BUSINESS COMPLIANCE
Shipleys can help you comply with statutory requirements including:
Accounting
Every business is required to keep proper records. We can help set up the right system to enable you to keep
financial records of your business that give you accurate and useful management information as well as
enabling the statutory accounts to be produced in a timely and cost-effective way. The right system will
vary, according to the needs of your business, from a simple hand-written cashbook to a spreadsheet or fully
integrated off-the-peg software package. We can assist you in the preparation of your Financial Statements to
comply with specific legal requirements.
Audit
We can audit Financial Statements to comply with the Companies Act, Charities Act and requirements of
regulatory bodies such as the Financial Services Authority and Law Society. The constitutional documents or
members of the organisation may also require an audit to be performed, as may third parties such as potential
providers of finance.
Company Secretarial Services
Our Company Secretarial staff can arrange incorporation of new companies and limited liability partnerships
(LLPs).
A Company Secretary’s duties include: maintaining the statutory registers of members, directors and charges, ensuring statutory forms are filed promptly, minute keeping and supplying copies of the accounts to the members. We can help your Company Secretary comply with these requirements, or act as your Company Secretary if required.
Every company must register with Companies House an address where the public can inspect the statutory records and legal notices can be served on the company. We can provide a registered office for you at our address.
Business Taxation
Businesses must submit tax returns to HM Revenue and Customs, and Shipleys can help with all aspects of these.
Companies are required to work out their own corporation tax liability and to pay their tax bill when it is due, irrespective of whether a demand has been issued. A corporation tax return and computation is required and supporting records must be kept.
Partnerships are required to submit tax returns showing their income and chargeable gains. No tax is payable on this income or gain as partners’ shares will normally be included on their tax returns.
PAYE
All employers must register a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme with HM Revenue and Customs and deduct tax and
national insurance contributions from employees’ salaries. Our payroll bureau can work out these deductions
and advise on the amounts and dates of payments required to the Collector of Taxes, sick pay, maternity and paternity
pay, student loan repayments as well as providing employees’ payslips and dealing with the annual return forms that
are required at the end of the tax year.
VAT
Your business may be required to register for VAT, or may wish to register voluntarily. We can help you
decide whether VAT registration would be to your advantage, and also complete the registration application
if appropriate. Our advice covers topics such as whether VAT needs to be charged and if the VAT incurred on
purchases can be reclaimed.
We also help some clients complete VAT return forms. It is important to ensure that these are completed correctly and filed on time, otherwise penalties and interest can be incurred.
Personal Taxation
Our tax experts can show you how best to declare your business profits on your personal tax return,
calculate your tax liability and tell you when it should be paid. We can also assist with calculation and
disclosure of capital gains and inheritance tax transfers of value.
Planning Services
We work closely with our clients to help them with effective business planning.
We are always looking for ways to help our clients save tax, whether it is simply ensuring businesses and employees claim the expenses allowed by HM Revenue and Customs, deciding whether to incorporate, choosing between bonuses and dividends, or potentially more complex areas like employees’ incentive schemes and structuring the sale of the business.