Government funding to help you prepare for customs changes

The Government has made £16m available to help businesses train staff in making customs declarations. It will also be available to support businesses who support others who trade goods to invest in IT. This funding will ensure that trade with the EU continues as smoothly as possible after the Brexit deadline. Businesses based in, or…

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Are You a Medium to Large Business? IR35 Could Impact You

After many years of dithering and sabre rattling HMRC finally started to enforce the off-payroll working rules (commonly known as IR35) for the public sector in 2017. Now those same rules are about to be applied to medium sized and large businesses from April 2020. IR35 was introduced in 1999 initially to curb the proliferation…

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Understanding Internal Audit: COSO Framework

Practical knowledge of the 2013 COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework (the Framework) is needed for pension scheme entities wanting to demonstrate to the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and stakeholders that it is taking the EU Directive IORP II on internal controls seriously. COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission) is a US business…

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The Benefits of Assurance Reporting

What is Assurance reporting? Assurance is provided to give its recipients ‘piece of mind’. There are different types of assurance reports, they can be for internal and external use, the reports provide confidence to stakeholders in regards to the systems and processes your business has in place. These reports highlight how risks are being managed…

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VAT Guidance Issued on Making Tax Digital (MTD)

HMRC have now issued detailed guidance on record keeping and return requirements for making tax digital. VAT Notice 700/22 clarifies that spreadsheets are an acceptable means of keeping business records, provided that a bridging software is used to link the excel documents to the Government gateway. It includes a number of suggested accounting systems that…

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HMRC Deadline Set for Disguised Remuneration Schemes

HMRC have published revised guidance on settling tax liabilities in relation to the use of disguised remuneration schemes involving Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) and similar arrangements. In order to settle on preferential terms before the outstanding loan charge arises on 5 April 2019, taxpayers must register with HMRC and provide all of the required information…

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IR35 – The Impact Its Going to Have on Private Sector Businesses

IR35 – What Are the Rules? The IR35 rules introduced in 2000 are intended to ensure that people working through a Personal Service Company (PSC) who would have been employees if they had been engaged directly pay broadly the same Income Tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs) as if they were employed. However, it is…

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PRAG Guidance: How Cybercrime affects Pension Schemes

The Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG) has published new guidance to assist trustees of pension schemes, the pension sector organisations that support them and their advisers, about the holistic protection that is needed to minimise the damage which can be caused by cybercrime. The Pensions Regulator has also just issued guidance for trustees on the “Cyber…

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