Chartered One magazine Winter 2014

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

A Merry Christmas to all our Members Our Christmas gift to you‌ The new LSCA app and website

LSCA Business

Inside this issue 9 A nnual Conference report

12 N ew Website & app

Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants The Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants was founded in 1870 and is the oldest district society in the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales, and was one of the four founding societies of the ICAEW.

38 D igital ring binders

37 P robate: The big issue

Contents LSCA Business President’s Words Insight from the Editor Diary of Events Annual Conference Chester & North Wales Annual Dinner LSCA website & app

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The ICAEW is a founding member of the Global Accounting Alliance with over 775,000 members worldwide.

Professional Services Begbies Traynor Isle of Man Cradle to Grave and Beyond A pension regime B&M Waste Services Probate - New Business Opportunity Trade mark Mishaps with Forresters & Knights Probate and ICAEW’s role Digital ring binders How ship shape is your business?

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Advertising/Features: Roger Swift: roger.swift@crosbyassociates.co.uk Tel: 0845 643 5551 / 07739046573

Education Skills and training Combat Cyber Risks BASE

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Out of Office Behind the Mask Younger Members wine tasting He’ll never walk alone …

Charity Corner Warrant Group’s 25th anniversary celebrations Macmillan Coffee Morning

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The Society has an illustrious history and has provided in Harmood Banner, Arthur Green and Ian Morris, three National ICAEW Presidents.

Awarded the Freedom of the City of Liverpool in 2012, the Society continues to play an active role in local and ICAEW issues.

As a world leading professional accountancy body, the ICAEW provides leadership and practical support to over 138,000 members in more than 160 countries, working with Government, regulators and industry in order to ensure the highest standards are maintained.

Our members provide financial knowledge and guidance based on the highest technical and ethical standards. They are trained to challenge people and organisations to think and act differently, to provide clarity and rigour, and so help create and sustain prosperity. The ICAEW ensures these skills are constantly developed, recognised and valued. Because of us, people can do business with confidence.

Editorial: Martyn Best: martyn.best@documentdirect.co.uk Chartered ONE is designed and published on behalf of the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants by Crosby Associates Ltd.

www.crosbyassociates.co.uk © All rights reserved. Cover Photo by Martyn Best

Chartered One // Issue 10 // Autumn 2014

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LSCA Business

The President’s Words Welcome to the latest edition of Chartered One and our last one for 2014.

I am now half way through my Presidency and I can’t believe just how quickly this year has flown by.

Macmillan Cancer Support, registered charity in England and Wales (261017), Scotland (SC039907) and the Isle of Man (604). Also operating in Northern Ireland.

As I mentioned in the previous issue the Committee have now finalised our Strategy for 2014/ 15 the full details of which we will publish shortly on our revamped web site (details to follow) and in the next Chartered ONE, but in summary on your behalf we have committed to: ≥Continue to promote ACCESS to the profession through the promotion of the BASE game with local schools, supporting LCASA our Student Association and maintain our strong links with local schools, colleges and universities. In particular I hope we can organise our own local “graduation ceremony” for newly qualifieds so that achievement can be more appropriately recognised; ≥ Strengthening the INFLUENCE of the profession on behalf of our members and to act in the public interest through supporting the ICAEW (Council members, Technical Advisory Committee, Business and Practice Committees), visiting & talking to members whether in practice or business, actively using social media & Chartered One as means of communication as well as developing stronger relationships with other professional bodies in our region (including putting on joint events) and representing the profession on the IFB 2016 Professional & Financial Services Steering Committee: and ≥ Continuing to support our MEMBERS through the delivery of a comprehensive programme of CPD courses & events, promoting the Business Advice Service and organising social & networking opportunities. An initiative close to my heart for this year is also to revive our Liverpool Younger Members Group which, under the leadership of Andrew Moss our vice-president, is progressing well.

If there is anything you think we are missing from our strategy and it is something we could feasibly deliver or if you like the idea of getting involved with the Committee then please do not hesitate to let Alex Pilkington know (alex.pilkington@icaew.com).

Since our last issue I had the honour of representing the Society at a lunch put on

by Liverpool Vision at the Mansion House in London, the purpose of which was to promote the benefits of transferring back office functions or businesses from the South East to Liverpool (“north shoring”). I must say that the presentations were impressive with compelling reasons why Liverpool is a great place to do business and I do hope that this will lead onto more business moving to our region.

Liverpool Santa Dash Sunday 7th December 2014 9:30am start Help support Macmillan, the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountant's nominated charity for 2014/15 and have fun at the same time Please register on http://www.btrliverpool.com/event/ santa-dash/#!santa-dash/c1hsh and let Alex know you've entered at Alex.Pilkington@icaew.com

The events highlight this year has been our highly successful re-arranged Members conference and a special thanks must go to both Alex Pilkington and Carol McLachlan for organising the event for a second time.

As I write this my mind is preoccupied with thinking about what I will say in my speech at our Annual Dinner on Friday 28th November at the Crowne Plaza, and some of you reading this may be awaiting that with interest, as we have a copy of Chartered ONE available for the dinner.

My nominated charity for this year is Macmillan and we are organising a team to participate in this year’s Santa Dash to raise money for this worthy cause, details of which can be found in the magazine. Even if you are not interested in joining the Committee this would provide you with the opportunity to meet us and keep fit at the same time!

Finally I would like to wish you an enjoyable Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Kind regards, John Nolan President

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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LSCA Business

Insight from the Editor So this is Christmas, and what have we done, another year over, and another… * … about to begin.

It truly is about 12 months since I last reflected on another year, and here we are again.

I hope you have all had a happy and memorable 2014.

As a city we had a very successful International Festival for Business, at which your Society and ICAEW played a key role. We also saw the return of the muchloved giants, and the return of european football for our two main clubs.

We also saw one of our members take control and ownership of our city’s third team, and we wish Mark Palios very good fortune with Tranmere Rovers. We shall have an interesting and in-depth perspective from Mark in the next issue.

When he will contrast “1+1 = 2 with 4,4,2”.

Our Society held a very successful Annual Conference in October, and a full report follows within.

I am also delighted to announce the launch of our invigorated Society website.

Crosby Associates who help us produce this newsletter have created www. charteredone.co.uk for us, and I would urge you all to visit this for the latest news on our Society.

A further seasonal treat for our members is the launch of our very own app.

Again, created by Crosby, who have much experience in this area, the app features the workings of the Society and has many elements which will help members on a daily basis. Please do download this.

Finally, may I please ask you to send any contributions you may have to me, or to any other Committee member. This newsletter is designed to help spread news of our activities, and what is helping within our membership – so please let us know.

So, another year older and wiser I hope, and may I wish all of our members and readers, and supporters, a very happy and peaceful Christmas, and a very prosperous and healthy new year ahead.

Kind regards, Martyn Best Editor Chartered ONE Past President * Thanks to John Lennon

Thoughtsforcomingissuesinclude: ≥Members professional and personal news ≥Firm’s News ≥A spotlight on... ≥Social Activity ≥Comments/Feedback ≥Charity Corner ≥Student News You can also join our Society’s LinkedIn group.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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LSCA Business

Diary of Events 2014/15

Below are details of forthcoming events. Please check the website for further updates, including ‘early bird’ discounts and season ticket offers at icaew.com/north-west-events 2014 Date

Start

Event

Venue

Speaker

25 November

09:00

Sole Practitioners Conference

Haydock Park Racecourse

Various

28 November

18:45

Liverpool Society Annual Dinner

Crowne Plaza Hotel, Liverpool

Steph McGovern

8 December

Tax update, following the Chancellors Autumn Statement

2015 Date

Event

24th March

PAYE/NIC/P11D updates

14th May

Tax updates

25th June

Charity accounting

9th October

Annual Conference

15th October

Financial reporting

9th December

Tax update

Annual Conference – 10 October 2014 The Society’s Annual Conference was held on Friday 10th October at the Museum of Liverpool.

The Museum of Liverpool, the purpose-built landmark building on Liverpool’s famous waterfront which opened in July 2011 has won a number of awards, most recently the Council of Europe Museum Prize for 2013, and was an ideal setting for the Conference.

On the 10th day of the 10th month, and starting at 10am, the conference aptly featured 10 categories of CPD with 10 top tips in 10 speedy sessions. The day had great support from members of the Society with accountants at all levels in practice, industry and the not for profit sector attending.

The day started with Growth Accelerator demonstrating how the GA programme, a partnership between private enterprise and government backed by a £200 million government investment, can offer personalised support for high growth businesses.

Our President, John Nolan, then gave a very detailed and informative assessment of the recent changes in financial reporting.

A change of tone brought Martyn Best, our Past President and Editor of Chartered ONE giving his insights into “De-mystifying IT”.

Martyn’s talk ranged from passwords through social media (and his pleas for everyone to embrace this) to device management and what the cloud is all about. .

The Chartered Accountants’ Benevolent Association supported the day and presented a session on the wide range of resources and support available to Chartered Accountants throughout their career, from career coaching counselling, financial advice and financial support in difficult times.

Carol McLachlan, The Accountants Coach, and Chair of our LPD group, then gave great wisdom on professional resilience and how to develop this key 21st century business competency This was followed by two very interesting technical sessions on how to address your compliance obligations from QAD, ICAEW and “Sage in the clouds” from another of our sponsors.

