Bookkeepers Newsletter March

22 March 2012

ICB March Newsletter - 46,563 Subscribers

Your chance to contribute to the future of ICB

Join the ICB Advisory Council. If you are an Associate Member, full Member, or Fellow, find out how you can join this important ICB consultative group made up of ICB members and established in 2010 to represent the views and opinions of members and the bookkeeping profession as a whole.

ICB was promoted in the centre fold of the Independent newspaper on 21st March. ICB chief executive was interviewed for the paper's Accounting supplement offering, what members have dubbed, a very accurate portrayal of the role of a bookkeeper. You can read the article in full here and download a copy of the supplement to make your own mind up..

Budget 2012

The Chancellor of the Exchequor delivered his budget to the House of Commons at 12.30pm on 21st March, read our overview and download a Budget Report here now...

Win a stay in a 5* Hotel

Help ICB to remain the world's leading bookkeeping institute, by completing the ICB Annual Members Survey 2012. Three excellent prizes including a night for two in a 5* hotel and bookkeeping training at ICB HQ.

Scottish Conference next week

Scotland - Famous for its love of bagpipes, kilts and haggis; not quite as well known for being home to just over 700 ICB Bookkeepers. With ICB's Scottish Conference and event at the Scottish Parliament coming up next week, we thought it could not be more timely to feature Scotland as our region of the month. We had a chat with regional chair, Michelle Potter, to find out what Scotland's ICB Bookkeepers have in store for 2012...

DOES MY SME LOOK BIG IN THIS? ICB chief executive, Garry Carter, was the keynote speaker at an EU Parliament dinner debate earlier this month and called on MEPs to act fast. Read all the details and find out who attended here...

Read Garry Carter's full speech to hear his proposals for encouraging growth and enterprise across the EU....

Real Time Information

Diana Bruce - March 2012 Senior Policy Liaison Officer for the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals Real Time Information In November last year after speaking at the ICB's conference in London, I wrote an article introducing Real Time Information (RTI) as this subject had generated a lot of interest...

A Manchester-based director of a groundworks and civil engineering company, has been disqualified for six years for failing to keep adequate records, and for transactions that were for his own benefit but detrimental to creditors. The focus of the case has been on the importance of good record keeping...

Another business owner telling porkies reinforces the value of a good bookkeeper and proper record keeping for all businesses. Yorkshire butcher, Gary Turner, stole £3.3m from the taxman to lead a luxury lifestyle after his business collapsed and has been jailed today following an investigation by HMRC....

Early morning operations in London and Northern Ireland by HMRC investigating a suspected £15 million money laundering, income tax and VAT fraud linked to the construction industry have resulted in the arrests of 13 men and one woman. One of the men was arrested after two businesses and one private address in Stoke Newington were raided by HMRC...

A gang who described over 20 million smuggled cigarettes as baby's toys on shipping documents have been jailed after a covert surveillance operation caught them red-handed. The total duty evaded is estimated as £3.3 million....

Intellectual property Minister, Baroness Wilcox, today challenged UK firms to make more use of the 'green channel' that helps speed up the patent process for innovative eco-friendly ideas and gives a real boost to their businesses...

Proposals to widen business access to new and alternative sources of finance have been published today by the independent Taskforce on non-bank lending. The Taskforce, chaired by Tim Breedon, CEO of Legal & General plc, was commissioned by the Government...

SMEs are being urged to take advantage of the opportunities available to them to get trading and look at potential new markets abroad. Speaking to business leaders in Cambridge at the Going Global: Helping small businesses trade abroad conference...

Ahead of their appearence at the Financial Crime Symposium (at which Garry Carter has also been asked to appear as speaker) The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), has agreed a new set of standards aimed at combating the global threat of money laundering, terrorist financing and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. FATF is the global standard-setter in the fight against money laundering and the financing of terrorism...

Interview with Louise Templeton AICB CB. Cert, Member of IAgSA and ICB Advisory Council "20 years ago when I left school, I knew I wanted to work in the farming industry so I qualified as a farm secretary in the 80s.....

Variance Accounting

*NEW FEATURE*
Case Studies by Dr Philip Dunn, Head of Education at ICB, covering vital information to help you and your business

Louise Templeton

Interview with Louise Templeton AICB CB.Cert, IAgSa member with ICB Qualifications

Scotland

*NEW FEATURE*
Interview with the Scotland Regional chair about their current meetings and visions for the future

Cornwall Regional Meeting
Thursday 22 March 2012

Lancashire Regional Meeting
Friday 23 March 2012

ICB Scottish Conference
Wednesday 28 March 2012

London Branch Meeting
Wednesday 28 March 2012

Cardiff Branch Meeting
Tuesday 03 April 2012

Somerset Inaugural Branch Meeting
Tuesday 24 April 2012

At the time of writing this, my monthly message, I am encouraged to hear that the Budget promises changes but, most important of all, that the measures announced have at least the intention to provide stimulus to growth for the country’s micro and small businesses. I was also interested to hear of the Chancellor’s intention to simplify Tax and National Insurance and to make it easier for low earners to complete what, to most, appear to be very complicated tax returns. Great! So as bookkeepers we should all be ready to assist clients and employers to reap the benefits and to help with budgets, cashflows and preparing management accounts to support their aspirations and needs. The full ICB Budget Report, once again kindly provided by ICB accountants HW Chartered Accountants, is available in the main newsletter.

Even before the Budget, however, I am sure the collective ears of Certified Bookkeepers were pricked up to hear the reports that the UK’s start-up business sector is absolutely booming with a staggering 18% growth.

Now this won’t immediately mean that these new businesses will be beating a track to your door......Read More

Europe
At the beginning of the month I delivered a speech to MEPs and business leaders in the EU Parliament in Brussels on the subject of removing barriers for micro and small companies. The full text of my speech, for those made of sterner stuff, can be found on the ICB website. The meeting was arranged by ICB’s EU Policy Adviser, Dr David Doyle, and hosted by Vicky Ford MEP.

It is perhaps not surprising to learn that most countries in the EU seem to have exactly the same concerns and challenges as in the UK. One thing that did come across, however, is that it is much quicker and cheaper to set up a company in the UK than in most countries in the EU.........Read More

Scotland Conference BOOK NOW
At the end of this month I and some of the head office team shall attend the Scottish regional conference in Edinburgh, which will be followed by an evening reception in the Scottish Parliament. This is the first year that we have tried to combine the annual three seminars into one bigger, full day meeting and from the number of people already booked it promises to be a great success. It does make it a big travel commitment for some up in the far North but we are delighted that this combined meeting will give us the opportunity to spread the ICB message to a wider audience as we have been able to attract high level speakers, including representatives from HMRC and ICAS (Institute of Certified Accountants of Scotland) and have invited other organisations to join us to see what ICB bookkeepers have to offer and the vital role they play in Scottish business in Scotland. Thanks to the efforts of our member Sarah Douglas, we shall be addressed at the reception by Fergus Ewing MSP, Scottish Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism.

Space is getting a bit tight but there are one or two places still available if you would like to join us for what promises to be a very useful and enlightening day.

Ask not what your Institute can do for you……
Could you give some of your time, and most of all your experience, to assist the ICB in its development of policy and direction? Then why not apply for election to the ICB Advisory Council, and failing that, complete our anonymous Annual Members Survey.........Read More