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Finance | Companies Act 2006 Part 9: directors’ duties

This article, the ninth in our series on the Companies Act 2006, will focus on the statutory duties of directors, considering the implications around avoiding conflicts of interest, exercising independent judgments and promoting the company

10 Jan 2018

Financial Reporting

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Finance | Winton: closing defined benefit pension scheme at BA highlights liabilities

British Airway’s decision to close the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) raises the risk of defined benefit pension liabilities and highlights the problems with a focus on dividend policy, warns Anne-Marie Winton, partner at ARC Pensions Law LLP

10 Jan 2018

Financial Reporting

Accountancy Firms

Image for case special allowance decommissioning rejected mouk

Tax | Case: ‘special allowance’ for decommissioning rejected in Mouk

Marathon Oil UK (MOUK) had its appeal against special allowance for decommissioning dismissed as the First Tier tribunal ruled that expenditure had to be incurred directly on plant and machinery

10 Jan 2018

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Finance | Charity Commission set to disqualify unsuitable CFOs and chief executives

From 1 August 2018 changes to the automatic disqualification rules for trustees and senior managers mean there will be more restrictions on who can run a charity in a bid to tighten governance

10 Jan 2018

Leadership & Management

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Business | EY makes first Irish acquisition

EY Ireland has acquired DKM Economic Consultants, the firm’s first ever acquisition in Ireland, in a bid to extend the firm’s economic advisory services

10 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

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Business | Fake VAT claims put marketing man in jail

A company director from Aberdare, who set up fake businesses and sent bogus invoices between them as he attempted to steal more than £140,000 in tax, has been jailed for 18 months after an investigation by HMRC

10 Jan 2018

Called to Account

Image for apple pays extra ps136m tax after hmrc audit

Tax | Apple pays extra £136m tax after HMRC audit

Tech giant Apple has paid an additional £136m in tax and interest payments to the UK tax authorities following an ‘extensive audit’ by HMRC, according to records filed at Companies House

10 Jan 2018

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Business | Food retailer Byron announces CVA proposal

Upmarket chain Byron Hamburgers Ltd has announced a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) proposal to be handled by KPMG as part of a financial restructuring that is likely to see it close up to 20 branches in a bid to cut rental costs

10 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

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Finance | FTSE 250 company to check cheque controls

FTSE 250 building products supplier SIG, which is a leading distributor of specialist building products in Europe, has said it is to review the controls around cheque issuance after a historical overstatement of cash and trade payables resulted in higher closing net debt for 2017

10 Jan 2018

Financial Reporting

Accountancy Firms

9 Jan 2018

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Tax | Making Tax Digital for VAT: how will it work

Plans to go ahead with Making Tax Digital for VAT reporting from April 2019 are well under way with the government consulting on final details of the rules for so-called ‘electronic accounts’. Stephen Relf CTA ACA, tax writer at Croner-i, examines the proposals

9 Jan 2018

Making Tax Digital

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Business | Grant Thornton reports 6% drop in fee income to £500m

Grant Thornton UK LLP has reported a drop in fee income to £500m, down from £534m in 2016 due to a one-off cancellation of a major government funded contract, but profitability has improved as the number five accounting firm has strengthened various services lines, including forensic services

9 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Leadership & Management

Image for case no legitimate expectation based hmrc manual

Tax | Case: no legitimate expectation based on HMRC manual

A claim for judicial review was dismissed as the court found that there was no legitimate expectation created by a HMRC manual and therefore it was fair for HMRC to insist rules were applied

9 Jan 2018

Image for ex bhs owner court failing provide pension information

Finance | Ex-BHS owner in court for failing to provide pension information

The former boss of BHS, Dominic Chappell, failed to hand over information on the retail businesses’ pension scheme to investigators despite being asked numerous times, a court heard

9 Jan 2018

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Business | Small talent pool reason for lack of women in senior roles

One of the main reasons for the lack of women in senior roles across the financial services sector is due to a small talent pool, a partner from PwC has told the Treasury Committee, with calls for firms to be tracked and held accountable on their gender diversity progress

9 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Leadership & Management

Image for bishop fleming announces change managing partner

Business | Bishop Fleming announces change to managing partner

Top 50 firm Bishop Fleming has announced Andrew Sandiford as its new managing partner as part of enhancements to the management structure of the business, which has expanded significantly in recent years

9 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Leadership & Management

Image for failed musical hits ps26m wrong note

Business | Failed musical hits £2.6m wrong note

A failed theatre production company which collapsed just before Christmas, ending plans for a nationwide tour of a musical starring celebrity tenor Russell Watson as the voice of God, could owe creditors as much as £2.6m, liquidators from Quantuma report

9 Jan 2018

Restructuring & Insolvency

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Tax | No change at top of Treasury in Cabinet reshuffle