The Conference ended with the ever popular tax updates on both personal and corporate issues.

As Chair of the Society’s LPD, Carol was delighted with the Conference, saying, “This was a new type of annual conference for us, appealing to a broader mix of members and covering a wider selection of topics than normal. We took a risk and it paid off, judging by the strong and encouraging feedack.

“We’ll be further developing the model for future years, keeping the broad appeal but possibly offering some breakout options so we can also offer depth in some specialist areas and respond to the interests of all our members. As always we would be delighted to hear your suggestions so we can design a truly collaborative programme.”

There was time to take in the atmosphere of the museum which reflects the city’s global significance through its unique geography, history and culture and how the port, its people, and their creative and sporting history have shaped the city.

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CHESTER & NORTH WALES SOCIETY OF CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS ANNUAL DINNER Friday 6 March 2015, 19:15 until midnight The Chester Grosvenor, Eastgate Street, Chester, CH1 1LT

GUEST SPEAKER Don Maclean

We are delighted to announce that our guest speaker for the 2015 dinner is Don Maclean.

A comedian by trade, Don Maclean has appeared regularly on TV and radio, and in cabaret and theatre all over Great Britain, including London Palladium seasons, Royal Command Performances and pantomime. He first came to the attention of the general public through his many appearances in the TV series Crackerjack and The Black and White Minstrel Show which he hosted for three years on TV and five years on stage.

He has also hosted successful TV game shows such as Mouthtrap and First Letter First. In the late 70s, Don was a regular on Celebrity Squares, hosted three series of Keen Types for BBC 2, and devised and appeared in The Cheapest Show On The Telly with Lenny Henry. More recently he has presented Songs of Praise for BBC Religious Broadcasting.

Radio has played a major part in Don's career. His credits include the series Maclean Up Britain and Keep It Maclean, being a regular team member on Wit's End, team captain on The Press Gang, quizmaster on The Clever Dick Athlon which he also devised, and hosting three series of Are You Sitting Comfortably?

Ticket Price: Individual tickets are available at ÂŁ72.00 per person inc. . VAT To book please contact Alex Pilkington:

BOOKINGS Ticket Price: ÂŁ72.00 per person including VAT We do hope you can join us for this very special evening, which offers an excellent opportunity to entertain clients and colleagues from the local business community.

Contact alex.pilkington@icaew.com to book your place.

E: alex.pilkington@icaew.com T: +44 (0)1925 594284 Dress Code: Black Tie

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Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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LSCA Business

LSCA website.

Following the launch of our website last year, Crosby Associates have now created a much fresher version, and one which integrates much better with the content of Chartered ONE and with our ground-breaking app, described on the next page.

The website can be found at www.charteredone.co.uk and will help maintain our drive to deliver more information relevant to the members of the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants.

We welcome all your comments, and hope you enjoy the site.

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Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

LSCA Business

LSCA App In 1870 we became the first Society of Chartered Accountant in the country, and now 144 years later, the LSCA becomes the first District Society to have their own app.

We are delighted to announce the news in this issue of Chartered ONE, and urge you and your colleagues to download this app and find out what a breadth of local member information and other useful elements it has.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

Working Does Your together Business Need A with Personal Trainer?

HMRC Philippa Stedman ACA, the technical manager of the ICAEW’s Practitioner Support Group manages elements of the Institute’s relationship with HMRC.

John Fairbrother, Partner at Begbies Traynor’s Liverpool office, is an expert at nursing sick firms back to health through a blend of tough love, discipline and clear strategy.

Here he outlines the similarities between people who take their fitness seriously and the success of ‘fit firms’.

for volunteers to test and provide input into its digital developments.

Please let her know if you are already involved in any HMRC testing indicating which areas of work and if not if you would be interested in helping going forward.

In particular she is looking for volunteers for helping HMRC develop its new Agent online self serve(AOSS), and input into various aspects of this work, as well as the transition of HMRC website to GOV. UK. The work may involve telephone calls with HMRC or GOV.UK digital staff, workshops or online testing.

As background this link about the latest developments New digital services from HMRC: June 2014 update. Provides much more detail.

This work should keep you up to date with digital developments at an early stage, give you a chance to help shape them into something that will work best for agents and you may find it interesting

As each new initiative starts or develops she will e mail those that have expressed an interest to see if you would like to take part

Please contact her directly:

Philippa Stedman ACA Technical Manager, Practitioner Support E: philippa.stedman@icaew.com

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John Fairbrother

The idea that companies are like people is not as far-fetched as it might seem. Everyone likes to say about their own organisation that people come first, that they are a people-centric business, and that they value their employees above all other resources. What is plain fact is that people also constitute the single largest overhead of most companies.

The ‘fitness’ of a business is not easily gauged, but it’s possible, with some effort, to see where the need for exercise and therapy lies. Some small family firms, for instance, may appear

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

successful and base this success largely on the fact that “we’ve always done things this way”.

There are more than three million family-run businesses in the UK, and some of the biggest names in the North West are family-run businesses, including Bibby Line, Timpsons, TJ Morris, Swansway, Morson International, JW Lees and E.H. Booth.

According to recent industry research, family-run firms employ around nine million people across the country and account for a quarter of total UK gross

Professional Services domestic product, yet only 8%of those surveyed say that they plan to expand aggressively in the next five years.

As the country emerges from the economic downturn, it’s vital that businesses look for new growth opportunities to continue to drive job creation and to ensure that UK firms remain competitive globally. In order to be fit to compete, a business is often best advised to undergo a health check to identify the problem areas. These can be anything from inadequate credit control to poor client communications. Whatever the problem, once identified, it can be resolved.

While this sounds easy, it can also be painful. No one likes to face up to his or her weaknesses. Smaller businesses are often populated by personalities who do not enjoy scrutiny of their role and who rarely welcome criticism, however constructive.

Other issues, such as finance and necessary investment, might appear insurmountable, yet these too can be tackled successfully given a broader understanding of the options available.

Making your business fitter means going through the pain barrier.

Gaining stamina, flexibility, suppleness and adaptability means that what once was overwhelming can now be overcome and manageable. This drive to fitness, including undergoing frank and robust self-analysis, can make an organisation more energetic and better able to take on new challenges. In short, it generates confidence, possibly the most underrated of business attributes.

Preparing for growth With an air of optimism in the economy, North West businesses are well placed to take advantage of recent growth across the UK. Over the past few years Liverpool has undergone a massive transformation, including the additions of the Liverpool One shopping centre, the Echo Arena, the Pier Head redevelopment and a constantly changing skyline.

Recent discussions regarding the devolution of power to the regions, including more local spending power to Greater Manchester Council, also indicate that the trend we will see over the coming years will be

one of greater autonomy for cities across the North West, potentially streamlining future planning and spending decisions. This would also enable North West cities to prioritise decisions that would support business growth locally and react to changes in economic conditions regionally.

Even those of us who are fit and well can be prone to the occasional bout of ill health, so it’s essential to have the tools to treat any economic ailment. Aside from the almost inevitable coughs and colds that can affect us from time to time, we need to take better care of ourselves, have confidence and channel our skills and strengths into sustained good health.

The same is true of a business as it goes through different stages of growth and development. Just as people become wiser with experience, so does a business as it tailors its skills and abilities to meet the day-to-day demands of its operation. It is important to identify the areas of your organisation that need attention, where the energy and direction needs to be focused and how best to achieve a positive result.

As an individual strives to be fitter, there is often a temptation to splash out on new sports gear and equipment in the belief that it will be a quick fix to honing our physique and improving our performance. In reality, the more kit we have, the less we use, and there is an 80/20 rule which says that we use 20% of equipment for 80% of activities.

This can also be true in business.

It is critical, when there are limited resources, that a business makes the right investment in its people and its assets to maximise performance and ensure the best return on the capital employed. This will be different for each business as people and equipment differ and there are diverse challenges and opportunities – but the principle is the same.

Just as in fitness training, every day is different and every time you practise, something else will have changed. Business dynamics are also always fluctuating. A maxim which is often quoted in sport, also applies in business: ‘The harder I practise, the luckier I become’. It pays to reassess your business, make the necessary changes and adjustments and be fit for the future.

John Fairbrother John heads up Begbies Traynor’s Liverpool office on Old Hall Street, working alongside Jason Greenhalgh.

He has more than 30 years’ experience in corporate recovery and personal insolvency and advises accountants, lawyers, lenders and directors, implementing bespoke recovery packages for those facing financial distress. John has worked extensively in business development for many years at senior levels, and has previously worked at leading accountancy practices.

His focus is always to work with all stakeholders to consider recovery options ahead of formal insolvencies, which is a refreshing, proactive approach that is appreciated by all his clients.

John specialises in finding solutions for businesses in situations of serious distress and when creditors are applying pressure to already struggling companies, to work through the range of options available under these circumstances.

Along with his team of insolvency practitioners, John helps to provide expert guidance on financial matters to companies of all sizes in the Liverpool area, using his extensive experience of both corporate and personal insolvency.

