HOLMES WILD, Luton UK - Business Information

Any one of these symptoms indicate drastic action is needed – time is important – the biggest cause of business failure – taking too long to implement the required changes

Action point: Arrange a brainstorming session with Holmes Wild

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Ten tips to avoid tax enquiries

Always keep your records up to date
If you are not VAT registered, remember to watch your turnover – you could go over the VAT threshold without realising it, and there are penalties for late registration or non notification.
If you want to employ someone, take advice. The onus is on the employer to “employ” in the right circumstances.
Avoid using your limited company chequebook to pay for personal expenses. If you do, there will be a tax effect.
Never borrow money from your company. Plan it before you take it.
Never pay round sum expense allowances.
Be honest when recording expenses.
Ensure personal and corporate returns are submitted on time.
Ensure that dividends are properly voted, and the decision is minuted.
Employ the services of a qualified accountant who is aware of the needs and circumstances of your business.

Bankruptcy: the consequences

The rules relating to bankruptcy are now governed by the Insolvency Act 1986 as amended by many other Acts, most notable of late being the Enterprise Act 2002. The Enterprise Act significantly changed the system for individuals from 1 April 2004 and the effects may be summarised:-

· A bankrupt loses control over their assets (excluding basic necessities) which can be sold to help pay off creditors.

· A bankrupt may lose their home, even after the period of bankruptcy has ended.

· Anyone who has been irresponsible or reckless can have restrictions placed on them for up to 15 years.

· Other financial assets, like a life assurance policy, can also be sold.

· A bankrupt’s business can be closed down, employees dismissed and assets sold off.

· All financial affairs can be looked at by the Official Receiver: books, records, bank statements, insurance policies and other papers relating to assets and debts may be examined.

· If a bankrupt receives any money or property during the period of bankruptcy this can be taken to pay creditors.

· A bankrupt cannot obtain credit above £500 (increased from £250) without disclosing the fact of their bankruptcy.

· A bankrupt may, in the future, face difficulty in opening bank accounts, taking out mortgages, credit cards and loans.

· Bankruptcy details are publicised in a newspaper, and details recorded on a publicly available register.

Source of the above: Daily Telegraph article quoting Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The above is a general summary of some of the facts relating to this subject. If you are thinking about declaring yourself bankrupt, you should seek advice relevant to your circumstances. There are other options which may be more appropriate. Under our terms of reference we are not licensed to give advice in the area of insolvency.

You should consult a qualified insolvency practitioner.

If you wish, we can refer you to BRI Business Recovery and Insolvency, a regional firm of specialists with offices in Milton Keynes, Northampton, Coventry and Banbury.

For advice from an impartial help organisation aimed an individuals in financial difficulties the Bankruptcy Advisory Service offers members a free advice line – membership is currently £25 per annum.

Links: www.briuk.co.uk

www.bankruptcyadvisoryservice.co.uk

Ten ways to take control of your time

Taking charge of your time is easier than you think. If you put any of these ten easy but powerful time management tips into action, you'll see an improvement in your productivity, and your peace of mind.

• One: Revamp your self-image: see it and believe it

What's your image of yourself? If it's of someone who's terminally frazzled, that image will affect what you experience throughout the day. To take control of your time, your self-image needs to be able to encompass a vision of you as being relaxed and calm and getting everything done. Close your eyes for a moment. Picture yourself at your best. You're calm and you effortlessly handle whatever challenges come up for you during the day.

You may feel some resistance to this image of yourself. If you do, you need to turn off your self-talk.

Self-talk is the internal chatter we all carry on within ourselves. Silently say, "Let go" to yourself, or "Relax".

Keep repeating the words silently to yourself, and as you do, create an image in your mind of yourself as relaxed and calm, and doing all the tasks you need to do during the day. As you visualise, keeping saying your "Relax" mantra, and try to feel the emotions in your body. The above visualisation technique is simple, but very effective. Use it as often as you like during the day.

• Two: Make lists

The most effective time managers are the people who use lists the most.

When something is on a list, we no longer need to keep it in our mind. The best way to develop the list-making habit is to carry a notebook and pen, or an electronic organiser. (see below) You have a choice of how to make your lists. You can have one enormous list, into which you dump all your tasks, or you can make several lists. Try out both methods, and see how they feel to you.

If you keep an all-in-one list, use a legal pad rather than a small pad, and leave a couple of lines between each task, so that you can add notes. The benefits of using a large pad are that you can make additional notes and sketches (and doodles).

• Three: Carry a notebook and pen, or an electronic organizer

Carry pen and paper, or an electronic organizer, whichever is easier for you. Some people prefer to use a micro cassette recorder and if this is you, be sure than you transcribe your notes at the end of the day, or at the end of each week. Using a PDA like a Palm Pilot is effective, because you can make notes wherever you happen to be. This means that you can get a head start on some of your work. You can nut out the basics of a proposal to a new client over lunch; you can even do it while the meeting is still going on.

• Four: Take time out for yourself every day

The time you take for yourself should be spent on doing something solely for yourself. You can listen to music, play a sport, go for a walk, or lie down and take a nap. This is your time to indulge yourself.

Many women interpret the instruction to take time for them as a hint that they should spend that time exercising at the gym, or doing something else "worthwhile". Nonsense. Spend it eating chocolate if you want. Life's short, so enjoy.

• Five: Give the day a mental run-through before you get out of bed in the morning

When you wake up in the morning, think about the day ahead, imagine everything going smoothly and well. Know that if anything unforeseen comes up, you will handle it. A mental rehearsal sets your attitude for the day. See yourself getting compliments and kudos, so you can start the day with a smile.

