Our Services
Choosing an accountant is one of the most important business decisions you will make. The practice is a member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) which means that you can be confident your advice is given in accordance with the standards and ethics of the accounting proffession.
If you are appointing an accountant for the first time or seeking more than your present accountant provides then appoint AM, as you will never need to change accountants again! Our Client’s regularly comment, “You’re not what we expected”. Great!
Accounting
We offer a full range of accounting services. Our first step is to work with you so we can gain a full understanding of your business. We then tailor our approach to your requirements so we can provide exactly the service you need. We prepare accounts for all types of business, from sole traders to partnerships, limited companies and trusts.
One of our key objectives in accounts preparation is to identify areas where we can not only assist in minimising your tax liability but we will also ensure that your accounts are compliant with all the statutory regulations.
We believe that accounts preparation in itself can give a massive insight to your business and gives the bigger picture, to help with both the short-term objectives and long term goals of the owners. This would also enable us to gain a full understanding of your business so that we are able to give advice and recommendations tailored exactly to your requirements.
Our team are fully prepared to do more than just respond to your needs. We can provide you with more time to concentrate on running your business and especially with a peace of mind that your accounts and returns are in order.
Contact us below for an initial consultation about how we can help your business.
Auditing
We can perform your auditing and financial analysis with a minimum of fuss and maximum efficiency and accuracy. However, we aim to deliver hassle free audits and there are good reasons for having an audit even if you are not required by law to have one…
• An audit involves a review of the company’s accounting systems and systems of control and also requires a detailed understanding of the company’s business. Such a review and knowledge can provide increased opportunities to provide proactive business advice on many matters.
• An unqualified audit report can improve the status of the accounts in the eyes of banks and commercial lenders, HM Revenue & Customs and suppliers who may be seeking credit references, etc.
• A history of accounts with clean audit reports can also be a factor if you ever wish to sell the company or, perhaps, take it to the market.
• The possibility of fraud can be reduced and an audit can act as a deterrent to any potential fraudster.
We can deal with all aspects of your Audit requirements, as we are Registered Auditors certified by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). Audits are carried out under AM Audit Limited. The turnover threshold which currently exempts most companies and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) from a statutory audit is £6.5 million.
Not all companies with turnover under £6.5 million come within the audit exemption provisions, because there are criteria other than turnover. In particular, companies not classed as small or whose total assets exceed £3.26 million must have an audit. Public companies and those carrying on particular types of business, such as insurance broking and financial services are also subject to an audit.
Besides helping you meet the statutory requirements, we also take the opportunity to conduct a review of your financial and management systems. This can often result in our identifying potential problem areas and recommending opportunities to improve your business performance. We discuss the problems and opportunities with you and help you implement any agreed solutions.
We see the preparation of your annual report as an opportunity to enhance your external image. A well-prepared report can have a considerable positive impact on the perceptions of investors, potential finance sources, customers, prospect, referral sources, and even your own staff – all of which greatly improves your business prospects for the future.
Business Support
Most people who start up in business do so because they have a good business proposition and the enterprise and commitment to see it through, not because they are experts in the legal, financial, and fiscal aspects of running a business.
Indeed, these matters can often seem daunting, and even off-putting, to the budding entrepreneur. The good news is that you do not need to be an expert in these fields to succeed in business. All you need is the support of a team of trained experts.
That’s where we fit in. Bring us your business ideas and we’ll help you to evaluate them in a constructive and realistic manner. We can also help you:
• Decide on the most suitable structure for your business – sole trader, partnership, or limited company
• Prepare a business plan, cashflow projections, budgets, and trading forecasts
• Assess your finance requirements, advise on the best sources of finance, and draw up the proposals
• Establish a good working relationship with your bank
• Complete any registration procedures with Companies House and HMRC
• Deal with company secretarial issues
• Set up a recording system for your internal use and for complying with statutory requirements
Start your new venture on a sure footing – Contact Us below for an initial consultation today.