The Liverpool team is also supported by colleagues across the North West, in Begbies Traynor’s Manchester and Preston offices. There are several specialist teams that cover the North West, including corporate finance, restructuring, investigations, forensic accounting and financial consulting.

Outside of the office, John enjoys exploring European cities and walking, come rain or shine, in his beloved North Wales.

Contact Details John Fairbrother Partner T: 0151 227 4010 M: 07885 757 758 E: john.fairbrother@begbies-traynor.com Begbies Traynor, 1 Old Hall Street Liverpool, Merseyside L3 9HF

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

ISLE OF MAN TIER 1 IMMIGRATION INVESTOR CHANGES

By Nick Preskey, Business Development Manager, High Net Worth Individuals, Isle of Man Department of Economic Development Changes to the UK Tier 1 (Investor) immigration category came into force on 6 November 2014. I will look at these changes and provide some thoughts and considerations of the impact. As I am based in the Isle of Man I will give you a whistle stop tour of the Isle of Man immigration process, detailing many of the similarities and reasons for moving to the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency situated in the centre of the Irish Sea at the heart of the British Isles. For those of you who have visited the Island you may have noticed that there are no border controls albeit you are visiting “another country” The reason for this is travel between the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man is considered to be an internal domestic journey. Whilst I can hear your concern as you may think that this is a weakness in the border control of the UK you would be incorrect as our immigration rules and controls are almost identical to those of our “neighbours” the United Kingdom.

The Isle of Man as a Crown Dependency is entitled to and uses the services of the British Embassy to act as agents in the initial handling of its visa applications. The British Embassy sends the applications to the Isle of Man Immigration service for consideration, if approved, which takes approximately 14 working days, the British Embassy post will issue and place the visa into the applicant’s passport. The applicant’s passport will then be stamped on arrival into the United Kingdom. This date is key as the Investor must make their investment within 3 months.

While our Immigration rules are almost identical there are 4 key factors independent of these which drive Investors to this picturesque Island.

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These key drivers are:≥ Wealth preservation – the top rate for income tax is 20%, or you can cap this at 120K per annum. There are no capital gains or inheritance taxes.

Corporation tax is zero rated on most businesses. ≥ Quality of life – Stable and safe place to live, very low crime rate, free property market, good leisure and restaurant facilities. ≥ Excellent infrastructure - World class telecoms, healthcare and both private and state schools. ≥ Stable and diverse economy – 30 years of economic growth, a pragmatic and responsive government, internationally responsible and a growing entrepreneurial culture.

The recent changes referred to above, commenced on 9th October 2013 with the formation of The Migratory Advisory Committee, a non – departmental public body.

Their purpose was to consider if the investment thresholds previously set in 1994 for the Tier 1 Investor Immigration route still deliver significant economic benefit to the UK. Their findings and recommendation have culminated in the following key changes:≥ The minimum investment threshold is £2million ≥ New investors will no longer be able to allocate 25% of the investment into UK assets such as UK property. The full £2million will need to be invested. ≥ The loan option is no longer available

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

≥ Investment accounts will no longer require topping up if the invested amount falls below the minimum amount. If investments are sold, they will need to be replaced within the same reporting period ≥ Visa officers are being empowered to refuse Investors if they have reasonable grounds to believe the funds are tainted or have concerns about conduct and the character of the people providing funding.

The up lift to £2million may put additional pressure on the return required from their investments. The removal of the top up requirement is a positive change.

Interestingly the loan option removal is anticipated to mainly affect the Chinese investors who have used this as a way of overcoming the restrictions on the flow of funds from China.

Overall the changes are long overdue with the investment threshold now reflecting the earnings growth since 1994 yielding the higher investment amount. It would be injudicious for the UK to enter into a “race to the bottom” matching special offers recently introduced by, for example, Malta Portugal and Antigua. A watching brief should be maintained for those of us who operate in this space as the UK Government consults further on this matter.

For further details on this subject please contact Nick Preskey at the Department of Economic Development, Isle of Man Government.

T: 01624 688521 nick.preskey@gov.im www.whereyoucan.com/hnwi

Professional Services

Cradle to Grave and Beyond While Probate has lost its reserved status it is still regulated whereas will writing and estate administration remain unregulated. Is there an issue?

Lawyers’ stranglehold on the legal services market was shot below the waterline when the government opened up the formerly reserved area of noncontentious probate, the legal right to deal with the assets of a dead person, to non-solicitors. The move was aimed at diversifying the legal marketplace and indeed, at the time, Chris Kenny, chief executive of the Legal Services Board, the “super-regulator”, said: ‘This is a welcome development and is a very important step on the road to more consumer choice, innovation and competition in the provision of legal services. ‘ And indeed the cost of managing someone’s estate after their death is expected to fall considerably once accountants start to offer probate services “in anger”.

Probate has historically only been offered by solicitors who have typically charged a percentage of the value of the estate, which can be as high as 5%, plus an hourly fee in some cases.

For complex cases the charges can rocket and especially where the will is contested. However, increased competition will see probate cost plummet by as much as 33%. This is fantastic news for the consumer, of course.

While Chris Kenny was focusing on the immediate financial benefit to the consumer, as I suppose most PR statements will, he failed to mention the risks for consumers which remain to be addressed. I have had conversations with STEP accountant members, graduates of the STEP Diploma in Trusts and Estates (E&W), who are quite alarmed by the minimal level of training required of someone taking on this area of work, however

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experienced they may be. These STEP accountants value the two year programme they went through.

Opening up the market to allow accountants to offer a cradle to grave advisory service to private clients is in many ways positive but unfortunately misses a more fundamental problem. While involving a wider range of practitioners should produce more healthy competition, the Lord Chancellor’s Department’s starting point ought to have taken “public interest and protection” on board and made the needs of the consumer paramount. As it stands, though, consumer interests have only been touched on in as far as the government is concerned to see that opening up the probate process will not lead to any worsening of the position, when the real question is how can malpractice and incompetence in estate administration be stamped out. Probate practitioners, be they lawyers or accountants, need to be provided with a detailed and dedicated education programme if they are to offer that broad service to clients. It must be in the public interest that consumers be protected from fraud and incompetence. The Law Society’s Wills and Inheritance Quality Scheme and STEP’s own Will Writing Code do help to address some of the issues.

But what are the concerns around probate and the administration of estates?

There are concerns in the professional advisory community and the charity world that fraud is a significant problem in the administration of estates. STEP surveyed its UK members back in 2005 on this issue as part of a special STEP report.

Nearly half of its members had come

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

across suspected cases of fraud or theft from an estate. Moreover, the RNIB estimated that in the UK in 2005 estate fraud amounted to between £100-150 million. The police often do not have the expertise or resources to investigate such estate fraud claims, and find that estate fraud is usually very difficult to detect.

In the STEP report, a former Fraud Investigator who became a specialist in estate fraud, commented that “Fraud during the administration of an estate by unregulated providers is all too possible. Charities become the soft easy target for those determined to exclude them from their rightful bequest and fraudsters will make all manner of intriguing underhand and illegal efforts to forestall or steal that which the Will has declared they must do. The most likely area for such a fraud to occur is in the actual administration of the estate.”

Where do the problems emanate? Is it in the original drafting of the will?

Poorly drafted wills certainly play a role, but the large majority of consumer problems regarding wills are not about errors in the drafting, rather they result from dishonest or incompetent handling of an estate after the person’s death. STEP, in its report, described a case of estate fraud in Scotland to illustrate the fact that estate administration requires tough regulation. Michael Karus, 48, embezzled £413,052.81 to pay off his own debts while acting as executor of the estate of the late Edith Hampton, who died aged 89 in Edinburgh in 2003. Detective Sergeant Colin Aiken of Lothian Borders Police, Specialist Fraud Unit stated that many cases of estate fraud, such as that of the

Professional Services Karus case ”have revolved around the handling of assets of a deceased person and failure to implement that person’s will.”

Probate fraud is a hidden problem which often only comes to light by chance or when a more serious crime is being investigated. Beneficiaries are very unlikely to suspect they have been subject to a fraud. This is because transparency is denied to the beneficiary, and access to information is often managed by the fraudsters themselves. When cases of estate fraud are uncovered by family members and other beneficiaries, it is usually after the fact. Often in these cases there is nothing left in the estate at all.

Under the current regulatory regime, in estate fraud cases involving lawyers who are members of a Law Society, the victims are generally covered by the Solicitors Compensation Fund.

However, a non-lawyer acting as an estate administrator is not regulated and would not necessarily be covered by any compensation fund. In these circumstances the detriments resulting from an estate being emptied are rarely fully reversed.

As is the case with will-writers, STEP believes that those who administer estates professionally should be regulated to ensure minimum, but preferably high, standards of competence and behaviour and to give the public protection in the form of negligence insurance and continuity arrangements. All those administering estates need to be suitably trained and subject to a guarantee fund. They should also be required to maintain their expertise by undertaking on-going CPD as the laws of succession are ever changing and a practitioner must keep up-to-date with these developments.

Some have argued that the regulation of the grant of probate is in itself enough to cover problems with estate administration. However, it is known that some non-lawyer estate administrators exploit this by means of using a solicitor to undertake the grant of probate before bringing the rest of the estate administration process back in-house.

