policy, with more women than men believing that having a pet at work helps reduce stress, according to CV-Library

10 Nov 2017

Careers

9 Nov 2017

Tax | When is a trust not a trust?

With the furore over the release of the Paradise Papers highlighting the widespread use of aggressive tax avoidance, Susan Rosser, partner and Gemma Rochelle, senior associate, litigation dispute resolution at Mayer Brown International LLP examine the risks of discretionary trusts in light of the long-running Pugachev litigation

9 Nov 2017

Tax | Littlewoods: end of the road for compound interest claims

Robert Marchant, partner at Crowe Clark Whitehill, considers how the outcome of the Littlewoods case will affect outstanding compound interest VAT reclaims, which are estimated to total as much as £17bn

9 Nov 2017

Tax | Taxpayers warned to check HMRC repayment arrangements

In the run up to January’s online self assessment tax return deadline, the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) is warning of the risk that HMRC will issue any repayments due to last used debit or credit card, rather than the bank payment instructions entered on the forms

9 Nov 2017

Finance | Monitoring Group consults on major overhaul of global audit standard setting process

The Monitoring Group is consulting on a major overhaul of the global audit standard setting process to enhance governance, accountability and oversight which could see a change to the role of IFAC and creation of a single audit and ethical standards setting body to replace the current split structure

9 Nov 2017

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Accounting Consultations

Image for mercer hole launches expert witness service

Business | Mercer & Hole launches expert witness service

Mercer & Hole Chartered Accountants has set up an expert witness service, to provide support giving evidence and opinion on business valuation, professional negligence and divorce cases

9 Nov 2017

Finance | EU approves use of IFRS 16 Leases accounting standard

The European Commission has endorsed the use of IFRS 16 Leases in EU member states following release of the latest IFRS Standards and amendments update

9 Nov 2017

Finance | FRC issues revised practice note on auditing occupational pension schemes

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued a revision of Practice Note 15: the audit of occupational pension schemes in the UK, to reflect a number of developments in this area including changes to UK accounting standards and the revision of the pension statement of recommended practice (SORP)

9 Nov 2017

Auditing

Corporate Governance

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Business | Call to support ‘speak up’ business culture

The Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) has launched a guide on how businesses can encourage a ‘speak up’ culture giving employees the confidence to raise concerns about anything they find unsafe, unethical or unlawful, without fear of retaliation

9 Nov 2017

Companies

Image for frc publishes thematic report best practice

Finance | FRC publishes thematic report best practice

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published three thematic reports, covering judgements and estimates, pension disclosures and the use of alternative performance measures (APMs), in order to help companies improve the quality of their corporate reporting in acknowledged areas of difficulty

9 Nov 2017

Finance

Financial Reporting

Auditing

Image for hmrc extends online registration deadline trusts

Tax | HMRC extends online registration deadline for trusts

HMRC has bowed to pressure from agents and stakeholders and has announced a further extension to the deadline for new trusts to register on its online trust registration service (TRS), designed to replace the 41G paper form which was withdrawn at the end of April 2017

9 Nov 2017

Business | Government pushes for greater top level boardroom diversity

The government is calling for FTSE 350 companies to make more of an effort to encourage senior level diversity, after research showed the percentage of women reaching top board positions remains low

9 Nov 2017