Chancellor Philip Hammond held on to his seat in Prime Minster Theresa May’s new year Cabinet reshuffle, which saw no major changes after senior members refused to change jobs, including health secretary Jeremy Hunt who turned down the option to become business secretary

9 Jan 2018

Image for concerns over cashflow impact post brexit vat regime

Tax | Concerns over cashflow impact of post-Brexit VAT regime

MPs and business groups are expressing increasing concern about the impact of Brexit on business cashflow, after it emerged that over 130,000 companies could face paying VAT upfront on goods imported from the EU when or if the UK leaves the customs union in March 2019

9 Jan 2018

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Business | Nine insolvency advice companies placed into liquidation

Nine companies which claimed to provide services to directors of insolvent companies, have been placed in provisional liquidation following an investigation by the company investigations unit of the Insolvency Service

9 Jan 2018

Restructuring & Insolvency

Image for jailed accountant and company boss pay back ps35m or do more time

Business | Jailed accountant and company boss to pay back £3.5m or do more time

A management accountant and a company director from Kent who funded lavish lifestyles through tax fraud have been ordered to pay back more than £3.5m within three months, or serve longer prison terms and still owe the money

9 Jan 2018

Called to Account

8 Jan 2018

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Tax | Non-resident capital gains tax and penalties for late returns

Stephen Relf CTA ACA considers the penalty structure for the new rules on the charge to capital gains tax on residential property which is now extended to non-UK residents and requires a 30-day filing requirement, especially since HMRC lost the McGreevy case

8 Jan 2018

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Tax | Returning to the UK - tax charges on overseas property sale

Complex tax rules surround residency so anyone looking to return to the UK after a period abroad needs to make sure they avoid any unexpected UK tax bills if they sell property prior to their return to the UK. Gill Tallon CTA, deputy managing partner at Mercer & Hole, considers the tax issues facing a returning couple with properties to sell

8 Jan 2018

Image for kpmg quits grenfell inquiry role over audit conflicts

Finance | KPMG quits Grenfell Inquiry role over audit conflicts

KPMG is standing down from its role as project management adviser to the Grenfell Inquiry with immediate effect, after concerns were raised about the Big Four firm’s auditing contracts for some of the organisations under investigation over their role in the fire in the tower block in June last year, which claimed 71 lives

8 Jan 2018

Corporate Governance

Accountancy Firms

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Business | Prager Metis LLP snaps up Smallfield Cody

Accounting firm Prager Metis LLP has merged with Smallfield Cody & Co, a specialist firm based in London, which focuses on providing services to UK media and entertainment clients

8 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Leadership & Management

Image for fasb simplify leasing standard implementation

Finance | FASB to simplify leasing standard implementation

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is consulting on changes to the US leases standard in a bid to reduce costs and ease implementation, in response to stakeholder concerns

8 Jan 2018

Accounting Standards

Financial Reporting

Image for hikes minimum wage could increase pace automation

Business | Hikes in minimum wage could increase pace of automation

Rapid increases in national minimum wage (NMW) rates could result in more jobs becoming automated, according to analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which warns that government should look closely at the potential unintended consequences of rising wage rates for the lower paid workforce

8 Jan 2018

Image for aat introduces three entry level qualifications

Business | AAT introduces three entry-level qualifications

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has launched three new entry-level qualifications covering business skills, bookkeeping and accounting software, designed to help students start a career in finance

8 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Image for vat cut bridge toll benefit welsh business

Tax | VAT cut on bridge toll to benefit Welsh business

Commuters, drivers and businesses across south Wales and the south west of England are set to make savings as a result of the UK government’s decision to reduce the charges to cross the Severn toll bridges by removing VAT

8 Jan 2018

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Tax | EU pushes for 15% minimum VAT rate

The EU is consulting on a draft directive that would make permanent the provision in the EU VAT Directive that requires all member states to levy a minimum standard VAT rate of at least 15%, which is set to lapse from the beginning of this year

8 Jan 2018

Image for brexit concerns increase among cfos

Business | Brexit concerns increase among CFOs

CFOs seeing increasing risks to their business from Brexit and a slowing UK economy are reacting with a renewed focus on cost control, according to Deloitte’s latest survey

8 Jan 2018

Accountancy Firms

Image for tax fraud provides sentence food delivery boss

Business | Tax fraud provides sentence for food delivery boss

A company director who used his food delivery business to make more than £150,000 in false tax claims over ten years has been sentenced

8 Jan 2018

Called to Account

Image for case not proportionate strike out appeals

Tax | Case: not proportionate to strike out appeals

A First Tier Tribunal decided to not strike out three appeals against personal liability notices, for failing to provide documents, as it was not proportionate and there was too much at stake

8 Jan 2018