A senior STEP member in Scotland commented: “Unfortunately, the large majority of consumer horror stories regarding wills … are not about errors in the drafting. Instead they result from crooked or incompetent handling of the

estate after the person’s death. That activity is quite separate from the willwriting and is often done by someone other than the person who originally drafted the will.

“As long as estate administration can be carried out under the radar by unregulated people or firms, this sort of fraud and/or bungling will be almost impossible to prevent, and may often pass undetected.”

Education can mitigate the risks associated with lack of competence while at the same time enabling practitioners to develop a quality service as part of their business model.

But regulation is required to protect the public from fraudulent operators.

STEP is the specialist body for estates practice and offers a range of leading programmes in this field, including will preparation, estate administration and trust and estate planning for the financial planners. We will continue to develop the education provision while supporting other, better-suited, bodies with regulation.

by Nigel Race Director of Professional Development at STEP

Professional Services

A pension regime now fit Direct for the 21st century Earlier in the summer the government made several important announcements affecting pensions, but what does this mean for savers?

More flexibility provided by pensions Of the changes to pensions announced in the 2014 Budget, the bumper share of coverage centred around changes to defined contribution pension schemes and the increased flexibility to take a benefit from these. These changes represented a significant shift from the historical position where an individual reaching retirement age had a limited choice as to how they accessed their pension funds after they had taken a tax free lump sum.

The options were effectively limited to draw down or purchasing an annuity; with annuity rates so low there was no real enthusiasm to invest in one.

This year’s changes mean that for the first time pensioners have a real choice.

Individuals can draw down up to 100% of their pension pot at any time paying just their marginal rate of tax rather than potentially punitive rates. This could mean a large spike in the sales of Italian sports cars in the years ahead, or it could mean that for the first time individuals are given the opportunity to flexibly plan their own futures by managing their pensions without the restriction of an annuity structure.

funds remaining on death can pass to the family rather than the annuity company.

We may therefore see an increased interest in pensions as a mechanism to provide for retirement and future generations.

Good news for savers If saving is on your mind then don’t forget that we now have the ‘new ISA’ scheme, or NISA. The annual tax free savings allowance is now set at £15k per individual. This increase is for both investment NISAs and cash NISAs and represents a large increase in flexibility for savings that are no longer restricted by a lower annual limit on cash only ISAs. With over three months of the tax year remaining, there is still plenty of time to plan for the end of the tax year and we would expect NISAs to be one of this year’s fashionable toys.

As an additional Christmas treat this year PwC welcome you to enter our Christmas themed quiz via the website link pwc. to/1E8yPnM to win a fabulous festive prize.

Pension death tax to be abolished?

Another change to ponder over the Christmas pudding this year is the proposed abolition of the 55% pension tax on death. This tax is currently charged on the value of a pension fund where the policy holder dies when they are over the age of 75 or if the pension has previously been drawn down.

From April 2015, it is proposed that an individual dying before they reach the age of 75 will be able to pass their remaining defined contribution pension fund to anyone as a tax free lump sum.

Furthermore, subject o final clarification of the rules, should a beneficiary draw on the fund the receipts will be tax free.

Anyone who dies over the age of 75 can leave their pension fund to a nominated beneficiary who will pay tax at their own marginal rate upon withdrawal.

Traditional trust arrangements are being used less due to tax changes in previous years. The changes to defined contribution pensions may allow taxpayers to consider making better use of pensions as the

Recovery of Debts: sign the petition!

The LSCA is urging its members to sign the online e-petition against HMRC’s proposals for direct recovery of tax debts. We need 10,000 signatures and have just over 4,000 at the moment so have a way to go.

It’s not just us. CIOT, ATT, AAT, ACCA, FSB, Forum for Private Business and others have expressed concern about raiding somebody’s account before a court case . If this is permitted for HMRC, which other government departments will ask for the same right. And only yesterday morning we were reminded that HMRC has miscalculated tax bills for thousands of people twice: it is under-resourced and as a result makes mistakes.

Chairman of ICAEW Tax Faculty Technical Committee, Paul Aplin, alerted his clients – and he told us that around 80% of those he contacted responded within 24 hours, all thanking him for bringing it to their attention and saying they had signed.

We need to reach 10,000 signatures for this decision to be reviewed.

Wayne Dutton Senior Manager, Tax Tel: +44 015 1 227 4242 Email: wayne.dutton@uk.pwc.com Wayne is a Senior Manager in PwC’s tax team and has been with PwC for more than 16 years. He specialises in advising high net worth individuals together with their businesses on the tax implications of transactions and putting planning in place for life events.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ petitions/68384

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

Officers and members LSCA Officers & Committee 2014/2015 John Nolan President Paul Curtis

B&M WASTE SERVICES SHRED ACCOUNTING CLIENTS It’s not quite as bad as it sounds, and was with client’s permission.

B&M Waste Services’ Secure Shredding operation launched less than two years ago, and now acts for a number of high profile customers in the professional services sector including accountants and business advisers McEwan Wallace, Camps Solicitors and 174 Law. Additional clients include Liverpool Hope University, Downing Property Services and Aintree University Hospital.

B&M Secure Shredding says that the threat of fines of up to £500,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act is one of the main reasons for the surge in enquiries from accountants.

The Data Protection Act requires all organisations to safeguard confidential information and appropriately destroy it when it is no longer needed.

B&M clients are able to choose between on-site or off-site shredding services which enable them to destroy legal, personal and financial documents.

B&M Secure Shredding is a registered member of the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), the trade association representing the professional security industry in the UK.

B&M Secure Shredding is a division of B&M Waste Services which provides businesses with a full range of carbon neutral waste management services.

The company has offices in Wirral, Manchester and Norwich and celebrated its 60th birthday this year.

Paul Curtis, Director of B&M Secure Shredding, said: “We are receiving a large

number of enquiries from accountants across the North West and elsewhere keen to put in place the correct procedures for document shredding.

“The threat of fines of up to £500,000 from the Information Commissioner’s Office has certainly focussed the minds of businesses and organisations. There are a number of other sectors particularly at risk including hospitals, schools, financial services, recruitment companies and solicitors, but the reality is that any business could potentially fall foul.

“While the financial penalties can be severe, for many clients it is more about managing their reputation and ensuring continuity of business.”

B&M Secure Shredding will carry out an audit to assess a business or organisation’s requirements and offers a range of lockable secure document containers, including bins, consoles and bags, which are in line with a corporate office environment. All confidential materials are destroyed to British Standard BS: EN 15713 and 100 per cent recycled. Customers are provided with certificates of destruction.

B&M Secure Shredding operatives have enhanced CRB checks and each vehicle is double-manned, with CCTV feeds back to head office, to ensure added security.

B&M Secure Shredding is offering Chartered ONE readers and LSCA members an introductory offer of £80 for up to 20 bags/boxes of shredding.

Find out more at bagnallandmorris.com/ secureshredding

Philip Silver Deputy President Andrew Moss Vice President Paul Cochrane Immediate Past President Marion Hodgkiss Council Member, Past President John Tiernay ICAEW Council Chair Amanda Fairclough Hon. Treasurer Rob Young Hon. Secretary Andrew Lloyd Chairman, Chester & N Wales Katharine Thompson Chair, Southport Branch Martyn Best Editor, Chartered ONE & Past President Paul Christian Past President Mandy Haslinger Andrew Lovelady Past President Carol McLachlan Chair - LPD Committee Jan McDermott Wirral Town Group, Past President Eileen Quinn Past President Michael Sale Past President

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

Probate - Will You be Taking Advantage of this New Business Opportunity!

Jane Mather (Divisional Director – Northern Region) - SWAT UK ICAEW are now a designated approved regulator and licensing authority for probate. Applications for probate accreditation opened this September, giving members access to a potential new revenue stream.

But before you rush to update your website and let your clients know about this new service, there are some key regulations that any firm wishing to apply for a license will want to be aware of.

How do I obtain authorisation to conduct probate work?

Anyone carrying out (or controlling) ‘authorised work’ for an accredited firm must be individually authorised by ICAEW or another approved regulator.

To achieve authorisation under the ICAEW, the individual must attend a course and pass an assessment covering topics specified in the Regulations.

Upon passing the assessment, evidence (by way of a certificate) will then need to be submitted to ICAEW as part of a request for authorisation.

As the course and assessment will build on the existing skills of a qualified accountant, only members of the accountancy bodies listed below are eligible for accreditation through this route: ≥ ICAEW ≥ Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland ≥ Chartered Accountants of Ireland ≥ Institutes of Chartered Accountants in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Canada.

ICAEW are currently reviewing the position as regards principals that hold the ACCA, CIOT and other qualifications.

However, at the time of writing, principals with such qualifications alone are not automatically eligible to become authorised individuals for probate with ICAEW. You can contact ICAEW to get advice regarding your particular circumstances.

The application process Firms will have to apply to ICAEW,

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providing information to support their competence and fitness to perform this work and statements and affirmations regarding improving access to justice, conduct, co-operation and working practices.

To be eligible to be a licensed firm, at least one principal within the firm must be either an authorised person or an authorised firm. Where a non-authorised person holds a material interest in a licensed firm, that holding must be notified to ICAEW and will require ICAEW approval.

