What Are the Different Services Provided by Birmingham Accountants?

They are experts in various fields and are dedicated to assisting individuals in reducing the stress associated with dealing with HMRC. Their skilled Tax Accountant Birmingham staff provides no-obligation guidance on all tax concerns and is available online, via phone, or in person. Birmingham accountants perform most of your work online, so you do not need to visit their premises. They have licensed Birmingham Tax Accountants with an extensive understanding of tax legislation and compliance. Their relationship as tax agents aids in the timely filing of tax returns and compliance. Birmingham’s staff has extensive expertise with tax inquiries. They can rapidly handle these normally complex cases because of their outstanding reputation with HMRC.

Some of their services include:

Business tax services.
In the United Kingdom, like in most other nations, not only are people required to pay taxes but companies of all sizes are also required to do so. It is critical to pay the necessary taxes on time to keep your business running smoothly. As experienced Tax Accountants, they are proud to be among the best in the UK, offering tax services to small businesses and individuals.
They have over a decade of expertise providing tax services and can guide you through the difficult world of corporate taxes, regardless of how large or small your company is.

Specialist tax services
A tax accountant is a tax consultant who specializes in taxation. Their accountants have industry experience and are well-versed in dealing with HMRC inquiries. Birmingham accountants network colleagues are former HMRC Inspectors who are well-versed in the procedure. You might face a tax investigation just for failing to file your tax returns or making a mistake or omission that results in a considerable loss of income. They have represented clients who have received poor legal and accounting advice from other accountants.
If you get an HMRC tax investigation letter for whatever reason, contact their specialized staff. They will talk to you about it and set up an appointment with the appropriate specialized accountant. Keep in mind that they are not just local but also nationwide. Their accountants are part of the network and operate together as a family. Help is always useful, and because of their proactive attitude and the resources provided to their professional staff, they are always up to speed on taxes and the market.

Income tax and VAT appeals
If you disagree with a tax decision issued by HMRC, you have many options, including an appeal and a tax dispute. Tax appeals and tax disputes are difficult to manage and might take a long time to resolve. The initial point of contact should be HMRC to determine whether the tax assessment may be changed or the disagreement handled without going to Tax Tribunal. Once HMRC tells you of their initial judgment, if they still disagree with it, they notify you of three choices based on the nature of the tax decision or dispute naming: Alternative Dispute Resolution, a Statutory Review, or a Tax Tribunal. You have three alternatives, and their professional accountants can assist you in determining the best course of action.

UK Finance Minister Outlines Thinking on Bonuses

The British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has been intimately involved in the creation of the modern British regulatory landscape, but all this may be about to change with a General Election due within 10 months. He also succeeds arguably one of the most successful Chancellor’s in the 21st Century – the current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown – just as Tony Blair has been a tough act to follow, Darling has had to step into Brown’s shoes at The Treasury. Darling has remained silent all week since the announcement of the opposition Tory party’s proposals for the abolition of the FSA; handing prudential financial oversight to the Bank of England, a general carve up of the FSA and probable delay on RDR commitment. Today, that changed with an interview published in a leading, left-wing publication, The Tribune.

Darling on Bonuses

Bonuses are going to be a sticky issue for regulators, politicians and employers – “Bonuses are Back!” may be the cry on the Square Mile, after all, if it’s being earned they’re going to be paid or risk losing competitiveness. Darling’s response is that many bank and financial sector employees only have a job today because of the taxpayer monies used to bail out the sector and shore up the banks. For banks now owned by the UK Government, there will be no bonuses this year;

First, we do have restrictions on the banks we own in terms of bonuses; they can’t get cash bonuses this year, it’s got to be deferred, it’s got to be capable of being clawed back, the people who failed can’t get rewards and they always have to be linked to long-term success.

