Senior Manager Short Listed For

Self Assessment Deadline 31 January 2008
Pension Scheme Reminder
New Capital Allowances Rules for Cars
New Advisory Fuel Rates
Forecasting Advice for 2008
Kate Brown makes final of Young Chartered Accountant of the Year Award

Self Assessment Deadline 31 January 2008

31 January is the deadline for submitting your tax returns. If you are any of the following:

...then you need to do a tax return.
It is your obligation to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). The penalty is a £100 fine for failure to file your tax return by the 31 January or interest and sur-charges are payable if the tax is not paid.
If you have any problems, questions or queries about tax returns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Pension Scheme Reminder

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a statement reminding pension schemes that 2006/07 Pension Scheme Returns and Event Reports must be filed online by 31 January 2008.
Anyone who is a pension scheme administrator, or is acting on behalf of one, and who needs to register for HMRC’s Pension Schemes Online service, must do so as soon as possible.
HMRC pointed out that January is a particularly busy month for online services and urged everyone to file in good time.

New Capital Allowances Rules For Cars

Cars that cost over £12,000 get special treatment for capital allowances. The capital allowance for each car must be worked out individually as there is a cap of £3,000 per car that can be claimed per year. This is different to other assets such as machines, where the costs are added together in a pool, the capital allowance is then calculated on the total value of the assets in the pool.

The individual capital allowance calculation per car is fiddly but it does have advantages, as when you sell or scrap the car you get immediate tax relief for the remaining cost of the vehicle. Assets sold out of the pool do not get full tax relief on sale as only the sales proceeds are taken out of the pool which may be less than the cost of the asset which has yet to be given tax relief through capital allowances.

From April 2008 the distinction for cars costing over £12,000 is likely to be swept away. The Government has proposed that cars will be categorised on the basis of their CO2 emissions. Three or more pools may be established for cars that have low, medium or high CO2 emissions. Low emissions cars (up to 120g/ km) will qualify for a 100% first year allowance, as now. Those in the middle band are likely to qualify for a 20% capital allowance per year, and the most polluting cars will only qualify for a 10% annual allowance. This will lengthen the time over which tax relief for the full cost of the cars will be given. Also the ability to get immediate tax relief for the balance of the cost on the sale of a car will also be lost.

The new rules for capital allowances on cars have not been confirmed yet. They may only apply to cars purchased on or after 1 or 6 April 2008, as reorganising the existing cars into the new pools would be very difficult, although if that was the case it may be beneficial to sell the car prior to April 2008 to ensure any balancing allowances are obtained. Alternatively, if you are planning to buy a new car in 2008, you should think about the timing, as a purchase from April onwards could mean a long wait to get full tax relief for the cost. In summary, if you are thinking of buying or selling cars there may well be an advantage in doing so before April 2008 but keep in touch with us for up to date information if you are considering this.

New Advisory Fuel Rates

Where you pay a mileage allowance to your company car drivers to compensate for the cost of fuel used on business journeys, those payments can be paid tax free if they fall within certain limits. These limits are called advisory fuel rates and are set by the Taxman every few months. The new mileage rates that apply from 1 January 2008 are:

Engine Size 1400cc or less: Petrol 11p - Diesel 11p - LPG 7p
Engine Size 1401 to 2000cc: Petrol 13p - Diesel 11p - LPG 8p
Engine Size over 2000cc: Petrol 19p - Diesel 14p - LPG 11p

These mileage rates are advisory and are not set down in law. If your vehicle fleet has special features which means it is less fuel efficient that the average car, you can agree different advisory rates with your local tax office.

Kate Brown Makes Final of Young Chartered Accountant of the Year Award

Our senior accountant Kate Brown has made it to the final of the Young Chartered Accountant of the Year competition, which is running in conjunction with the Humberside & District Society of Chartered Accountants.

Kate was put forward for the award by Andrew Robinson who nominated her for her dedication to the firm and client focused approach to her work.
“Kate truly deserves to be in the final. Her expertise, professionalism and attitude have helped to make A.P Robinson & Co irrefutably more successful over the past three years since she has worked here,” said Andrew Robinson to the local press.

“We invest a great deal into our young accountants to encourage them to gain the most out of their careers and I am delighted that Kate is being recognised for her outstanding contribution to the profession,” continues Andrew Robinson.

Kate now faces an interview panel with directors from Kaplan Finance and Edwards and Pearce judging on a number of factors including; personality, contribution to the work place and exam record. She has been whittled down to just six other entrants all competing for the prestigious award and weekend cruise for two as an additional prize.

Kate is up against entrants across the Hull, Humber and Lincolnshire region.
The final winner will be announced at the HDCASS annual dinner on Friday 18th January at the KC Stadium

Editorial

Forecasting Breeds Success
Our Marketing Manager Lizzy Dale offers light advice on how to plan for a financially successful 2008

As with many editorial columns bombarding you with tag lines and preaching the best advice; this overview of forecasting serves to placate your palate of accounting and drum up an additional resolution for the New Year: To make a business plan!

All businesses should make predictions for future growth. By annually updating your original plans you will gain a greater insight into where your business is heading and how financially successful it could be.

The first step is to make a simple list of realistic key objectives for the next 12 months. These objectives can play a central role in measuring your success and helping to drive the performance of your business over the course of the year.

The second step is to establish a sales and marketing plan. This is the key to setting a sales forecast as your knowledge of the market will help to identify where your products or services can thrive. The actual process of recording the sales plan forces you to evaluate the impact of future events on projected sales.

Gather the team together for a brainstorming session; their input will lead to initiatives and ideas on areas from product development, to pricing strategies, to marketing campaigns, to customer buying behaviour. A great way to structure this session would be to use SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats); to evaluate where focus is needed and where improvements can be made.

In terms of marketing planning a DRIP analysis should be considered to see whether you ‘differentiate’ from the competition; ‘remind’ and ‘interest’ your target audience and consequently ‘persuade’ them to purchase your products or services. Again, with this understanding you can make head way in enhancing your position and promotion in the market you operate in.

The third step is to add numbers to the assumptions in your plan. Calculating monthly sales volumes and values should not prove difficult once a vision for sales has been recorded. Whether a simple spreadsheet or a specialist forecasting package is required will depend on the size and complexity of your business and product mix.

Incorporating ‘what if’ scenarios into the spreadsheet will also provide a clearer picture of how different results will be dependent on actions taken. Regular monitoring of actual performance in comparison to the forecast will enable trends and sales shortfalls to be proactively addressed.

So, to sum up – a sales and marketing forecast can provide the backbone for a full financial forecast or a cash flow statement where these are required.

Can you visualise your sales pipeline for the next 12 months? If you need a sounding board and feel our services can help your business, do not hesitate to get in touch.