Company Secreterial
The Companies Act requires companies to submit various documents within strict time limits.
Not only is this a considerable administrative burden, failure to comply can result in potentially severe penalties for directors.
We can relieve you of both the burden and the worry by helping with your Company Secretarial duties. Our service includes:
• Preparing and filing accounts and annual returns
• Maintaining statutory registers:
• Register of Allotments
• Register of Transfers
• Register of Members
• Register of Directors
• Register of Secretaries
• Register of Directors’ Interests
• Register of Mortgages and Charges
• Preparing and filing Companies House forms recording:
• Changes of officers
• Changes of registered office
• Increases in share capital
• Allotments of shares
• Changes of accounting reference date
• Preparing documentation for annual general meetings
• If required, acting as company secretary of your company
• If required, providing your company with a registered office address
Contact Us today to discuss how we can help you with your Company Secretarial duties.
Corporate Finance
Finance is the lifeblood of any business. At every stage in its growth a business needs to maintain a balance between a positive cash flow and adequate working capital on the one hand and a reasonable return on investment on the other.
Directors’ drawings, shareholder dividends, and debt repayments need to be carefully orchestrated to ensure that the smooth running and continued growth of the business are not jeopardised.
Moreover, while proper provision needs to be made for possible external changes such as economic downturns or fluctuations in exchange rates or interest rates, and internal changes such as temporary or permanent loss of key employees, it is equally important that any finance raised by the business is are made to work for the business.
All these matters require a keen, professional eye to develop and constantly adjust an appropriate and flexible finance structure for your company. Then there are the special finance requirements for business expansion, mergers and acquisitions, MBOs, and MBIs. Preparing business plans and finance applications and identifying and approaching appropriate lending sources require expertise and professional insight if the best possible results are to be achieved.
Finally there are the financial implications of ensuring a suitable exit route for the current business owners. These are all matters on which our corporate finance experts are qualified to advise and guide your business.
Contact Us today to discuss how we can help you with your corporate finance requirements.
Corporate Recovery
If your business is encountering financial problems, We can advise you on ways of saving it from failure, helps you wind up your business in a organised fashion, provides assistance in dealing with creditors and realising company assets.
Winding up your company would be regarded as a last resort and we will endeavour to provide restructuring and recovery advice to your company in order to keep it running. Where a company is unable to continue operations, we will provide advice on the available options such as Administration, Receivership, Liquidation and Company Voluntary Arrangements.
We identify the causes of your company’s financial problems and find the appropriate solutions to help avoid insolvency and the demise of your business. Our expertise covers a wide range of areas, all of which are geared towards providing the best possible solutions to businesses in financial difficulty.
Contact us for an initial consultation about how we can help your business.
Fee Protection
Your business may be subject to investigation by HMRC at any point and random audits by the tax authorities mean that professional advice will be needed in order to defend your business. This means that you may incur significant professional fees at short notice. AM Accountants offers you Fee Protection Insurance covering the costs incurred by our team while defending your business and liaising with the HMRC.
The penalties associated with HMRC enquiries can be severe, so having the fee protection insurance in place in case of an HMRC investigation means we can focus our time and effort entirely on your investigation and you don’t have to worry about our fees.
We cannot prevent you from being investigated by HMRC, but we can help to ensure that you get the best possible support and advice without having to worry about the cost.
Contact us for Further Advice and Information.
Payroll Services
Administering your payroll can be time consuming and burdensome, diverting energy and resources from the core activities of your business. And the task is made all the more difficult by the growing complexity of taxation and employment legislation and the accompanying regime of penalties for non-compliance.
PAYE Real Time Information (RTI)
RTI starts in April 2013 and will become mandatory without exception for all employers. If you have over nine employees then you will be obliged to use a commercial software package or a payroll service provider to report payroll information before you pay your employees.
