Get the tax system working for your business Do you want to reduce your corporate tax bill? Following are 6 ways of reducing your corporation tax bill. However, there are many others that your business may quality for. Are you claiming all of your business expenses? Directors and employees spend money on behalf of the business and don’t get around to claiming it back. If you are a director of the company and you are not using your annual tax-free allowance elsewhere, you can take a combination of salary and dividends out of your business. If you use your personal car for business trips you can claim the mileage back from the company. Pension contributionsare tax deductible when they are paid. Claim R&D tax relief on qualifying research and development costs. Claim deductions on share options and awards; relief is available on employee share options. Companies in the creative industry can claim a higher rate of corporate tax relief if they pay corporation tax. Reduce your tax bill. Benefit from all tax relief available to your type of business. Talk to our tax advisors now and get the tax system working for your business Book a no obligation appointment now by completing our short form . Call Mairead in our Dublin Office on 01 849 1633 or call Jane in our Dundalk Office on 042 9339955. #2017

Good financial management is critical to the success of any business, but it is particularly important in small to medium enterprises (SMEs) where the risk of insolvency is often little more than an unpaid invoice away.. 1) A key concern for small business owner-managers is cash flow management. Small business owner-managers can enhance their firm’s profitability through the improvement of how efficiently they manage their working capital. 2) SME owner-managers can enhance their firm’s profitability through more efficient management of accounts receivable and payable, plus the monitoring of inventory. 3) SMEs, particularly firms engaged in growth, need to learn how to maintain financial records and use financial reports to make business decisions. Timely reporting on cash flow, liquidity and other key performance indicators (KPI) remain essential to the firm’s survival and success. 4) Most small businesses work with an accountant. However, as firms grow larger the need for outsider support increases, but it is the quality of that advice and support that is important. Work with an accountant who offers proactive strategic advice and direction to help you achieve your overall business objectives. Finance management and the efficient management of cash flow and working capital are critical to survival. They also help to boost profitability and this can in turn facilitate growth. Owner-managers who are experiencing growth or financial stress need to seek outsider assistance. Talk to UHY FDW who not only offer financial management advice, but also business advice to drive your businesses success. Courtesy of cemi.com.au . #2017

Look to the future – develop the company financial vision and communicate it across the business. Implement forward-looking and scalable systems that will both help you grow and grow with you. Keep a tight focus on cash – monitoring and updating cash positions and cash flow forecasts daily if necessary. Keep your management team and board informed – regular updates let them know you are in control and encourage them to support you as your financing needs grow. Use experts wisely – be prepared to pay for valuable advice but do not squander money by wasting experts’ time on trivia and inefficiency. Financial management is not just technical – ensure your team have the right soft skills as well. Make finance a key part of board discussions and decision making Be proactive – encourage your finance team not just to respond to support requirements but to identify ways in which they can help other areas of the business. Match capabilities to business objectives – use your strategy to identify the skills and systems you need. Communicate effectively and encourage different departments to share information and build integrated systems that make sharing information easy. Develop commercial awareness across the company – ensure that everything understands the importance of managing costs across the business as well as meeting revenue targets. (Source ACCAglobal.com) Seek objective external expertise, direction and advice in order to identify weaknesses, maximise opportunities and drive strategies to optimise your businesses performance. Talk to FDW today. #2017

The Chancellor Philip Hammond presented his first and last Spring Budget on Wednesday 8 March 2017. To save you having to trawl through hundreds of pages of Government and HMRC press releases, UHY Hacker Young have produced a summary of the main changes that will quickly bring you up to speed. UHY Hacker Young have broken the summary down into the areas that are most likely to be of interest to you, including personal, business, employment and capital taxes. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact UHY Farrelly Dawe White for advice. UHY Hacker Young have also produced a tax card to provide you with a useful point of reference through the coming tax year. A hard copy of the tax card should be on its way to you by Tuesday 14 March, however, if you do not receive this please let us know and we will send another. Click here to download UHY Hacker Young’s 2017 Spring Budget Summary and click here to download UHY Hacker Young’s 2017/18 Tax Card. #2017