The interim Walker report on working practices and pay structures including bonuses, published a couple of weeks ago, seems to simply state bankers should worry about doing the job they are already being paid to do. Darling disagrees in that Walker is going further; bankers did not do their jobs to begin with which is why we ended up in the global economic mess culminating in the near-miss, banking collapse. As Darling states,

One of the causes of the trouble is that they were not doing what they were supposed do be doing. Too many of them patently didn’t even understand what was going on in their own banks.

When pressed on disclosure of who actually is paid a bonus, Darling rightly concedes that naming the recipient poses issues outside of transparency and financial regulation; after all, I certainly would not like my name published anywhere with a big number printed after it – there is a dividing line between personal security and public disclosure, though directors at the Co-Operative Bank have been making personal identity disclosure without issue. With the FSA under political fire from the Conservatives, who announced they would dismantle the regulator if elected, Darling’s responses give some insight into why Labour wants the FSA to remain and enjoy enhanced power. For instance,

A lot of these people have got to realise they just would not be working today if they did not have the insurance policy provided by the British and American taxpayers and others. That’s why it is right that the Financial Standards Authority now has the power to say to a bank that they don’t like the pay structure of a bank, it’s too risky, you can’t do it.

Also when questioned on Walker’s proposal for a voluntary rather than statutory regime, Darling’s response was,

We have gone beyond that with the FSA and its new power to say we don’t like your pay structure, it’s too risky. That’s not voluntary, because ultimately the FSA can put you off the road.

This fundamentally underlines the difference between Labour and Conservative thinking on who will regulate the banks and financial sector – Labour clearly envisages an FSA with a very wide-ranging remit and the power to assert itself in virtually any aspect it sees fit. The Conservative focus beyond dismantling the FSA is yet to become clear, but it is reasonable to assume at this stage that they see a return of the Bank of England as the banking regulator and not as an “academic” body as Labour Minister Lord Myners recently put it. The Tribune article focused on pay structure and especially bonus payments, it’s to be expected from a socialist paper, but Darling fielded answers which did take the position that pay and bonuses are actually one commercial factor to be taken into account when dealing with banks who received bail-out monies. As he went on to say,

I think, in relation to telling the banks what to do, there is a broader question.

The interviewer’s observation of Darling when the question regarding a National Maximum wage is as telling as the Chancellor’s response:

What about a national maximum wage? Darling’s jaw drops discernibly amid a slight shudder: “People who call for these things are the same people who argued against a national pay maximum in the 1970s. I don’t think pay restraint or arbitrary controls work.”

This article was commissioned by ComplianceAsia, the leading APACS region provider of outsourced compliance support for leading banking and financial institutions operating in the region.

Canadian’s Personal Finances Fiscal Cliff: Are We There Yet?

Today we hear much talk about the USA’s economy approaching the so-called “fiscal cliff.” What about your personal financial affairs? Are you at the fiscal cliff as we inch toward 2013? Canadians are swamped in debt. Monthly, we read about the rising debt-to-disposable income ratio that stands now at around the precarious 164% level.

Although the world and many at home commend our government for its brilliant fiscal management, few warn about the unsustainable personal debt levels. Indeed, our central bank chief, Mark Carney, accepted an appointment to a similar role at the prestigious Bank of England. Will his legacy here be that of hero or villain? Will history show that he held interest rates low for too long, encouraging many folks to take on debt they cannot afford?

To his credit, he, our finance minister, and prime minister have been warning Canadians about these dangerously high personal debt levels. However, Carney could curtail the rise by raising interest rates. Sure, higher rates will dampen current slow economic growth. Even so, I think short-term pain is better than the likely personal finances’ crash that might happen if debt remains at present levels, or grows.

What can Canadians do to avoid their fiscal cliff? Let us examine three vital steps.

Accept you are dangerously leveraged.
Set a mechanism in place to live with declining debt
Develop a new vocabulary to guide your behavior
Accept You Are Dangerously Leveraged

You can’t solve a problem unless you recognize it. Do you think you are carrying too much debt? Your banker might tell you no; however, you alone can answer this. Take a helicopter view. What are you and your family’s emotional responses to your debt? Are you worried? Can’t sleep? If yes, you have too much debt. Certainly, look at ratios, but this is the key barometer.

