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16 May 2012
The number of employees missing work due to illness has fallen again over the last two years, according to new Government figures.
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15 May 2012
Businesses are now increasingly looking to social media sites such as Facebook to find new customers, rather than local directories like Thomson and the Yellow Pages, research suggests.
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14 May 2012
A leading initiative introduced by the coalition nearly two years ago has been spending as much as £200,000 to create one job, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).
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09 May 2012
With the Olympic Games just around the corner, more than a third of small firms in London have yet to establish a flexible working policy in order to deal with disruption expected during the prestigious event.
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09 May 2012
The majority of managers in the UK predict a disappointing performance in the near future, as new research showed those in the public sector are the most despondent.
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30 Apr 2012
New research has found that the recession has caused stress levels among employees to rise, as people work for longer to try to make ends meet.
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30 Apr 2012
A study of more than 200 private firm pay settlements has shown that median pay awards are only rising by 2.6%, 1% below the rate of inflation.
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26 Apr 2012
Proposals from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills aim to redress an imbalance between businesses, by facilitating smaller firms with the mechanisms required to enable them to challenge suspected anti-competitive behaviour.
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25 Apr 2012
One in five enterprises has experienced a security breach and one in 10 has suffered a privacy breach in recent months, according to a new global study.
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23 Apr 2012
The Government has launched a new Enterprise Capital Fund that will invest more than £40 million in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Britain.
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17 Apr 2012
Graduates face further doom and gloom this year as starting salaries are predicted to fall, plummeting to their lowest level in almost a decade, according to a new report.
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16 Apr 2012
New research from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has suggested that the Agency Workers Regulations (AWR) are still creating paperwork and financial costs for recruitment agencies.
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16 Apr 2012
The UK economy may have narrowly escaped a double-dip recession but it will continue to struggle this year unless businesses take more risks and start investing.
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11 Apr 2012
Scrapping public holidays could add £18 billion to the nation's annual economic output, according to a think-tank.
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10 Apr 2012
The Government has been asked to form a "pro-employment" landscape to help support business leaders and the creation of more jobs.
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10 Apr 2012
The UK's manufacturing sector will not be making the speedy recovery that was hoped for, new figures from the Office for National Statistics have suggested.
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04 Apr 2012
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called for the Government to create a state-owned investment bank to stimulate lending to small and medium-sized enterprises.
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04 Apr 2012
It was a case of good and bad news for the manufacturing sector earlier this week, with a survey revealing new growth for the industry but also sharp increases in input costs.
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28 Mar 2012
HMRC has urged businesses to ensure they are prepared for upcoming changes to the VAT system.
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27 Mar 2012
The eurozone debt crisis has led to a 14% drop in takeovers and mergers in the UK, according to a report.
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27 Mar 2012
Manufacturing sector pay deals are "stable" at around 2.5%, a report shows - although the number of wage freezes is falling.
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26 Mar 2012
An all-time high in the cost of petrol and diesel has seen the fuel costs of small firms rise by £17.5 million in just one month, a study has found.
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22 Mar 2012
Environmental regulations regarded by the Government as obsolete are to be scrapped.
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22 Mar 2012
Chancellor George Osborne slashed corporation tax by 1% with immediate effect in his Budget as he outlined plans to attract more foreign investors to the UK.
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20 Mar 2012
Businesses could soon face major hikes in their electricity bills, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), because of the country's changing climate.
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16 Mar 2012
An MP committee has warned that "complex" rules around the Government's initiative to automatically enrol millions of people into workplace pensions must be simplified in order for the scheme to work.
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15 Mar 2012
The Government has urged businesses affected by recent rises in energy costs to provide evidence that could help it shape its Energy Intensive Industries (EII) scheme.
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13 Mar 2012
Research by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) has found that one in two women working in banking jobs believe they face disadvantages because of their gender.
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05 Mar 2012
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has taken action to help people generate as much income from their pensions as possible.
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05 Mar 2012
A reform of rates in the property market would help to unleash small business growth, the British Property Federation (BPF) has said.
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01 Mar 2012
The difference in the proportion of young and old people out of work has risen from 0.2% in 2004 to 8.9% in 2011, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed.
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29 Feb 2012
A new business survey has claimed that almost one in 10 British firms are substantially reliant on high-risk suppliers.
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29 Feb 2012
Government ministers have claimed that their push to cut back on red tape will save businesses millions of pounds in the coming months.
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23 Feb 2012
British companies will increase their international business activity by about 60% over the next 15 years, according to new research.