In addition the firm must satisfy ICAEW that; ≥ Both the firm and the authorised individuals are fit and proper ≥ They have appointed - and ICAEW have approved - a Head of Legal Practice (HoLP) [who will be the contact partner] and a Head of Finance and Administration (HoFA) ≥ They have at least one office in England and Wales from where probate work will be undertaken (Corporates need just have a registered office in England and Wales) ≥ Any principal that is not a licensed probate firm, a registered auditor, a DPB Licensed firm, a member of ICAEW, ICAS or CAI or another approved regulator holds affiliate status ≥ Non-authorised persons with a material interest in the firm are approved

by ICAEW ≥ Non-authorised principals, employees and shareholders have been informed of their duty to ensure that they do nothing in contravention of the Regulations ≥ The firm has procedures in place to prevent un-authorised persons influencing the independence or integrity of probate work ≥ The firm has PI insurance in place under the ICAEW PII Regulations with a

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

Jane Mather

minimum level of indemnity of £500,000 per claim.

Contact partner, authorised individuals, HoLP and HoFA A licensed firm must appoint a Head of Legal Practice (HoLP) who must be an authorised person and will be the contact partner. In addition they must appoint a Head of Finance and Administration (HoFA).

The contact partner can designate appropriately qualified principals and employees as ‘authorised individuals’.

The HoLP is responsible for ensuring that the firm, its principals and employees comply with the Probate Regulations, other than regulation 3.8 (clients’ assets) and that non authorised persons do not do anything to cause a breach of the regulations. The HoFA ensures compliance with the client asset regulations.

It is essential therefore that the HoLP and the HoFA have sufficient seniority within the firm to ensure that others will act on their instructions and are able to report freely to ICAEW should the need arise. Where principals are authorised individuals, it is envisaged that one of them will be the HoLP. The HoFA should be a principal who is an individual and has the necessary qualifications to perform that duty with ‘competence and skill’.

Professional Services When will I find out if my application has been successful?

PII insurance and Probate Compensation Scheme

Decisions regarding applications will usually be made within 6 months of all the relevant information being received

by ICAEW.

The minimum level of cover is pursuant to the ICAEW PII regulations subject to a minimum level of indemnity of £500,000 per claim. Under Regulation 2.10 if the value of an estate is likely to exceed the level of cover of the firm’s PII they must notify the client in writing at the beginning of the engagement of the level of cover and that the level of cover is capped.

Will I have to do anything on an ongoing basis?

Yes, authorised firms will have to: ≥ complete annual return information in relation to probate work; ≥ ensure that they continue to meet the eligibility requirements; ≥ comply with the regulations; ≥ inform ICAEW of any key changes within 10 days; ≥ and co-operate with ICAEW in relation to inspection and monitoring of such work.

What happens if the only person authorised to carry out probate leaves?

If an accredited probate firm ceases to have any principal or employee who is an authorised individual, the firm must cease to carry out such work until a replacement is appointed. Sole authorised individual principals will need to appoint an alternate for probate work.

Accredited firms and firms that were accredited will also have to comply with the Regulations of the ICAEW’s Probate Compensation Scheme.

Complaints procedures The Legal Services Act requires that accredited firms have procedures for dealing with complaints. Clients should be notified of their right to complain, who they should complain to in the firm and their right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman should their complaint not be dealt with satisfactorily.

Summing up In summary, the ability for ICAEW

members to offer this service opens up new opportunities for accountants to work closer with their clients and generate a new income stream. As to how many firms will actively take-up this new venture is yet to be seen. However, like many things in business, those who are proactive, keen to embrace new business opportunities, and are ‘first to the table’ to offer this new service to their clients, will most certainly have a significant business advantage over those that don’t.

Where to find out more If you’re considering offering this service, SWAT UK’s Certificate in Probate and Estate Administration offers a route through which to become authorised.

It comprises a 2-day course and assessment that is required under the Regulations. Having passed the assessment, your certificate can then be submitted as part of your application to ICAEW. You can find out more (including additional articles on the subject) by visiting www.swat.co.uk/probate or by calling SWAT UK on 0845 450 5555.

Further information regarding the ICAEW Probate Regulations can also be found on the ICAEW website by searching for “probate”. SWAT UKNovember 2014.

Professional Services

LIVERPOOL BUSINESSES HIT WITH MASSIVE BILLS OVER TRADE MARK MISHAPS Forresters who has recently moved into the Port of Liverpool Building, are a leading firm of patent and trade mark attorneys, and have been working with an increasing number of Liverpool business owners who have lost significant sums of money due to inadequate trade mark registrations. Martyn Best reports.

Many of these issues are brought to their attention by the accounting and business advisers, and in this article Martyn Best, our Editor asks two experts in the field what we should be looking out for with our clients.

Kate Cruse, a UK and European Trade Mark attorney based in Liverpool works extensively with Joanne Shelley, a solicitor specialising in Intellectual Property at Chester-based Knight LLP to help businesses protect their IP.

Here Kate and Joanne talk with Martyn about the pitfalls of trade mark registration.

Martyn: “ What is the issue here, and what are the costs involved for our clients? “

Kate: “Businesses are running up bills of tens of thousands of pounds because they have not registered trade marks correctly.

“ Trade mark applications can be filed at the UK Intellectual Property Office by an individual, but any application needs to satisfy rigorous rules, statutes and case law. Registering a trade mark is an incredibly intricate process and there are many areas where things can go wrong.

If a trade mark is incorrectly filed and registered, its value can be lower or even worthless.”

Martyn: “ So, what are some of the pitfalls, and what should our clients take greater care over?”

Kate: “ Common errors include filing a trade mark covering the wrong goods and services or filing a trade mark application in the wrong name. Covering the wrong geographical area is also a common mistake as is failing to ensure the copyright in a trademark is owned by the applicant. There have even been cases where businesses have registered the wrong trade mark. “ If incorrectly filed, it may be impossible to rely upon your registered rights when making a claim for infringement against another trader.”

Martyn: “So, Joanne, how do you fit into this picture of advising our clients, and why do we need two lawyers ?”

Joanne: “As a solicitor specialising in Intellectual Property at Knights LLP I advise my clients upon the importance of ensuring that trade marks are correctly registered by obtaining appropriate expert advice from the outset, regularly reviewing their Trade Mark portfolio

Martyn Best

and their business strategy including exploitation of their trade marks.

“ Unfortunately I am often approached by new clients regarding trade mark infringement or ownership issues and have to advise upon the often costly impact and consequences of failing adequately protect the name of their business or their products and services.

Clients have previously instructed me to enforce their rights against a competitor or infringer only to find that they are unable to do so because they do not in fact have the rights that they believed they had registered or purchased.

Working closely with an expert like Kate and a client’s advisers helps gain the true picture of where any issues lie.”

Martyn: Do you see any other implications for poor housekeeping in this area ?

Joanne: “ I also see issues with incorrectly filed trade marks in the due diligence process when buying and selling a business. This can result in a reduction of the purchase price of a business.

Martyn: Kate, what would your first advice be to help avoid a future problem?”

Kate: “ Good trade mark management starts with an IP plan which dovetails with your business plan. This will include regular reviews of trade marks, trade mark policing which involves monitoring third party and competitor activity and keeping track of renewal dates.”

“Collectively we aim to provide maximum protection to our clients from the outset – which is better than trying to remedy a problem later in the day.”

For further information on any of these services, visit www.forresters.co.uk or www.knightsllp.co.uk or telephone 0151 255 2580 or on +44 (0) 1244 896 600 Kate Cruse

Joanne Shelley Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

Probate:

As you know ICAEW recently became a regulator for probate and a number of firms have now been approved (though none in the North West yet).

On 15 July, the House of Commons approved ICAEW’s role as approved regulator, which came into force as law on 17 July; the statutory instrument approving ICAEW’s role as a licensing authority was laid on 22 July and became law on 14 August. ICAEW is now accepting applications from firms for accreditation to offer probate services.

Consumers looking for probate services are able to use appropriately qualified ICAEW Chartered Accountants as an alternative to traditional providers.

ICAEW is now accepting applications for authorisation and licensing in accordance with the Probate Regulations.

An authorised firm is one where all the principals and owners of the firm are individually authorised to carry out probate work.

A licensed firm (also known as an Alternative Business Structure or ABS) is one where not all principals or owners are authorised for probate (although at least one principal – either an individual or a corporate entity - must be an authorised person).

In order to apply for probate accreditation, firms will need to complete and return a firm application form and pay the appropriate fee. Firms will also need to be subject to ICAEW’s Practice Assurance Scheme and comply with diversity monitoring requirements. Further information regarding fees, the Practice Assurance Scheme and diversity monitoring can be found on this page.

If a principal applying for authorisation is a body, you will need to complete an application to become an authorised body.

In accordance with the Probate Regulations, only individuals who are suitably qualified will be able to carry out, or control the

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undertaking of, probate work. These persons will need to apply to become authorised individuals by completing the application form for authorised individuals. Further information regarding ICAEW’s qualification criteria for probate is set out below.