The emotional cost of debt is the first and the most significant cost. If debt is 10% of income, and is causing problems for you or at least one in your family, it is too much. Still, you must accept reality and decide to live with it, take on no more, and start a debt free lifestyle.

If you are a Christian, give this emotional stress to Jesus (Matthew 11:28).

Set A Mechanism In Place To Live With Declining Debt

People are impatient. We live in a now society. Sadly, probably you got into debt over a long period, and it is likely you will get out over an extended time. Accept this fact and learn to live with it.

Develop a strategy to live in your debt. Look at how you got there; draft principles to prevent a recurrence; and then write a financial plan – alone or with help. The plan should show concisely how, by following your principles, you might be debt free in a specific time.

If you got into debt by impulsive spending, you might develop a principle never to buy without a list and a budget. As well, when you feel you need to spend, you might want to wait 24-48 hours during which time you would talk with your spouse or accountability partner.

You will have to find what might work for you, decide if you need help, and try to get it.

Prepare a debt-meter and place on your fridge. Monthly, as you repay debt, adjust the debt-meter.

Develop a new vocabulary to guide your behavior

This sounds easy, is simple, and when you get it, will be your most effective debt control “tool.” What you believe will decide how you behave. If you believe emergencies happen and cause you to spend erratically, you won’t change your behavior. However, if you believe that apart from the timing, most “budget emergencies” can be planned and should be planned by setting aside funds regularly to meet them, you will plan accordingly.

Your car will need repairs. It will need new tires. Your furnace will go, and so on. The issue here is timing. You don’t know when these potential budget busters will happen. Even so, you know they will occur, so create a capital fund, a rainy-day fund, emergency fund, or some other means to save for these predictable events. If you accept this fact about emergencies, and understand that to get there you must sacrifice today’s consumption, this is the start of your major victory over debt.

Another key vocabulary change is to accept that you can’t mange money, you can manage only your behavior – change from money management to lifestyle management.

Summary

As we enter 2013, look at your finances. You will know if you are at the fiscal cliff. Rest assured, you do not need more money to get you through, first, you need to accept where you are. Next, set a mechanism to live where you are as you work off your debt. Then examine your vocabulary, your beliefs, and adjust them to reality.

I pray you will turn away from easy seductive credit and start moving away from debt.

(c) Copyright 2012, Michel A. Bell

Solve Funding Issues to Finance SME’s Growth Plans

SME’s are developing rapidly and flourishing enormously worldwide. Since its initiation and establishment, there some extremely important and basic requirements to be met and adopted. These requirements include; infrastructure and employment requirements, a developed information technology infrastructure along with funding sources, which is the most important aspect of the sustainability of these SME’s.

Funding sources are the strengthening pillars for such small and medium-sized enterprises.

SME (small to medium enterprise) is a convenient term for categorizing businesses and other organizations that are somewhere between “small office-home office” (SOHO) size and the larger enterprise.

Unavailability of timely and adequate funds has an immense adverse effect on the growth of these SME’s which in turn affects the growth of the Indian economy. Such insufficient funding sources serve as the crucial barrier in the development and sustenance of SME’s.

The economic development in India is hugely dependent on the performance of small or micro and medium enterprises. They are the powerhouse of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit and enormous talent, which is required for the nation’s development in the economic sector.

Indian SME sector:

This sector contributes to the industrial output, provides employment to masses. They also contribute widely in exports. These organizations produce quality products for national and international markets.

The presence of SME’s is greatly acknowledged. The manufacturing sector is rapidly advancing because of the contribution of these organizations.

Undoubtedly, these SME’s are performing their best, despite their limited sources. Still, there are multiple cases of these organizations facing funding issues.