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14 Feb 2012
An increase in redundancies is expected to push Britain's unemployment level closer to the three million mark over the coming months.
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13 Feb 2012
Companies' turnover hopes have fallen for the eighth consecutive month, making it increasingly likely that the UK will plunge into a double-dip recession, professional services company BDO has said.
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02 Feb 2012
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has warned employers to exercise caution when using agencies that provide temporary workers, as their tax affairs may not be in order.
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02 Feb 2012
More than three quarters of UK business leaders were in favour of the Prime Minister's decision to veto plans for a new EU treaty, figures suggest.
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02 Feb 2012
Many of the UK's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have left themselves open to risks by failing to invest in adequate protective measures, new research suggests.
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02 Feb 2012
Managers in the UK wish mobile phones had never been invented as they boost stress and lengthen working hours, a survey of 1,300 employers has shown.
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01 Feb 2012
Practice Centre - Fewer than a third (32%) of employers know when they are supposed to have implemented plans to automatically enrol their staff on pension schemes.
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01 Feb 2012
Firms that operate in the design and digital industries have become increasingly reliant on interns, new research suggests.
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01 Feb 2012
Practice Centre - Banks are continuing to apply strict lending criteria to many small and medium-sized companies, leaving them struggling to raise money, despite an apparent agreement between the Government and lenders to improve the situation.
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01 Feb 2012
Two-fifths of employers fail to communicate the rationale behind their decision to raise, cut or freeze workers' pay - and among those who succeed less than 20% relate the decision to individual performances, new research shows.
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01 Feb 2012
New research has revealed that the majority of business leaders fear the economy will become more stagnant this year due to unemployment, the country's budget deficit and the eurozone crisis.
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01 Feb 2012
Three fifths of small businesses believe this year's London Olympics will not have a positive effect on their firm, even though it was announced that scores of apprenticeships and jobs have been secured.
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01 Feb 2012
Research has suggested that fewer people were put into jobs by recruitment agencies during December.
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01 Feb 2012
More than 100 private sector organisations have signed up to a new scheme aimed at boosting social mobility, it has been revealed.
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01 Feb 2012
Last year saw a big drop in business confidence as high inflation, rising utilities bills and lower consumer spending hit firms, according to the Federation of Small Businesses' (FSB's) Voice Of Small Business Index.
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31 Jan 2012
Jobless figures have hit their highest level since the summer of 1994, after a 118,000 increase in the UK total.
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31 Jan 2012
George Osborne has been urged to focus on reforming Entrepreneurs' Relief in his Budget later this year.
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23 Nov 2011
Writers of marketing material, whether printed or on the internet, must be careful to avoid inadvertent association with the 2012 London Olympics.
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22 Nov 2011
In a previous edition we provided a link to a page on the HMSO website that states that you can only photocopy the contents of a British passport in black and white, and not in colour. This generated a number of comments, given that most black and white copies of the photograph are so indistinct.
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21 Nov 2011
Practice Centre - Workers in the City of London have seen their wages leap 12% in the last year, according to a report from recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.
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18 Nov 2011
The vast majority of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are optimistic about their fortunes for the coming year, a survey has revealed.
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18 Nov 2011
SMEs will have a new, lower cost way of protecting their patents, trademarks, copyright and designs after the Government agreed to introduce a small claims service at the Patent County Court.
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15 Nov 2011
The CBI has urged ministers to look again at the decision to provide temporary workers with extra employment rights.
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15 Nov 2011
The country's five biggest banks failed in their attempts to hit their nine-month small business lending targets, according to the latest figures.
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10 Nov 2011
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has urged the Government to be bold when it comes to credit easing. It wants the scheme to be made separate from banks, affordable and readily available for smaller enterprises.
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09 Nov 2011
Amending the current research and development (R&D) tax credit system could create more than 30,000 jobs, according to leading business groups.
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07 Nov 2011
A double-dip recession could become a distinct possibility if the services sector continues to falter, a report has warned. Accountants and business advisers BDO raised the alarm after its Output Index, which predicts turnover for each quarter, fell from 93.3 in September to 92.6 in October.
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04 Nov 2011
The Pensions Bill has become law in a move that will affect workers across the country.
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03 Nov 2011
A new relationship between regulators and businesses needs to be developed to ensure growth, prosperity and jobs are generated, Business and enterprise minister Mark Prisk said.
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03 Nov 2011
The next national minimum wage rise should beat the country's rate of inflation, according to a union group.
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21 Oct 2011
Companies are taking longer to pay their bills, a study has revealed. The average time for firms to make a settlement after an amount was due between July and September was just over 26 days, more than a day longer than between April and June.