If firms wish to become licensed, they will need to appoint a Head of Legal Practice (HoLP) and Head of Finance and Administration (HoFA). These persons have special compliance responsibilities under the Legal Services Act 2007 and the Probate Regulations. In order to appoint a HoLP and HoFA, firms will need to complete an application to appoint a Head of Legal Practice and Head of Finance and Administration.

If a non-authorised person holds a ‘material interest’ in a firm that is seeking to be licensed (as defined by the Probate Regulations) that person will need to be approved by ICAEW. They and the firm will need to complete an application to approve a non-authorised owner of a licensed firm.

Firms should note that applications to appoint some authorised individuals; HoLPs; HoFAs and non-authorised owners will require those persons to undergo Disclosure and Barring Service checks (formerly known as CRB checks). Further information about these checks is set out in the application forms.

All forms should be completed and returned to: Professional Standards, Regulatory Support ICAEW, Metropolitan House, 321 Avebury Boulevard Milton Keynes, MK9 2FZ UK If you require further information about the application process, please email Regulatory Support or call +44 (0)1908 546 302 or visit www.icaew.com

corporate services within Chartered One over the last two years.

I have found the magazine to be an excellent vehicle for advertising purposes and we have had a significant increase in our new business enquiries and new business generated from the magazine.

I would not hesitate to recommend Chartered One to any potential advertisers looking to raise their company profile. in closing, I would like to thank the team at the official publishers Crosby Associates, who I have found to be reliable, efficient and professional in all my dealings with them.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

Top 5 ways digital ring binders are changing your work environment - Martyn Best, CEO of Document Direct investigates.

As the world becomes increasingly digital and teams work collaboratively across the globe, managing large amounts of information efficiently has become paramount. Physical ring binders have always been used as a centralised tool to store, organise and transport paper documents in large bundles.

Document Direct has a free iPhone dictation app available in the Apple app store.

Martyn Best

However, electronic documents and increasing workforce mobility are creating new needs which the physical ring binder can no longer satisfy. Firms are seeking digital alternatives that can integrate their modern document workflow and realise the time and cost saving potentials.

Yes, digital binders do exist and with more and more of our clients deploying them, we look at the top 5 practical ways in which firms are actually using them and making a difference.

Digital binders are a new and intuitive technology.

They are designed to closely imitate the look and feel of the traditional ring binders and to reflect the way employees would normally interact

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with documents in the traditional paper environment. This ensures that habits are not questioned and facilitates end user’s adoption.

Digital binders also integrate with other systems so that large volumes of digital files can be processed automatically, from, for example a DMS (Document Management System) or a CRM (Client Relationship Management) system.

The rationale is to keep a seamless document workflow.

1. Digital library of archived information: facilitating the search & retrieval of documents Based in a prime location in London, a firm was initially looking to expand their office space to archive their growing volumes of case files. However as they

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

required constant access to documents they were unable to archive these in a cheaper location outside of the city.

After investigating the alternatives, they chose to invest time and money in digital archiving instead. They achieved this through firstly scanning their documents using advanced optical character recognition technology (OCR). The aim was to make the text within documents fully searchable to speed up the search and retrieval of information by administrative staff.

They then organised these into theme based digital ring binders and created a complete electronic knowledge library for the personnel. As these binders were stored on their local server, it provided quick and easy access to documents with the ability to edit and update the original files when required.

Professional Services Ultimately this saved the firm over a £1000 a month in storage space.

The time saved when searching and retrieving documents was not formally measured but is agreed to be significant.

2. Corporate policy transmissions: making sure everyone has the latest version of the documents One firm was using common 3-ring binders to send large policy folders to its clients. As they were prone to constant updates, having to regular reprint and redistribute these to clients was a cumbersome and costly task.

Clients themselves were becoming frustrated with the additional workload and waste created by the different versions of documents and by the time spent understanding what was modified within the documents.

The firm decided to use digital binders to collate the policy documents for each client. They were then stored and shared in their entirety electronically, using an integrated cloud based file sharing solution.

Sending these binders not only impressed the clients but it also alleviated the need to print and manage the paper versions manually. Clients could simply replace the entire digital file with the latest version rather than taking the time to shred/recycle the old paper policies. Documents that had been updated were highlighted digitally using electronic notes to make this easier for clients to quickly review and only print or replace the pages that needed to.

Overall the firm has saved 8% of their annual revenue in terms of time, print, paper and postage costs as well as increasing productivity and improving communications with their clients.

3. Request for proposals, tenders & contracts: Standing out from the crowd When it came to requests for proposals and tenders, one firm was investing a significant proportion of their time, turnover and resources to win work in competitive bid and tender scenarios.

In such an environment and with clients becoming more sophisticated, they decided to use digital binders as a means to differentiate themselves and demonstrate their propensity to work in a modern, hi-tech paperless environment.

Using the non-linear and more dynamic digital binder platform, they now insert pitches with videos, html pages and pdfs directly into the binder without clients needing to open links in disparate places, providing an effortless approach to viewing their proposals.

The firm has also found that when it comes to the negotiation stages of a contact, instead of sending separate emails with amends and comments, each party can add these directly into the document for these to be taken into consideration. Not only has this enriched the communications workflow and speeded up the negotiation process, it has also made a great first impression on clients to help them stand above the crowd.

4. Projects and client cases: higher levels of organisation Working on global projects with large internal and external teams, one client was generating volumes of documents, again in various formats. Not having a central DMS for documents was causing issues - documents would be saved in multiple places making these harder to locate. Once found, it was difficult to determine whether it was the latest version or not. Amends and comments could not be tracked easily as there were communicated in disparate ways (emails, notes on paper etc.). Some people would occasionally be left out of the loop, causing delays and frustration.

They used digital binders to centralise their document and keep a single core file that would include all elements of the project. Residing on the firm’s internal server, all project related materials are now placed in electronic binders. All team members know exactly where to find the binders, and are able to quickly locate relevant documents or undertake research on successful cases from the past. As amends and comments are shared digitally within the binder itself, a full timeline of communications related to the document is available to all members.

This functionality has been instrumental in reducing errors and improving collaboration between teams. Splitting sections of the binder allows groups to share certain sections with relevant teams to increase overall

productivity and communications globally.

5. Board Packs: improve productivity, efficiency & flexibility Having uncovered the amount of time, effort, paper, printing and postal costs associated with the creation of paper based board packs, it was time for one international firm to rationalise and go digital. No matter how well prepared the administrative team were, it was inevitable that documents would need amending at the last minute. As well as spiralling printing and couriering costs, there was the risk that documents would not be delivered on time and that subsequently board members would be working on various different versions.

The firm decided to resolve these issues by creating electronic board packs.

To make operations seamless, they integrated the binder software with their existing DMS. This meant that as documents related to the board packs were updated in the DMS these would automatically synchronise with those in the digital binder. Last minute changes and the fact that board members were spread geographically were no longer an issue.

In terms of mobility and flexibility, board members could now view the entire board pack on their iPad or laptop and amend and annotate documents from any location before the actual meeting - perfect as they were frequently travelling on business. Ultimately this move made the board meetings shorter much more efficient and productive.

With the pressures of reducing costs, increasing productivity and managing large volumes of documents, document storage and organisation, technologies are coming to the foreground. Not only do these technologies allow firms greater control over their operational workflow environment but it fully supports the mobile, flexible workforce which can improve overall productivity and efficiency – factors which are proving to be crucial in today’s highly competitive arena.

If you would like more information about Binder, and managing your files and systems better, feel free to drop Martyn an email – martyn.best@documentdirect,co,uk

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Professional Services

How ship shape is your business?

2) Lack of forecasts and business plan Forecasts should be prepared based upon realistic assumptions.

They will help management in identifying potential problems at an earlier stage thus enabling preemptive action to be taken e.g. a new contract may be taken on which will be profitable but will lead to a cash pinch in 2 months’ time. Armed with this knowledge and with sensible forecasts, management can approach their existing lenders or alternative lenders to ensure that they have adequate funding in place to meet any funding shortfall. However be aware that even if you have had a good track record with your current lender it is likely that they will want to see forecasts and up to date management information in order to consider your request. You should also be prepared to have the information challenged and be able to explain the rationale behind the numbers.

Forecast preparation shouldn’t be treated as a one-off exercise to just drop back in the drawer and should be monitored against actual performance with variations investigated. As and when things change, which inevitably they will, then the forecasts should be revised to reflect the new circumstances.

Gareth Pugh

Lindsey Cooper

Coming out of a recession isn’t easy. Order books and pipelines may have improved but this can lead to pressure on working capital, especially as your customers are likely to be facing similar problems themselves which compounds the cash flow pressure. Your business may be making profits but this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s cash positive.

This is especially pertinent in businesses in the construction or related sectors where cash flow can be lumpy.

We’ve set out below the common issues we regularly see in struggling businesses. If you can avoid these pitfalls it can assist you in anticipating and managing and avoiding a potential cash flow crisis.

1) Out of date financial information It is important that management have access to up to date management information to ensure they are able to make informed decisions in a timely manner e.g. a review of the debtors’ ledger may show that debtor days are slipping so additional focus on credit control is required.

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Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

3) Management Do you have a strong management team? If you are the sole director do you have anyone to delegate to? Are you spinning too many plates? It is important there is a strong team to support the directors at an operational and financial level. It may be that you can strengthen your team by taking on an experienced part time member of staff or consultant e.g. a part time financial controller or financial director. Also exploring what additional help and support your existing professional advisor can provide.