We have dedicated staff who can relieve you of this burden by providing a comprehensive and confidential payroll service, including:
• RTI reporting
• Customised payslips
• Administration of PAYE, national insurance, statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, etc
• Completion of statutory forms to issue to your employees
• Summaries and analyses of staff costs
• Administration of incentive schemes, bonuses, and ex-gratia and termination payments
• Administration of pension schemes
Even if you have only a few employees, you will make savings by engaging us to administer your payroll. Simply call us or contact us below to activate your account and we can start to process your payroll ready for the first pay date.
Accounting for Contractors, Freelancers & the Self Employed
AM Business Advisors & Accountants offers a full range of services to contractors, which include business setup and registration, payroll, VAT registration and filing, preparation of monthly management accounts and Company Secretarial work. If you are just starting out in business and need a specialised accountant, we will be able to provide specialist advice to you.
You might want to work for yourself as a self employed contractor or freelancer, or alternatively you may want to work for yourself as a Limited Company. We will help you make the right decision by offering expert advice on the options available to you. The right choice will depend on various factors and we will evaluate them for you in order to help you make a decision.
With our understanding of the tax structures for Limited Companies and employees of Umbrella Companies, we will help you maximise your take home pay and minimise your tax burden by providing innovative solutions.
Taxation
Corporate Tax Planning
Corporation tax represents a substantial part of your trading costs. Moreover, the increased reporting obligations, robust investigation policies on the part of the tax authorities, and harsher penalties for non-compliance mean that an undue amount of your time and resources can be taken up collecting revenue for the Government.
We offer a range of services to help you minimise your corporate tax exposure and relieve you of the administrative burden of complying with tax legislation. These include:
• Determining the most tax effective structure for your business
• Taking full advantage of tax opportunities and reliefs
• Achieving the optimum capital or revenue tax treatment
• Reducing tax on disposals and maximising relief on acquisitions
• Making the most of tax opportunities specific to your industry
• Meeting the rigorous demands of compliance including corporation tax self assessment
• Acting on your behalf in discussions with the tax authorities
Efficient corporate tax planning can result in potentially significant improvements in your bottom line.
Personal Tax Planning
With the tax regime becoming more complex and more emphasis being put on taxpayers’ individual responsibilities, everyone who is subject to taxation needs professional advice and support if they are to optimise their tax position and ensure they meet all the compliance requirements.
We can provide you with year round tax advice on:
• Income tax
• Capital Gains tax
• Inheritance tax
• Trusts and estates
• Non-domiciliary tax issues
Every pound of income tax you save means more income at your disposal, every well planned disposal of assets means minimal loss of capital gains, and every inheritance tax saving means more benefit for your beneficiaries.
Make sure you take full advantage of the tax saving opportunities open to you – Contact Us today for a personal tax planning review.
Wealth Management
As well as guiding you through annual tax returns, addressing tax issues which crop up from time to time, and keeping an eye on how you might be affected by legislative changes, we can help you focus on wider Wealth Management. We can help ensure that your personal wealth is protected and managed as tax-efficiently as possible.
We can advise with:
• Personal tax planning
• Extraction of profits from your business
• Remuneration strategies
• Tax-efficient savings and investments
• Risk Management
• Business Succession Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Estate and inheritance tax planning
• Portfolio Management
• Gifting strategies
Please contact us for more information and advice.
VAT
Value added tax is one of the most complex and onerous tax regimes imposed on business – so complex that many businesses inadvertently overpay or underpay VAT.
The ever widening scope of VAT, the constant stream of detailed changes to the regulations, and the ever growing demands of HMRC call for a trained professional eye to ensure that you do not fall foul of the regulations and do not pay the Exchequer more than you need to!
• Assistance with VAT registration
• Advice on VAT planning and administration
• Use of the most appropriate scheme
• VAT control and reconciliation
• Help with completing VAT returns
• Planning to minimise future problems with HMRC
• Negotiating with HMRC in disputes and representing you at VAT tribunals
Contact Us today for a VAT health check.