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18 Oct 2011
Small firms are being hit by weak demand and rising costs, and these factors are harming their confidence, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has warned.
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03 Oct 2011
Many employers believe work experience is becoming more important, with some rating it higher than A-levels, a poll suggests.
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03 Oct 2011
Nearly three quarters (71%) of firms are exposing themselves to a greater risk of financial problems by not checking their customers' credit status, a survey has shown.
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03 Oct 2011
Official figures have shown that banks lent less to small businesses in the UK during the first half of the year.
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03 Oct 2011
The Government has rejected claims that red tape is still on the increase, arguing there has been a gross reduction in business regulations this year of more than £3 billion.
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29 Sep 2011
The new rules on loans to or from clients relax the position, but you still need to demonstrate objectivity.
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29 Sep 2011
When it comes to Money Laundering reporting how do you tell the difference between knowledge, suspicion, speculation and plain paranoia?
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23 Sep 2011
All practices need to be able to audit accounting estimates under this important ISA.
Although this standard should not be a huge burden on most audits, firms must ensure they understand and apply it properly or they will not have a fully complaint file.
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22 Sep 2011
Banks have promised to support businesses that have suffered during the recent rioting.
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22 Sep 2011
The country's leading accountancy firms look set to have their activities audited following a call by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for a competition investigation to be launched into the industry.
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22 Sep 2011
Financial experts have suggested that reducing corporation tax has "highly complex" implications.
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22 Sep 2011
Eligible English firms are currently receiving an average sum of £1,340 in rate reprieves.
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22 Sep 2011
British firms have seen few signs of improvement in the flow of lending to businesses from banks, a report looking at the past few months has revealed.
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22 Sep 2011
Plans to make the rules governing financial and corporate reporting required by small firms easier to understand and comply with have been put forward by the Government.
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22 Sep 2011
A loophole that previously enabled UK businesses to gain early tax relief by accelerating claims for plant and machinery capital allowances has been officially closed by the coalition Government.
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22 Sep 2011
A study by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has revealed that only one in four workers have had a pay rise this year.
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22 Sep 2011
Prime Minister David Cameron has vowed to support those who have lost their homes or businesses as a result of the riots that have spread across the UK.
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22 Sep 2011
The Government has announced plans to ease the regulations small businesses face when trying to gain access to equity finance.
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22 Sep 2011
An "historic" deal has been reached between the governments of the UK and Switzerland, allowing tax evaders to pay a one-off sum to settle their debt.
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22 Sep 2011
Splitting the retail and investment arms of Britain's banks could spell disaster for the nation's fragile economic recovery, it has been warned.
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22 Sep 2011
Government spending cuts targeting public sector posts occupied by women have been blamed for the deteriorating position of women in the jobs market.
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22 Sep 2011
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that employers could be given the go-ahead to get rid of family-friendly practices if the right to ask for flexible working patterns is weakened.
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09 Aug 2011
In this month’s article we will look at the options available to you should you decide to sell.
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09 Aug 2011
In the last of this series of three articles on selling your practice we consider the mechanics of the deal itself.
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09 Aug 2011
What can you and what can you not do with passports? There are some rights and wrongs to consider. Let’s look at a few of these issues.
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08 Aug 2011
The Companies Act 2006 changes the requirements for disclosing this potentially sensitive area of the accounts. Many firms have not implemented the new requirements properly.
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08 Aug 2011
Anti-discrimination legislation has been consolidated into one Act. Employers need to be aware of the implications.
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15 Jul 2011
More companies are now able to access the small profits rate of corporation tax. Find out if your clients can benefit.
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24 May 2011
A two-pronged approach involving more business-friendly Government policies and a rise in business and consumer confidence is needed to boost economic growth, a business forum urged.
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24 May 2011
A number of UK firms have been taking advantage of unpaid interns by using them to "get work done more cheaply" as they struggle to make money in the current financial climate, new research has revealed.
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24 May 2011
Private firms are failing to pick up the slack left by mass job cuts in the public sector, a report has claimed.
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24 May 2011
A common tax base for businesses operating across EU members states is unnecessary, the Treasury economic secretary has said.
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24 May 2011
There is still only a "weak" chance of small firms hiring new staff despite increased confidence in the sector, according to a report.
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24 May 2011
SMEs have reported a big surge in domestic and export orders - with the rate of increase the largest seen in 16 years.
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20 May 2011
Businesses must pursue more sustainable cost-cutting initiatives to avoid being hit by a £90bn bill from the recession, analysts have claimed.
