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General Business

  1. Bribery Act (2010)

    The Bribery Act 2010 (the Act) applies across the UK and all businesses need to be aware of its requirements which came into effect on 1 July 2011. The Act introduced a new ‘corporate’ offence of ‘failure of commercial organisations to prevent bribery’. The defence against this offence is to ensure that your business has adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. To help ensure this we recommend that, once you are familiar with the requirements of the new Act, you undertake a risk assessment for your own business and establish appropriate compliance procedures.

  2. Company Secretarial Duties

    In this factsheet, we outline the company secretarial matters which need to be dealt with by your company under the Companies Act 2006, whether you have officially appointed a company secretary or not.

  3. Directors’ Responsibilities

    The position of director brings both rewards and responsibilities upon an individual. Whether you are appointed to the Board of the company you work for or you are involved in establishing a new business and take on the role of director you will feel a sense of achievement. However the office of director should not be accepted lightly. It carries with it a number of duties and responsibilities. We summarise these complex provisions below.

  4. Fraud and How to Spot It

    The issues associated with well-publicised frauds may seem far removed from your business but the simple truth is that fraud can affect businesses of all sizes. Whether you employ a small team or a significant workforce, this factsheet considers how you can increase your awareness of the factors that indicate fraud. It also sets out the defences that you can implement to minimise the risk within your business.

  5. Grants

    Ensuring adequate finance is a fact of life if you run a business. Whether you are looking to expand, undertake a specific project or simply fund your day to day purchases, finance is essential. Obtaining finance is not always easy especially if yours is a small business and particularly if it is a recent start-up. Borrowing may be difficult due to lack of security. A grant may be the answer.

  6. Preparing for your Accountant

    Whether we are producing your accounts or carrying out your annual audit, being prepared for us will ensure our work is carried out smoothly and efficiently and with the minimum disruption to yourselves. You may also be able to help by preparing some of the routine schedules for us. This will mean our time can be better spent advising you on the running of your business. We highlight below many of the ways in which you can help. It is however important for you to discuss these ideas with us since all of the suggestions may not be applicable.

  7. Securing Business Success

    As many as half of all businesses fail in their first three years of trading, and the recession has wiped out many well established businesses over the last few years. A contributor to ensuring business success and avoiding failure is to know your enemies.

  8. Valuing Your Business

    There are many reasons why you may need to calculate the value of your business. Here we consider the range of methods available as well as some of the factors to consider during the process. It is important to remember throughout that valuing a business is something of an art, albeit an art backed by science!