4) Delayed or missed payments to HM Revenue & Customs In specific circumstance HMRC will agree to Time to Pay Arrangements (TTPA) in respect of Crown debt however it’s important that an early dialogue is established with HMRC and that any TTPA is adhered to. Where there is a history of poor compliance HMRC is unlikely to agree to a TTPA so directors looking to improve cash flow by delaying payments to HMRC without consulting with HMRC or agreeing a formal TTPA can be storing up problems for the future. .

With the introduction of Real Time Information this issue is even more relevant and directors may need to give serious thought to looking at more permanent solutions to a company’s funding needs.

HMRC can in certain circumstances look to recover any unpaid crown arrears from the directors personally by issuing a Personal Liability Notice.

5) Increased ageing of creditors This is another indication that a company is experiencing cash flow difficulties. A poor credit history can cause credit insurers to pull cover which often means that your suppliers won’t supply you unless on proforma. It may be possible to renegotiate terms with certain suppliers if they understand why you are facing cash flow difficulties and they know that this is just a short term issue. Again forecasts will assist any dialogue with key creditors and credit insurers. However if this is not a short term issue

Professional Services then management need to consider approaching their existing lenders or alternative lenders with a view to increasing facilities.

If no action is taken then a business will increasingly find it difficult to source supplies and leaves itself open to legal action from creditors.

6) Increased ageing of debtors It is surprising how often credit control is neglected since cash is the lifeblood of a business. How robust are your systems in monitoring and chasing cash collection? Are invoices being submitted correctly and in a timely manner to ensure cash is received as promptly as possible? Can you offer discounts to encourage quicker payment? Is credit insurance an option? Is invoice discounting an option?

7) Bank overdraft at the limit A hardcore overdraft is usually a sign that the business does not have an appropriate funding structure in place. Options such as converting some of the overdraft to term loan, invoice discounting or looking for an equity injection should be considered. There are now many alternative funders in the market place who are keen to lend provided a business is fundamentally viable.

8) Alternative sources of funding This is worth exploring alongside your current provider as the finance market has changed radically over recent years with new players such as Asset Based Lenders, Angel Investors, Crowd Funders and Peer2Peer lenders challenging the traditional banks as the conventional route to raising finance.

Additionally, in the North West region we have various organizations and local government agencies managing funds directed at supporting the SME sector.

The support of your professional advisor may save you a considerable amount of time and energy in researching and identifying the correct lending provider.

9) Take control, take action Take the time to take a step back and review the company’s operations and systems. Depending on what you find, you will either be reassured that you are in control or you should be stirred into action to take measures to enable you to regain control. Depending on the size of your business projecting ahead three, six or twelve months could be the difference between managing a cash flow issue that can be avoided instead of dealing with a last minute cash flow crisis that could jeopardize the future of your business and livelihood.

Should you have any questions relating to the article or wish to discuss your business health in general feel free to contact your local Baker Tilly specialist who can be found in our accompany advertisement or visit www.bakertillyrecovery.co.uk for full details of our services.

Education Skills & Training

Combat Cyber Risks

BASE

Businesses are not doing enough to combat cyber risks despite an increased awareness of the need to take cyber security seriously, warn ICAEW.

Support ICAEW in the delivery of BASE; ICAEW’s National business and accounting competition.

The ICAEW report, Audit Insights: Cyber Security, says there is a growing gap between business and cyber attacker capabilities, with economic growth and new business activity continuously creating new cyber risks.

Since 2009 over 8000 students have attended The Business, Accounting and Skills Education competition. The aim is to introduce students to the accountancy and finance profession and the opportunities available. BASE takes individuals out of the classroom and puts them into teams, where they address activities and provide recommendations on a business scenario. They assume the role of an ICAEW Chartered Accountant, to analyse, debate, conclude and present their recommendations to a panel of highly regarded judges

Students from Years 12 and 13, in teams of six, take part in regional heats with the winners going forward to a national final next summer. The competition provides a challenging and enjoyable insight into the world of business. It requires them to put all their academic skills to practical use in a business environment – against the clock and against their peers.

Local Liverpool schools have featured very strongly in recent years, and we hope you can support next year’s competition.

Mentors needed Your role will be to help students through the business challenge, which has been developed by modifying a previous ACA advanced case study. There will be concepts students come across that they haven’t experienced before, especially where financial information is concerned.

As a mentor you will use your expert knowledge and skills to help your team where necessary and help them with any questions or other support they need.

In just one day you could help support and encourage those wanting to take their first steps towards the accountancy, business and finance profession at a local level.

Heats are taking place in the North West as follows:

≥Salford 12 February 2015 ≥Stockport 26 February ≥Northop 27 February ≥Lancaster 4 March 2015 ≥Liverpool 19 March 2015 ≥Chester 26 March 2015

More information and how to register as a mentor can be found at icaew.com/base.

And if you know a school who may wish to enter a team, they can also register their interest at icaew.com/base

The Audit Insights: Cyber Security report, launched recently at The Parliament and the Internet Conference, is the second report sharing the collective insights of auditors from the six largest audit firms on how businesses deal with cyber threats.

It highlights the fact that the nature of today’s business structures is slowing their ability to protect themselves, whilst the agility of cyber attackers increases – meaning the risk of attack is growing.

Among the challenges are the often complex nature of the supply chains, the increased exploitation of digital channels and the disparate nature of data storage across servers, cloud storage and mobile devices. Each of these elements providing access points for attackers to exploit.

Richard Anning, Head of ICAEW’s IT Faculty, said: “Businesses are more aware of cyber risks than before and are working to mitigate threats, yet they are still falling further behind the cyber attackers.

Businesses must now match their good intentions with action. They need to focus their finite resources in the right places to prevent the gap from widening further, balancing investment in preventative controls with investment in new skills and solutions.

“It is no longer about simply being compliant with data protection regulations.

Without sufficient levels of cyber security hygiene corporates and consumers will voice their opinion by taking their custom elsewhere. Businesses must demonstrate that they are ready to deal with cyber attacks by having a plan of action in place. This is particularly important for businesses hoping to enter a major supply chain or considering IPO, a merger or acquisition. It could also provide a competitive advantage against others in the market.”

It is not only commercial businesses that will be requiring this decisive action. Since 1 October 2014, the Government requires all suppliers bidding for certain sensitive and personal information handling contracts to be certified against the Cyber

42

Essentials scheme, demonstrating they take cyber risks seriously.

The report outlines several recommendations for actions to be taken by businesses and their boards: ≥Identify business-critical data and associated risks – even when there is no regulatory requirement to do so. ≥Continue to build knowledge on cyber risks, challenging the IT function to explain its security strategy and risk mitigation plans. ≥Design cyber security into all strategy and operations, considering it a business risk rather than a technical issue. ≥Pay more attention to the monitoring, detection and response to threats, not only focusing on prevention, so lessons can be learnt and breaches can be responded to speedily and openly. ≥Work with industry bodies and supply chain partners to share information on threats and attacks.

The report also suggests that policymakers should increase support for businesses in building strong cyber security capabilities, focusing on providing training to smaller businesses.

“The most important thing is still to get the basics right. Up to 80% of security breaches can be prevented by having basic cyber security hygiene in place. Everybody with access to any business critical data must be vigilant, as attacks often happen through the extended supply chain, through digital channels, or through staff.

Therefore, cyber risks must be considered, and skills improved, across the entire business and the economy more broadly,” said Richard.

The Audit Insights report is part of a wider initiative by ICAEW to demonstrate the value of audit. Previous reports have focused on the retail, manufacturing, banking and construction sectors. The six audit firms represented on the working party behind the Cyber Security report are BDO, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, KPMG and PwC, which between them audit all the FTSE 350 companies.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

A Unique Learning Opportunity from Robert Gordon University Robert Gordon University (RGU) has teamed up with CIMA to provide a unique learning opportunity for students to obtain a BSc Accounting and the CIMA Advanced Diploma at the same time. Using the University’s interactive online virtual campus, students study CIMA modules at certificate, operational and management level coupled with RGU academic modules; providing essential accounting skills, professional qualifications and increased career opportunities. Maximum flexibility has been built in to the course design to allow for work commitments – exams are sat at CIMA assessment centres and RGU coursework is submitted online.

Accelerated entry is available for students depending on academic and professional qualifications and entry into stage 1 is also available for applicants with appropriate work experience. For those who currently hold the CIMA Advanced Diploma a one-year top up degree is available.

For those interested in further study, the MSc Strategic Accounting is a one year top up degree available for applicants who are already CIMA exam qualified and have either a relevant undergraduate degree or three years relevant management level work experience.

The course is one of a diverse range of online learning opportunities offered by Aberdeen Business School for those looking to further their career. A selection of AMBAaccredited MBA courses are available; including Master of Business Administration (noted by the Financial Times as one of the best), MBA Information Management and MBA Oil & Gas Management.

For more information on any of these courses visit www.rgu.ac.uk/betterbusiness.