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20 May 2011
High street stores suffered their biggest ever drop in sales in March, according to new figures.
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20 May 2011
Tighter consumer spending led to the amount of companies issuing profit warnings reaching a two-year high during the first quarter of 2011.
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18 May 2011
Business services are now the "lifeblood" of the UK economy and are essential to its recovery, according to a report.
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18 May 2011
Business body the CBI has downgraded its forecasts of economic growth for this year and next.
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14 Apr 2011
With the removal of the default retirement age (DRA) of 65, what are the benefits and risks to employers?
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14 Apr 2011
Are you using the correct audit report wording? There have been some recent changes to the wording of audit reports so you should check that your software has been updated to include the latest versions.
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14 Apr 2011
Must you give staff the day off?
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13 Apr 2011
A business survey has suggested that although the economy has returned to positive growth, recovery remains fragile.
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13 Apr 2011
Some of the UK's 21,000 rules and regulations could be scrapped after the Government called on the country to help it tackle unnecessary bureaucracy.
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13 Apr 2011
Small businesses will be given greater powers to challenge their bank if loan requests are rejected, Britain's biggest lenders have said.
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13 Apr 2011
New research has shown that funding for learning and development has been cut at two out of three organisations this year.
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05 Apr 2011
A lower than anticipated number of businesses asked insolvency practitioners to look at their books before asking the taxman to delay their bills, it has been revealed.
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05 Apr 2011
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) faces a gargantuan challenge if it is to generate an extra £18 billion from fraud and evasion investigations over the next four years, the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has warned.
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05 Apr 2011
Protection for tax advisers helping clients set up tax schemes involving trusts, opening them up to negligence claims, has been overturned by the Court of Appeal.
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01 Apr 2011
Legislation and regulations which "burden" businesses with so-called red tape includes sunset and review clauses, the Government has announced.
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01 Apr 2011
A bid by the Government to cut red tape will see about 22,000 business regulations reviewed and will lead to small firms being made exempt from new domestic laws for three years.
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25 Mar 2011
The latest Budget includes a plan to create 21 "enterprise zones" in England which offer companies lower taxes and less stringent planning rules.
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24 Mar 2011
Corporation tax will be slashed to 23% in an attempt to make Britain more attractive to international firms, the Chancellor has announced.
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21 Mar 2011
ICAEW has launched its new Practice Committee and Howard Gross, a London-based small practitioner and ICAEW Council Member, has been elected as its first Chair.
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18 Mar 2011
Finance (No. 3) Act 2010 received Royal Assent on 16 December 2010. Here we review the parts most relevant to general practitioners. Its 33 sections and 14 Schedules address a range of tax areas. The key points for general practitioners have been highlighted below.
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17 Mar 2011
With property often the biggest figure in the accounts, it is vital to get numbers and disclosure correct.
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02 Mar 2011
From 1 March 2011 all marketing communications on websites and in marketing e mails will be regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority. This extends its previous remit over printed and broadcast material.
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01 Mar 2011
The levy on bank profits is to be made permanent, Chancellor George Osborne has announced, in a move that will raise an extra £800 million this year.
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01 Mar 2011
The Government has rejected pleas to delay implementing changes that will see corporation tax paperwork filed electronically.
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01 Mar 2011
A change in pension scheme guidelines means that the responsibility of checking that the standard of data held by a scheme is satisfactory now rests solely with the trustees.
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01 Mar 2011
Plans to target small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) keeping inaccurate trading records have been unveiled by HMRC.
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01 Mar 2011
Despite establishing a unit to simplify taxes, the Government has been told that its proposed reforms will make the system more complex.
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01 Mar 2011
MPs have said that financial regulation reform should not be rushed and called for more time to be given to planning it.
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01 Mar 2011
More people than ever have completed their tax return via the Revenue & Customs website in time for the January deadline, the tax department disclosed.
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01 Mar 2011
There will be no "significant" tax cuts while the Government implements measures to curb spending as it looks to cut its way out of the deficit, the Prime Minister has said.
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01 Mar 2011
The taxman turned away twice as many businesses seeking deferrals on their tax bills in 2010, official figures show.
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01 Mar 2011
Hundreds of union members and workers whose jobs are to be axed under Government reforms are heading to Westminster to lobby MPs, it has been revealed.
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22 Jan 2011
Two-thirds of small companies do not currently provide a pension scheme for their staff, research indicates.
Around 96% of firms employing 250 or less people that do not have a pension scheme said they were put off offering one because of the costs involved, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries.
