A little knowledge is a dangerous thing and a lot of knowledge is empowering. The problem is the gap between the two can be quite large! This is something it took me years to learn when I was in practice. Let's consider a simple example. What do you know about the tax
Recently I was asked to prepare a quick list of ten common tax mistakes that business owners should avoid. The length of the article in question didn't allow me to expand very much on the mistakes I listed. This is probably the closest I have come to writing about tax matters for
Imagine you've gone to buy a second hand car and, after checking it has all the features you want, you agree the price you'll pay with the vendor. You are thrilled. They promise to give it a clean and bring it around to your house a couple of days later. That's all
Every now and then someone who has known me for a long time tells me about their tax problems and asks my advice. I have to remind then that I haven't been a tax adviser for well over 12 years now. I had already stopped giving tax advice before I created the Tax
This post adopts a different approach to usual. In it I share 5 key social media risks and offer pragmatic advice to help you manage the inherent risks. 1 - Posts on behalf of the firm The biggest risk here is of boring your intended audience! Social media encourages interaction. This happens less frequently when
So much has changed over the last ten years. On the other hand the essentials of good advice are largely unchanged. I first created the list below in 2008 by reference to elements of a talk I had presented over the preceding few years. I am now presenting an updated version of the talk as part
Not all accountants are full of confidence. And some of those who come across as confident are not - or should not be. There's an understandable desire to come across as confident in our profession. After all, who would want an accountant who seems unable to give confident replies to questions and requests for information?
I was reminded recently of an article written a few years ago by Mike Thexton and published by Taxation magazine. In the article Mike explained how he helped a friend who needed his help to 'come clean' re undisclosed earnings. Mike said it all started with "the dreaded question". This happens when someone asks for help in
This salutary item is drawn from my talk and ebook on risk management and how to avoid professional negligence claims. The 2013 professional negligence case of Mehjoo and Harben Barker effectively endorsed the advice I had already been giving for years - even though many other commentators believed otherwise. Assume for a moment that a client
No sooner had The Times reported on the High Court case of Mehjoo v Harben Barker in 2013 than variations on their headline were being repeated as fact: “Judge says accountants must help clients avoid tax”. The truth, as ever, was and remains somewhat more nuanced. At the time I wrote a detailed piece for
Two husbands withholding information have been jailed in recent divorce cases. David Thursfield, previously head of Ford, went down for 2 years* and Scot Young for 6 months. So failure to cooperate in court proceedings can seriously mess up your life. You may have clients whose marriages breakdown and where one party or the other
I had the privilege of attending the ICAEW Support Members' annual conference yesterday. I was there in my capacity as vice-chairman of the ICAEW Ethics Advisory Committee. I thought it would be helpful to share a few of the learning points that may be of interest and value to accountants who find themselves the subject
Omitting to consider the VAT implications of significant property transactions; Loss of tax credits as entitlement not claimed early enough – eg: when unincorporated business client suffers a loss; Missing the deadline to claim research and development tax credits or property related capital allowances; Omitting to reorganise group companies to reduce ‘avoidable’ tax charges; Failure
One of the pressures that all ambitious accountants endure is the need to advise on issues that do not arise every day. The more experience you have the more confidence you gain to know whether or not you have enough knowledge to give the advice without double checking it's right. Double checking might simply involve
Limited Liability Partnerships are now well established as one of the four main alternative ways in which to structure a business in the UK. Indeed it is alost 10 years since the facility to operate as an LLP became a reality in the UK on 6 April 2003. A few years back I explained: Why aren't
How long does a client have to make a claim that they were missold a tax avoidance scheme that doesn't work? First of all, let's remember that it can be many years before it becomes clear whether or not a tax avoidance scheme was effective. It may well have the benefit of Tax Counsel's opinion
Although Tax Avoidance is no longer headline news we continue to see the repercussions of recent media stories. Last week I referenced the comments of the CIOT President. He suggested that there may be a need to consider toughening up the financial services mis-selling rules to attack the promoters and sellers of tax schemes that have no real prospect
The CIOT has published a press release which I would encourage all accountants to read. It is titled: CIOT President suggests there may be a need to target promoters of dodgy tax schemes under mis-selling laws. I welcome this statement as I have had similar thoughts myself. Many tax schemes require clients to make some
In the light of media reports related to 'selebs' tax affairs and their use of K2, icebreaker and other 'legal' tax avoidance schemes, some accountants may find the ten facts highlighted below to be of value. As I explained in my last blogpost, ("Why weren’t all accountants promoting those tax schemes?") the media reports are
An accountant approached me last week to ask whether any of the members of my Tax Advice Network would be willing to work with his practice on a regular basis? The answer was 'yes'. The background to this accountant's question was not uncommon. What I admired however was his desire to address the issue. And
Accountants are naturally cautious about involving third party advisers. They don’t want to be forced to bill their clients more than last year. They also don’t want to bear the cost of seeking a second opinion. This atitude means that some accountants muddle along and avoid admitting to clients that they have limited experience in
Towards the end of my talk last night on How to Handle Difficult Clients, I summarised a seven step process that I have not previously shared on this blog: 1 Listen to the client They won’t listen to you until you have listened to them. When their mouths are open, their ears are closed. 2
A driver who drove his car to the edge of a 100ft drop after he "slavishly" followed its SatNav instructions has become one of the first motorists to be convicted for placing too much trust in his SatNav. When I noted this news story today I was reminded of a comment I make during my
It's almost a year since the professional bodies published their updated guidance on engagement letters for tax work. This was the culmination of a thorough review by a working party that I was proud to chair on behalf of the contributing bodies: ICAEW, ICAS, ACCA, CIOT, ATT, IIT, CIMA. I wrote a number of articles
Over the years I have collected dozens and dozens of stories of what it is that has led to problems for accountants. Such examples help inform my talks about how to avoid negligence claims. It's also worth recognising how easy it is for things to go wrong; after all they do say that forewarned is forearmed.