Out of Office

Behind the mask

Tales of the secret accountant THE PERILS OF THE OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY

Now, as one of the partners in my own firm, I have to admit that I don’t quite approach it with the same enthusiasm but in my attempt to shake off my “bah humbug approach” here are a few pointers

And so we approach the end of the year once more and I am starting to think about my Christmas break which, once the festivities with the family are over, will involve me sneaking in to the office to catch up on tax returns whilst the rest of the office are still eating turkey curry.

• WHERE? It’s never a good idea to hold your Christmas bash in the office – it’s just not conducive to switching off and having fun. Plus the fact, noone wants to get a new photocopier in January after the antics of the Christmas Party.

But before we hang up our stockings and wait for the big man in the red suit, we have the highlight of everyone’s social calendar – the CHRISTMAS PARTY. Love it or hate it, no-one can avoid it and potentially no-one is immune from becoming a victim of the party season.

Instead, choose somewhere that the majority of the workforce would like to go (and not the partners golf club!), and make sure its central for people to get home, or pay for their taxis.

We’ve all seen it: someone drinking too much; someone with a piece of mistletoe chasing someone they shouldn’t; someone telling their boss exactly what they think of them…

I remember the days when I was an ACA trainee – we looked forward to next year’s office party as soon as this years was over! It was an opportunity to get dressed up and have fun – all paid for by the partners in the firm.

• FOOD & DRINK Don’t let your guests drink on an empty stomach so make sure there is plenty of food from the moment they arrive.

And make sure you monitor that free bar. You don’t want to be sitting in A&E with the office junior in the early hours of the morning do you?

• THE NEXT DAY If you aren’t having your Christmas party at the

weekend then DON’T expect everyone to make it in to the office the next day. The last thing you want people doing is driving in whilst still over the limit!

For those that do make it in, unlimited tea, coffee and perhaps a complimentary butty run will certainly improve your street cred, and your caring reputation.

I know the office Christmas party may not be everyone’s ideal night out but I for one get really offended when members of the team turn down my invitation. It’s only once a year – we are not that bad are we? It’s a great way for the audit department to mingle with the tax department and for us Partners to actually talk to those who actually help make the practice so successful.

It’s our way of saying thanks – please don’t turn it down – and that includes the Partners!

And whilst we’re on the subject of the party here’s a gentle reminder about “Expenses and benefits: social functions and parties” https://www.gov.uk/expenses-benefits-socialfunctions-parties/overview.

Finally, I wish you all a very merry Christmas and prosperous 2015

Southport Branch Annual Dinner Friday 13th March 2015 The Metro, Southport www.themetrosouthport.co.uk Booking forms are available from either Alex Pilkington or Katherine.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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“Albert Dock the backdrop for Younger Members wine tasting The second gathering of the Younger Members group of LSCA took place on Thursday 16th October at Vinea in the Albert Dock where a cross section of members from industry and practice enjoyed a selection of fine wines and networking.

Following a short welcome and introduction from LSCA Vice President, Andrew Moss, the attendees, which included a number of student members were taken on a guided talk through some of the best wine regions of the world. Starting with a champagne, they journeyed through white, rose and red wines assisted and accompanied by some fine fare in the form of bread and oils, olives and sliced salamis.

The recently launched Younger members group has been established to bring together those members who are between newly qualified and 10 years qualified for networking opportunities and some fun!

The wine tasting evening followed a successful launch event at the IFB Hub in July attended by LSCA President John Nolan.

Any younger members wishing to get involved in the group or with ideas for future events should contact Alex Pilkington: Alex.Pilkington@icaew.com”

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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Out of Office

He’ll never walk alone …

One of our recent Past Presidents is taking a change of direction and retiring from what has been his core career for 33 years.

Our annual dinner brings a poignant moment for one of our recent Presidents.

Paul Christian

“The end of November marks the retirement of Paul Christian after over 33 years service with PwC in Liverpool. Paul’s keen sense of humour, more than passable impersonations and love of Liverpool FC will make the office a much quieter place.

“As an Assurance Director in Liverpool, Paul’s commitment to client service has been exemplary and he has been a fantastic ambassador for PwC and the wider profession as his tenure as LSCA President in 2012/13 demonstrated. Paul will be celebrating with colleagues past and present at the LSCA dinner on 28 November and we wish Paul and Anne all the best for future adventures.”

PwC | Office Senior Partner Martin Heath

Martyn Best adds, “ Paul succeeded myself as President of our Society and brought a really strong enthusiasm for the role and gave very clear focus on the new strategy for the Society.

“Paul was terrific in all Society meetings, and I really look forward to his continued support of our Society. Despite our differing footballing allegiances, we had a very good rapport, and I know he will welcome both of our teams giving strong performances in this year’s Europa League.”

Out of Office

CHARITY CORNER Each issue we like to focus on a specific charity that one of our members support.

This issue Carol McLachlan, the Chair of our Learning and Professional Development group shares her support for THE TERRAL MORGAN MEMORIAL FUND Carol McLachlan, is a trustee and would like to share information on The Terral Morgan Memorial Fund.

The Terral Morgan Memorial Fund was established by a local family who lost a very dear member to cancer.

Terral Morgan, 50, was an avid Tranmere Rovers Supporter, member of the Green Party, Captain of a Quiz Team, and a much loved, well known member of the community.

After a brave 3 and a half year battle with cancer, Terral passed away at home on Wednesday 20th March 2013.

Terral died from a genetic form of bowel cancer, within days of his death, his family decided to establish a memorial fund as a legacy to this very special man.

The fund’s purpose is to support other people diagnosed with cancer who want

to remain at home, rather than under the care of the local hospital or hospice.

Terral frequently spoke of his gratitude; that he had a choice in the way he managed the last months of his illness.

He was appreciative of the fact that his family could provide the daily care he needed and that the money was there to adapt the house to enable him to stay out of hospital. He used to say; “When I’m jarred off I have to think of others.

I’m counting my blessings because some people have got this and are on their own

with it and they’ve got no one, I’m cared for like a king”.

The fund gives other people this opportunity and choice. Whilst the NHS provides a huge amount of support in terms of care and equipment, there are waiting lists and costs for additions, like stairlifts and ramps- these things can make all the difference. The trustees are now working with One Stop Mobility and Clatterbridge Hospital in order to identify people who will benefit from this money and provide them with the means to make domestic changes.

Thanks to the generosity of friends, family, former colleagues and local football club Tranmere Rovers, the fund has raised over £20,000 through a variety of fund and profile raising events; notably the Readathon, now an annual event, celebrating Terral’s love of reading and study.

This money is now in the process of being distributed to people in Wirral, diagnosed with cancer and needing domestic adaptations.

Registered Charity Number 1153146

http://www.facebook.com/TheTerralMorganMemorialFund http://tegsmorganmemorial.wix.com/tegsmorganmemorial Email:tegsmorganmemorial@virginmedia.com

DSG rev up for charity as part of Warrant Group’s 25th anniversary celebrations DSG rev up for charity as part of Warrant Group’s 25th anniversary celebrations Twelve teams of adrenaline junkies gathered to take part in Warrant Group’s Go Karting Endurance Challenge and raise money for Stick ‘n’ Step - a charity which helps children with cerebral palsy and their families.

The sponsors were Goldstar Transport, Maersk Line and ICG Brandbuilders which all fielded teams as well as other contenders from Peel Ports, Royal Bank of Scotland, PJH, and of course, Warrant Group.

The tough two-hour driving race was not for the faint hearted with the top three places being secured by Peel Ports, Goldstar and DSG Accountants.

DSG also took the top prizes for the fastest driver, audit partner and LSCA Vice President Andrew Moss and the best track time while Warrant Group’s fastest track time - a cool 56.4 seconds was recorded by Jonny Dempsey.

Warrant Group organised the event as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations.

Earlier this year it took part in the International Festival for Business (IFB) in partnership with the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and also hosted its own conference in Dubai.

Ian Jones, Managing Director of Warrant Group said: “A big thank you to everyone who took part in our Go Karting Endurance Challenge and special thanks to our sponsors.

“We all had a really great day - lots of adrenaline, lively competitiveness, fun and great spirit!”

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

51

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Out of Office

Macmillans On Friday 26th September, a number of our member’s firms took part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning in aid of the Macmillan Cancer Support. This is the Charity’s biggest single annual fundraising activity, and as the Society’s nominated charity, many of our members added their support.

McEwan Wallace, Jan McDermott & Co., Mazars and Philip Bates & Co. raised over £600 at their different events.

Paul Cochrane, Director of McEwan Wallace, “This is such an

Taking Part in the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning incredible charity and we are so proud to support their cause – especially as we were able to indulge so nicely in coffee and cake.

Jan McDermott, Managing Director of Jan McDermott & Co. said “In addition to cakes and coffee, we added a bit of afternoon fizz, and it was a great end to the working week meeting up with clients and new contacts. We would like to thank everyone who donated generously.”

For more information about Macmillan Cancer Support visit www.macmillan.org.uk

Jan McDermott (fifth) and her team.

Chartered One // Issue 11 // Winter 2014

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AL6700 CHARTERED ACCOUNTS MAG_Layout 1 17/11/2014 11:08 Page 1

4-6 South John St. Liverpool, L1 8BJ T: 0151 708 1140 www.davidmrobinson.co.uk