Companies cannot attract, nurture or retain the finance leaders of tomorrow in the same way as the leaders of today. That is the core theme of ACCA’s ground-breaking study of Generation Next, the youngest generation of finance and accounting professionals – those who are 36 years of age or younger Understand the work preferences and career aspirations of the youngest generation in accounting and finance today. Access to and development of talent is still critical for company growth. So both parties have a vested interest in making the relationship work in a much more sustainable way. This survey raises new questions – and presents a few possible answers – as to how best to engage and nurture young professionals to “future proof” the talent pipeline. How can finance provide more sustainable, fulfilling career development opportunities in the face of a rapidly changing business landscape? The opportunity to learn new skills and career progression opportunities top the list. Yet other factors are important too. Financial remuneration is ranked highly as both an attraction and retention factor which perhaps reflects the financial challenges this generation believe they face in the current economic climate. Interestingly the employer brand is ranked as the least important factor. Not enough capacity in the organisation, or roles they want available is cited as the primary impediment, which may be a reflection of changing career path ambitions. The problem is compounded given their desire for promotion rather than sideways moves. Adding to the issue are concerns over transparency of career paths, an issue previously noted in ACCA’s work on talent management. Other important impediments were noted too, including insufficient reward as well as learning opportunities, yet these are also issues identified as important. More on this on AccaGlobals website How can we help? Contact UHY Farrelly Dawe White to discuss the potential opportunities awaiting  your business as you grow and expand. #2017

UHY Capability Statement 2017 This new edition of our annual capability statement illustrates how we have continued to strengthen our close working relationships with our clients locally, internationally or cross-border throughout sectors, specialisms and geographical regions – and, more importantly, it includes what our clients say about our services. Also read about Why Growing Businesses Need A Global Tax Partner. Read Here #2017 #CapabilityStatement #UHYGlobal

What is a Company Director? A company Director is usually appointed by the members of a company to manage the business of the company on their behalf. In most “LTD” companies the Directors and the members are the same people, however, every person who plans to become a Director, should be familiar with the legal obligations and responsibilities that come with the position. On appointment every Director signs the following consent: “ I acknowledge that, as a Director, I have legal duties and obligations imposed by the Companies Act, other statutes and at common law ”. Under the Companies Act 2014, Directors fiduciary duties are now codified into the following: Act in good faith in what the director considers to be the interest of the company; Act honestly and responsibly in relation to the conduct of the affairs of the company; Act in accordance with the company’s constitution and exercise his or her powers only for the purposes allowed by law; Not benefit from or use the company’s property, information or opportunities for his or her own or anyone else’s benefit unless the company’s constitution permits it or a resolution is passed in a general meeting; Not agree to restrict the director’s power to exercise an independent judgment unless this is expressly permitted by the company’s constitution; Avoid any conflict between the director’s duties to the company and the director’s other interests unless the director is released from his or her duty to the company in relation to the matter concerned; Exercise the care, skill and diligence which would be reasonably expected of a person in the same position with similar knowledge and experience as a director. A director may be held liable for any loss resulting from their negligent behaviour. Have regard to the interests of employees and members. Statutory Duties of Directors: This section will deal with the 5 most common statutory duties, that Directors must comply with. Failure to comply with such obligations, will be treated as a breach of the Companies Act 2014 and can give rise to prosecution. [accordions id=”3629″] #2017

Ireland is one of the best places in the world to do business. International companies are attracted for a variety of reasons, but the facts speak for themselves. Ireland’s tax regime is one of the most favourable in the world for business’. There are many opportunities for your business to reduce its effective tax rate with the favourable corporation tax rate of 12.5% and intellectual property and research and development regimes. The Irish economy grew at 7.8% in 2015, the fastest rate in Europe. Unemployment has fallen down to less than 10% over the past three years. Ireland’s education system ranks in the top ten countries in the world and we have a well-educated workforce, one of the youngest in Europe. Irish labour costs have remained relatively stable Ireland has welcomed international companies from a range of sectors, who have continued to demonstrate confidence in Ireland’s ability to house their overseas operations including their headquarters and European Centres of Excellence. Ireland is best known for development in the following sectors: Technology Pharmaceuticals and life sciences Financial services Internet companies How can we help? Call us to discuss the opportunities Ireland might create for your business as you grow and expand. Contact Gareth Evans, Director garethevans@fdw.ie or Michael Bellew, Director michaelbellew@fdw.ie #2017

In our Spring 2017 issue: Our Spring issue contains various interesting tax articles including: An IHT Escape No-one Wants! Furnished Holiday Lettings: Is Your Property ‘Special’? Entrepreneurs’ Relief – Share And Share Alike! Dormant Periods Inheritance Tax Charge Extraction Or Accumulation? Read the Spring Newsletter #2017

