501 questions and answers for company directors and company secretaries

Basic company information for the benefit of directors and company secretaries.

Accountants' negligence and liability

An in-depth practical work covering all the main areas of accountants' legal liabilities in negligence claims, including audit liabilities to clients and others, tax and insolvency work and conflicts of interest. It covers accountants' negligence in relation to claims against accountants acting for corporations as well as accountants acting for individuals.

Business law

A guide to the legal principles that apply to business, aimed at non-law students. Includes extensive references to cases and legislation, such as the Companies Act 2006, the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Selling or winding-up an owner-managed company

Premium Content: This is exclusive item - please log in or subscribe to view this item.

A chapter on tax considerations when selling or winding-up an owner-managed company, highlighting practical issues and reliefs available such as business asset disposal relief (BADR).

Social Investment Tax Relief

Premium Content: This is exclusive item - please log in or subscribe to view this item.

A chapter providing detailed guidance on Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR), written for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs in the UK. Topics covered include: claims for SITR, SI hold-over relief, chargeable events, SI disposal relief, losses and changes in SITR investments, reorganisations, winding-up and insolvency and interaction with other tax reliefs.

Insolvency

Premium Content: This is exclusive item - please log in or subscribe to view this item.

Two chapters on insolvency in this time-saving reference guide for accountants who are faced with an unfamiliar legal problem or query. The chapters cover both individual and corporate insolvency and rescue procedures, with a separate materials section providing five rescue checklists and a glossary.

Partnership law

Premium Content: This is exclusive item - please log in or subscribe to view this item.

A chapter on partnership law, covering the three types of partnership, formation, relation of partners to third parties, position of ordinary partners between themselves, termination of partnership, dissolution and retirement, practical matters, insolvency and limited liability partnerships.

Accountants' legal service

Premium Content: This is exclusive item - please log in or subscribe to view this item.

An easy-to-use, time-saving reference guide for accountants who are faced with an unfamiliar legal problem or query. Includes sections on private company law, insolvency, land, financial services, partnership, employment, family & matrimonial, executorship & trusts and contracts, with precedents and checklists. Relevant cases and legislation, such as the Companies Act 2006, are referred to extensively.

New law: New rules make it harder for businesses to use winding-up petitions to recover money from limited company debtors

Individuals or businesses owed money by a limited company must now observe strict new conditions before they can present a petition to the courts to wind the company up, which can severely affect their ability to use this method to recover money from limited company debtors.

New law: Temporary new rules make it easier to apply to wind up limited companies that owe you money

Small businesses will welcome temporary, new rules from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 which allow them to apply (‘petition’) to wind up a debtor company in certain circumstances, easing the pandemic-related restrictions on presenting a petition that applied previously.

New law: Requirement for creditors’ approval of pre-pack and other disposals by administrators of insolvent companies starts to bite

Buyers of businesses from an administrator need to check whether the administrator will need to get creditor approval to the transaction or an evaluator’s report, and the consequent implications on timing, and factor those into their negotiations and the price offered, as recent laws start to bite.

UK insolvencies jump 14% in 2023 after interest rates surge

The number of UK companies suffering insolvency jumped 14% in 2023 as firms collapsed under the weight of higher borrowing costs and weaker economic growth. The article gives an overview of the factors involved and the sectors most affected.

Who learns fastest, wins: Lean Startup and Discovery Driven Growth

Most entrepreneurial ventures and startups fail. Against this backdrop, Lean Startup and Discovery-Driven Growth (DDG) are methods that emphasize rapid learning, resource parsimony, and focus on validating assumptions as ways of reducing the cost and risk of failure. Rita Gunther McGrath looks at the benefits of both methods, suggesting that they are a major advance over traditional planning processes because they both emphasize rapid learning. She also provides a 'flops file' of massive corporate failures and analyses the mistakes made.

Down and out? UK insolvencies reach highest level in 14 years

The article reports that UK insolvencies have reached their highest level in 14 years, with a 13% increase in registered company insolvencies in Q2 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. While redundancies remain low, factors like increased borrowing and energy costs are affecting businesses' financial stability, leading to a rise in liquidations, administrations and company voluntary arrangements (CVAs).