Latest News

Picture Perfect – How we mixed art and business to celebrate our 150th anniversary

Captured on canvas by an award-winning artist, the pioneering Face Forward project portrays family business leaders as never before in a work of celebration.

Professional artist Helen Perkins launched the project last December in association with CN Group's in-cumbria business magazine and Armstrong Watson, the leading independent financial and business advisory company in the north of England and Scotland.

Self Assessment – Are all your tax affairs in order?

Self Assessment deadlines are quickly approaching; here we look at making sure you meet the deadlines and what you may be able to do to reduce any tax payable.

Disbursements VAT case for law firms – Frequently Asked Questions

Following on from our briefing note released in September on the recent ruling issued by the First Tier Tribunal on the Brabners case, we have received various queries on the subject. For reference, a copy of that briefing note can be found here

To ensure that the answers to these queries are available to all, this second briefing note addresses those frequently asked questions.

Xero Cloud Accounting Partner of the Year 2017

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded Xero cloud accounting software provider’s ‘UK Accounting Partner of the Year’ at the Xerocon International Conference held in London.

This accolade follows our migration of several thousand clients onto the cloud accounting platform in readiness for the HMRC’s forthcoming ‘Making Tax Digital’ rollout.

Is £11,500 the most tax efficient salary for directors?

One of our most popular articles on our blog is an article on director's remuneration.  You can read the original blog from 2014 here and the updated blog from 2015 here for background information.

The rules around personal taxation have changed so much in recent years that it is worth reviewing the current position for directors.

Is it time to review your Employer Records?

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) can conduct an Employer Compliance Review at any time.  When did you last review your records to ensure you are up to date and following all relevant regulations?

Conducting a review in advance of any notice from HM Revenue & Customs will give you peace of mind and may also highlight opportunities to make changes to the remuneration packages for both directors and employees.

Directors Beware!

We would like take this opportunity to consider the subject of Director’s responsibilities particularly when their company is experiencing financial difficulties.

Probably the most important thing to remember is that when there is a doubt as to a company’s solvency, the directors must act in the interests of the company’s creditors in order to minimise the potential loss to them.

What are the consequences of not acting as a responsible director?

Personal liability arising from wrongful trading

HMRC and Time to Pay Arrangements

As either a company or an Individual it can be worrying when you have built up arrears with HMRC, especially when you receive correspondence that they are going to commence proceedings to wind the company up or petition for your bankruptcy.

The Restructuring team have recently successfully assisted a number of clients in negotiating with HMRC and agreeing Time to Pay (TTP) arrangements to settle the liabilities.

Whilst each Time to Pay arrangement is agreed by HMRC on its own right, it is our experience that HMRC will expect the following to be incorporated within the TTP:

Armstrong Watson's Restructuring, Recovery & Insolvency Team goes international!

During the last year, the Armstrong Watson Restructuring and Insolvency team has been involved in a number of cases with an International element to them. Clearly, this brings additional challenges such as variances in legislation, working patterns and not to mention differing languages!

The following examples showcase the work of the Armstrong Watson’s Restructuring and Insolvency team:   

Not your usual business sale

Alternative Finance - What Does This Mean For Our Clients?

Whilst banks and more traditional lenders may have tightened up their lending appetite, over the past few years there has been an explosion of ‘alternative funders’ appearing in the market place. Funding growth, investing in new products or taking on a new opportunity all have an impact on cash flow. This is a real issue for businesses with 24% of small businesses saying that access to working capital and funding growth is their biggest business challenge. Historically turning to banks would have been the answer but this has become harder. Between 2012 and 2013 53% of small businesses who applied for a loan were declined and 60% of small businesses say it is harder to get credit than 5 years ago. The Alternative funding market has increasingly become the ‘go to solution’. In 2014 it was worth £1.74Billion and has shown growth of over 150% year on year. Could this be an option for our clients’ working capital requirements?