The solution for funding issues faced by SME’s:

The government has been taking initiatives like setting up the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, announcing National Manufacturing Policy (NMP) and much more to energize and boost the manufacturing sector.

Banks have made stable strides to support SME’s. However, such approaches by banks for funding are limited and restricted because by controlling and managing risk, they ultimately create value. Thus, banks are not always a rightful solution as a funding source.Access to capital markets is rare, in the case of SME’s. Therefore, such organizations hugely depend on borrowed funds from some financial institutions and banks.

Mostly commercial banks provide extended working capital and financial institutions provide investment credits. Universal banking services, working capital, and term loans are becoming available for SME’s for funding.Meanwhile, the traditional requirements of finance are still actively in use, for creating the asset and working capital.Globalization is generating a demand for introduction and development new financial and support services.

The RBI should issue necessary guidelines to all banks on credit flow. Moreover, the Government should work rigorously to create an environment conducive for growth for the SMEs that restrains the need for capital and debt.

Setting up SME-targeted banks that provide priority to lending to the SME sector.

Financing schemes for SMEs can be formulated and be beneficial. These might be highly risky, but promises great returns. There is also a need for a reduction in the interest rates. SMEs has been paying high-interest rates for bank loans. The loan structure should restructure, on an urgent basis as lower interest rates are an extremely important need for SME’s.

Delayed payments are yet another major area of concern for SME’s that lead to reduced working capital.

Recycling of funds and various business operations are majorly affected due to delay in dues settlement. Defaulting customers are mostly large enterprises and the SMEs due to fear of losing business are not able to report against them.

An automated portal could be established by the government, wherein SMEs makes available their customer detailings.The government can also send automated reminders to defaulting organizations, in the cases of payment defaults.

As it is well known all over that, for the government, the Budget is an occasion to set up new financial goals and economic goals, allocate financial resources and provide policy directions. During Budget presentations, the Finance Minister announces new policies, schemes, projects and allocates finance for the development of several sectors of the economy, to meet the overall goals of socioeconomic growth.

For SMEs, the potential sources of finance are very limited. However, their usefulness is limited because of mostly practical problems. Crowdfunding also supplies chain financing are some funding sources.

Some more funding sources for SME’s

The owner, family, and friends of SME

An excellent source of finance. Mostly, such investors, invest not just for financial gains and are willing to accept lower returns than other investors. However, the key limitation, for most of these organizations, is that, that the finance they can build personally, from friends and family, is limited.

Trade credit

SMEs can take credit from their respective suppliers. It is however just short-term and, if the suppliers are big companies who have identified and categorized them as potentially risky SME, the possibility to extend may be limited, for the credit period.

The business angel

A wealthy individual who is willing to take the risk of investing in SMEs. However, they are just found in rarity. Once such an individual is interested they can become useful to the SME, as they have great business plans and contacts.

Factoring and invoice discounting

These sources help the organizations to raise finance. It is only short-term and is mostly more costly than an overdraft. However, with the SME growth rate, their receivables will grow thereby the amount they can borrow from invoice discounting will also rapidly growing.

Leasing

Leasing assets is a better option rather than buying.them, as it avoids to raise the capital cost. However, leasing is mostly possible on tangible assets.

Listing

An SME can become quoted by acquiring a listing on the stock exchange. Thus, raising finance would become less of an issue. But before listing can be considered the organization must grow to the considerable size that a listing is feasible.

Supply chain financing

SCF is new and is somehow different than the methods of traditional working capital financing, such as offering settlement discounts, as it promotes collaboration between the buyers and sellers in the supply chain.

The venture capitalist

A venture capitalist organization is mostly a subsidiary of a company that has worthy cash holdings and might need to be invested. Such subsidiaries are at high-risk, potentially high-return part of their investment portfolio. To attract venture capital funding, such organization has to have a business strategy and idea, that may help to create, high returns that the venture capitalist is seeking. Thus, operating in regular business, venture capitalist financing may be impossible for many SME’s.

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