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21 Jan 2011
The accounting and disclosure of dividends can seem simple but beware of falling foul of the technical complexities.
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21 Jan 2011
Do you offer fee protection insurance where the client is the insured party? Do you comment on advice given to clients by IFAs? If “yes” in either case, then you need to register!
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21 Jan 2011
The trouble in the Middle East may have a wider impact on practices than increased fuel costs.
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21 Jan 2011
Being busy is normal in the profession, but feeling unable to cope is not. What are the signs to watch out for? And what can you do about it?
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21 Jan 2011
Hundreds of people spent Christmas Day filling in and submitting their self-assessment tax return forms online, according to figures from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
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21 Jan 2011
European red tape will be cut, allowing British firms to compete with their continental rivals, the Government has promised. The move, announced by business secretary Vince Cable will see the end of the "gold-plating" of EU directives.
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21 Jan 2011
Finance chiefs at major UK firms will look to expand their companies this year and as they expect the UK economy to grow towards the end of 2011, a survey has revealed.
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21 Jan 2011
Demonstrators have taken to the streets of London and other sites around the country to protest against alleged tax avoidance by big businesses.
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21 Jan 2011
A financial think-tank, he Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS,) has said has said the Government will end up spending "substantial" sums as a result of poorly targeted tax breaks for patent holders.
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21 Jan 2011
Union leaders have told the Prime Minister that millions of families face a "bleak" future after the Government spending cuts.
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21 Jan 2011
Chancellor George Osborne has been urged to re-think January's VAT rise amid claims it will damage the economy.
The Government's tax and spending watchdog - the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - said it expects the 2.5% rise in VAT to 20% to result in a 0.3% decline in gross domestic product (GDP) next year.
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20 Jan 2011
Next week's VAT rise will mean Britons have to wait three days longer than in 2010 before they earn enough money to cover their annual tax bill and start making money for themselves, a thinktank has calculated.
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20 Jan 2011
The tax and accounting arm of information company Thomson Reuters is planning to expand into Europe and Asia, the firm has announced.
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19 Jan 2011
The Chancellor is coming under increasing pressure from colleagues around the cabinet table to introduce a further tax on bank bonuses, it has been reported.
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01 Jan 2011
Practice Centre - Smaller hi-tech industry firms have been shown a £75 million package of measures designed to help them.
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01 Jan 2011
Over the course of next year, UK businesses will be able to apply directly to the Government for funding for new apprenticeships, it has been announced.
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01 Jan 2011
A survey of 1,000 employers has shown that for the first time in over a year the job market is starting to look a little more positive as fewer firms plan redundancies.
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01 Jan 2011
New proposals could see small firms given the power to decide whether they have an audit or not.
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01 Jan 2011
The act is now in force. What diffeence does it make to practitioners?
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01 Jan 2011
The Chancellor has announced plans to bypass the country's banks in a bid to increase access to lending among the UK's small business community.
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01 Jan 2011
Practice Centre - The 50p top rate of income tax should be scrapped in order to create a more competitive tax system in the UK, according to a group of economists.
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01 Jan 2011
A leading engineering group wants the Government's autumn statement in November to tackle the "deteriorating" economic outlook and "plummeting" business confidence.
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01 Jan 2011
Audit and data returns required of employers are to be done away with to make it easier for them to take on apprentices, according to the Government.
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01 Jan 2011
Accounting firm BDO has predicted a bleak outlook for the British economy from January until March next year.
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01 Jan 2011
Grooming your practice for sale will pay dividends, even if you don’t sell! Part 1 of a new three part series written for ICAEW by Mike Sturgess, SWAT UK.
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01 Jan 2011
The Government should address the tax burdens which the capital's micro-businesses have to contend with in order to help them take on new staff.
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01 Jan 2011
More jobs are due to be axed among financial services firms, a report has revealed.
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01 Jan 2011
The "strong entrepreneurial spirit" of smaller firms in the North East is helping to drive economic recovery in the area, a study has revealed.
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01 Jan 2011
There is evidence that the gap between North and South is opening up again, as employment prospects in some parts of the UK look "increasingly bleak," a poll has found.
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01 Jan 2011
There are some simple steps to accelerate your clients’ tax relief on plant and machinery.
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01 Jan 2011
Confusion over red tape is forcing British businesses to breach regulations, a report has suggested.
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01 Jan 2011
More than half of the UK's businesses think the country's infrastructure is falling behind the rest of Europe, a survey has found.
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01 Jan 2011
Companies have been urged to end their "misuse" of unpaid internships.