Robin Freestone lists the main characteristics of a great CFO or Finance Director: Be honest Be right Have access to great data and use it to make informed decisions Great Judgement Be Bold Be lucky Be Prepared Trust your own instinct It really is that simple. These work whether you’re dealing with investors, clients, internal customers within your organisation or your own colleagues and staff. Source:  How to be a great CFO  By Robin Freestone Robin Freestone is CFO at Pearson Group and chairman of the Hundred Group of FTSE CFOs.  UHY Farrelly Dawe White can help you today with professional financial advice on your business and business growth strategies. Contact us now to see what we can do for you. #2017

REVENUE AUDIT – HOW TO PREPARE A Revenue Audit can be a daunting experience for a lot of companies, businesses and other taxpayers.  However, this stress and anxiety can be reduced considerably by some preparation before the event. What is a Revenue Audit? A Revenue Audit is a crosscheck or review by Revenue of the Tax Returns that have been submitted by the business or taxpayer, against the business records or back up documentation.  Revenue check to make sure the Tax Return are accurate and that there are no omissions. Revenue can normally review any period within the previous four years, but they are entitled to go back further.  It is important that every taxpayer and business retain his or her books and records for a minimum of six years. A Revenue Audit can arise for several reasons.  Revenue do screen Tax Returns and analyse them in terms of patterns in that particular business.  Their computer systems can therefore throw up anomalies / irregularities that Revenue then decide to examine.  Revenue also do projects on certain sectors of industry – in the past, they have concentrated on the construction industry, locums, the motor trade and jewellers.  This mass review of a certain industry allows them to compare and contract businesses and can help Revenue improve their knowledge on a particular sector.  Lastly, a Revenue Audit can arise randomly, but this represents a very small proportion of Revenue Audits. Revenue must announce their intention to commence a Revenue Audit by issuing a formal letter to the taxpayer.  This normally gives 21 days’ notice of the Audit to allow the taxpayer to pull the books and records together.  The letter must also state the taxheads and years that Revenue will be reviewing, and the date and the time of the Revenue Audit. On receipt of this Revenue Audit letter, it is important that the preparation for this begin immediately in the following ways: Meet with your accountants / tax advisers Your accountants will probably also have received a Revenue Audit letter and a preliminary discussion or meeting with your accountant will help you to understand the Revenue Audit process and ease any anxieties you may have.   Your accountant will also be able to guide you in relation to the information that needs collating, both for the Revenue Audit and to allow your accountants to perform a pre-Revenue Audit review.  It is also important at this stage to consider whether a request should be made to change the date and venue of the Revenue Audit, as requests of this nature should be made as soon as possible after receipt of the Revenue Audit letter. Identify any concerns / problem areas and discuss these with the experts It is important that you discuss any issues that you have concerns about in respect of your taxes or the operation of procedures with your accountant.  For example, if you are anxious about some expenses that cannot be vouched, if you have made payments to workers who were not included on the payroll, or if you had another source of income, however small, that was not included on your Tax Return.    Your accountant has experience in these matters and will be able to guide you in the best ways to prepare for the Revenue Audit with these issues in mind, how and when to discuss these issues with Revenue, and whether a Voluntary Disclosure should be offered. Review all Returns / Linking Documents / e-documentation for all taxheads included in the Revenue Audit, or allow your accountant to do so. Even the most careful and compliant taxpayer can make an unintentional error or omission in their Tax Returns.  A full review of the Tax Returns for the periods stated to come within the Revenue Audit can throw up any errors, omissions or issues.  Your accountant can then prepare for the best way to raise these with Revenue and can prepare a Voluntary Disclosure if this is appropriate. Prepare a Voluntary Disclosure (if required). If there are any issues, omissions or errors resulting in an underpayment of taxes, your accountant can prepare a Qualifying Voluntary Disclosure in the correct format that Revenue require.  Your accountant will identify the taxheads concerned, the periods to which the underpayments relate, the interest arising on the underpayments and any penalties.  This preparation of the Voluntary Disclosure can reduce penalties and remove the threat of publication or prosecution but it is vital that the document is prepared in accordance with Revenue’s requirements and presented to Revenue at the commencement of the Revenue Audit. #2017

See below for our infographic showing that Employment in Ireland is at its highest since 2008. The infographic shows that Quarter 4 in 2016 which was the 17th success quarter of annual employment growth. This increase was recorded in all 14 sectors measured by the Central Statistics office. #2017