Tax | IR35 tool fails to deliver result in 19% of cases

With reforms to the off payroll working regulations set to be introduced to the private sector in April next year, HMRC’s online tool for determining IR35 status has failed to produce a definite answer in almost one in five cases over the past year

14 Dec 2020

Tax

Employment Tax

HMRC

Tax Compliance

Tax Planning

Technology

Business

Companies

Careers

Business | BDO does U-turn on £4.1m furlough repayments

BDO has bowed to public pressure and announced it is to return £4.1m of furlough money back to the government, after facing a backlash when the mid-tier firm revealed its partners were receiving more than £500,000 each on average

14 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Careers

Leadership & Management

Business | BDO in driving seat as Lookers auditor

BDO is to take over as auditor of Lookers, the UK national car dealership which has been wrestling with a series of accounting issues, replacing Deloitte which has held the role for 14 years

11 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Business | FCA fines financial advice firm £107k over pensions advice

Independent financial advice firm L J Financial Planning Ltd (LJFP) has been fined £107,200 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for providing its customers with unsuitable pension switching and transfer advice and failing to manage its conflicts of interest

11 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Pensions

Business | £350k wrongly donated to Christmas charity scams

Action Fraud, the Charity Commission and the Fundraising Regulator are warning the public to remain vigilant when making charitable donations this Christmas

11 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Charities

Business | People in the news: Thomas Westcott, Johnston Carmichael, ACCA

In this week’s accountancy career moves, partner appointments at Thomas Westcott and ReSolve, three office heads named at Johnston Carmichael, and two directors appointed at ACCA

11 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Careers

Leadership & Management

Business | BDO records £25m Covid hit to profits

Mid-tier firm BDO has recorded a £25m reduction in profits from the impact of Covid-19, resulting in partner distributions dropping 14%, and is warning lower levels of profitability look set to continue

10 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Business | 3,300 companies at risk of bankruptcy when insolvency ban lifts

‘Insolvency gap’ statistics suggest at least 3,300 UK business collapses are stored up for when the moratorium on insolvency actions ends on December 31, says UHY Hacker Young

10 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Restructuring & Insolvency

Finance | BEIS consults on major Companies House overhaul

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has launched three consultations on reforms to Companies House, designed to improve the integrity of the information available about companies and strengthen its ability to tackle fraud

10 Dec 2020

Finance

Accounting Standards

Financial Reporting

UK GAAP

Audit Consultations

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | Rent arrears moratorium threatens commercial property landlords

Tenants, landlords and lenders must work together to avoid mounting rent arrears, says James Liddiment of Duff & Phelps as he investigates the options, including a move to turnover-based payments as Covid work patterns undermine commercial office space

10 Dec 2020

Finance

Financial Reporting

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Restructuring & Insolvency

Tax | Government lays out post-Brexit NI VAT and duty details

The government has introduced legislation to Parliament providing clarity for how customs, VAT, and excise duty will be dealt with in Northern Ireland after the end of the Brexit transition period

9 Dec 2020

Tax

Business Tax

International Tax

VAT

Tax Compliance

Tax Planning

Business

Companies

Tax | Call for one-off £260bn wealth tax

The government could raise £260bn to help pay for the costs of the Covid-19 crisis by implementing a one-off wealth tax, according to the findings of a research team of over fifty international experts on tax policy and practice

9 Dec 2020

Tax

Personal Tax

VAT

HMRC

Business

Companies

Business | US regulator fines UK investment fund $170m

UK-based investment adviser BlueCrest Capital Management Ltd is to pay $170m (£126m) to settle charges of inadequate disclosures, material misstatements, and misleading omissions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

9 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Finance | FRC flags ‘importance of challenge culture’ in audit firms

The Financial Reporting Council has undertaken new analysis of its audit quality inspection results after discovering 80% of audits required improvement, effective challenging was a key component  

9 Dec 2020

Auditing

Corporate Governance

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms

Business | Moves to expand SME funding options

The government has announced a new scheme providing export finance support for SMEs, in a bid to boost a post-Covid recovery

8 Dec 2020

Business

Companies

Accountancy Firms