• Six: Before you start your day, get excited

Enthusiasm is infectious, and so is gloom. Tell yourself you're excited about the day ahead. This might be the day you get a major new client. Anything could happen. Be determined that something good will happen to you today and nine times out of ten, it will.

• Seven: At the end of the day, review and plan for the next day

Take five minutes to go over what you've accomplished. Take another five minutes to rough out a plan for tomorrow.

• Eight: Learn to say No

Most of us hate rejecting others. However, you're not doing anyone a favour if you agree to do something, and then do it resentfully. Sometimes we even get in the habit of agreeing to tasks, and then make excuses. If you know you won't have the time to do a task, don't take the task on.

• Nine: Get a routine

Discipline has gone out of fashion. However, the secret to productivity is to have a routine, and to keep to it. If you know that Thursday morning is given over to doing an update on your Web site, you can block out that time each week.

• Ten: Don't aim for perfection: just show up

80% of any job is just showing up. In other words, just do the job, whatever it is. Unless you're doing surgery, close enough is good enough.

"The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep running."

MONEY LAUNDERING – A brief guide

This circular summarises the main content of the current money laundering legislation in the United Kingdom in so far as it affects you and your business. We also include details of our obligations under the legislation as we feel that it is important that all our clients (existing or prospective) are fully aware of these obligations.

“All crimes” regime

The term “money laundering” is confusing and we should really be talking about an “all crimes” regime. In other words, any crime committed in the United Kingdom which involves criminal property.

Criminal property is any property which constitutes a person’s benefit from criminal conduct provided the alleged offender knows or suspects that it constitutes such a benefit. Hence, house breaking, theft, bribery, fraud or tax evasion will constitute criminal conduct and the proceeds from these offences will constitute criminal property.

Note that the proceeds from the offence need not be the actual receipt of cash or goods, e.g. if a person knowingly understates income on his or her tax return and saves tax thereby, then the saving of the tax will be the criminal property.

If an offence is committed abroad which would have been an offence in the UK, then it will constitute an offence even though committed abroad and will be subject to the processes outlined in these notes.

Three main money laundering offences

· to conceal, disguise, convert, transfer or remove criminal property from England and Wales or from Scotland or from Northern Ireland;

· to enter into or become concerned in an arrangement which you know or suspect facilitates the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of a third party;

· to acquire, use or have possession of criminal property. However, no offence is committed if you acquired or used or had possession of the property for adequate consideration.

Note also that to aid or abet a money laundering offence is, in itself, an offence.

Examples include:

· An individual knowingly understates income or overstates expenses on his or her tax return or on a business tax return so as to evade tax.

· A person receives an overpayment in error from the Inland Revenue or the Tax Credit Office and refuses to repay the overpayment.

· The proprietor of a business pays personal expenses from the business and records them as “purchases”.

· A business fails to take out employer’s liability insurance.

An employer knowingly pays employees below the National Minimum Wage.

Other money laundering offences

In addition to the three main money laundering offences there are also two secondary offences.

Failure to disclose knowledge or suspicions of money laundering

This offence relates, in the main, to those businesses operating in the “regulated sector”. This includes businesses such as banks, solicitors, tax advisors and accountants. If relevant knowledge or suspicion exists, a report should be made to NCIS, which is the government body responsible for processing reports. If necessary, they pass them on to the police, the Inland Revenue or H M Customs and Excise.

Businesses operating outside the regulated sector do not have to comply with this requirement – unless they opt in.

Tipping off an alleged offender

The second secondary offence is the offence of tipping off. This offence applies to everyone, irrespective of the type of business they operate.

A person commits the offence of tipping off if he or she knows or suspects that a report has been made relating to knowledge or suspicions of a money laundering offence and he or she makes a disclosure to the alleged offender (either directly or indirectly) so as to prejudice any investigation which might be conducted following the report.

At this point it should be noted that there is no minimal limit below which a report would not be required.

Penalties

There can be serious consequences if you commit one of the offences contained in the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. They can include imprisonment or fines or both.

Our obligations

Holmes Wild LLP operates within the regulated sector and is a relevant business. We are therefore required, in common with all accountancy practices, by the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and the Money Laundering Regulations 2003, to:

· maintain identification procedures for all new clients;

· maintain records of identification evidence;

· report, in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulations, to the National Criminal Intelligence Service, any knowledge or suspicions of money laundering.

Whilst we believe that it is our duty to support any legislation which results in the discovery and prevention of crime, we are also aware of our responsibilities to, and our relationship with, our clients. For this reason we shall endeavour to work closely with you to assist you in complying with the money laundering legislation.

What you should do now

· It is important that all information presented by you or your business to ourselves is accurate and fully disclosed. This is especially so in relation to information to be included in a personal or business tax return.

· An honest error or mistake will not usually constitute a criminal offence, provided that it is corrected as soon as it is discovered and the correct amount of tax is paid over. For this reason all tax returns should be checked carefully by you before they are submitted to the taxation authorities.

· Because your business does not operate in the regulated sector you do not need to appoint a Money Laundering Reporting Officer, but you can if you so wish. If you do appoint a Money Laundering Reporting Officer, you must ensure that you and your employees adhere to the legislation relating to the issuing of internal reports and to any reports made to NCIS.

· In addition, you should remember that, if you do appoint a Money Laundering Reporting Officer and an internal report is made to this person, you must be aware of the problems relating to tipping off.

· If you are in any doubt as to whether a money laundering offence has been committed, either by yourself or a third party, take expert advice as soon as possible. If you require any further information about the money laundering legislation or have any queries about the contents of these notes, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The National Criminal Intelligence Service website is at www.ncis.gov.uk.

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