Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 12 Oct 11, 09:23 AM
Many small and medium sized companies (SMEs) are encountering late payment of debtor ledgers which in today’s financial climate can result in catastrophic repercussions in their own survival.
Recent research has indicated that even the first six months to July as many as 67% of companies have seen an increase in the time it takes their customers to pay outstanding bills.
You may also be encountering some of your larger clients demanding larger terms to pay or they take their business elsewhere, particularly pertinent if you are in a restricted market place.
It has been recorded that privately owned and limited businesses are the types of customers who are taking the longest to pay off their debts with corporates and listed companies not far behind.
Our experience is that many companies are in a catch 22 position, not wanting to pressurise clients to pay as competition in the market place is also great, but if they do not their bankers/borrowers are taking action which can result in administration.
Many directors find this very frustrating, as to extend borrowing results, in many cases, in an increase in interest and the spiral continues to turn.
Read More.
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 10 Oct 11, 01:34 PM
The quarter on quarter increase in personal insolvency of 1.2 per cent (up from 30,145 to 30,513) is to be expected, given job cuts and compulsory redundancies in both the public and private sector. Thirty per cent of people do not have any savings according to R3’s lastest personal debt snapshot, with many households failing to have a contingency plan for any fall in income or increased outgoings. Therefore, a swift change in circumstance such as losing a job is likely to have pushed many individuals into insolvency. In reality, the statistics may be even higher as this data does not capture the figures for those in informal insolvency procedures such as debt management plans.
The consecutive quarter increase in corporate insolvency of 2.7 per cent (up from 4,121 to 4,233) is unsurprising given the latest GDP figures revealing marginal growth of just 0.2 per cent.
Link to the R3 website
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 20 Sep 11, 08:36 AM
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a reminder on new tax return penalties that come into effect this Autumn.
The changes will affect self assessment returns for 2010/2011, and all future financial years.
The new penalties for late filing of a self assessment return are outlined below:
- An initial £100 fixed penalty, which will now apply even if there is no tax to pay for the year, or if the tax due for the year has already been paid on time;
- After 3 months, additional daily penalties of £10 per day, up to a maximum of £900;
- After 6 months, a further penalty of 5 per cent of the tax due or £300, whichever is greater; and
- After 12 months, another 5 per cent or £300 charge, whichever is greater. In serious cases, the penalty after 12 months can be up to 100 per cent of the tax due.
New penalties for paying late are 5 per cent of the tax unpaid at:
- 30 days;
- 6 months; and
- 12 months.
Interest will also be charged on top of these penalties.
The tax return deadlines remain unchanged – 31 October for paper and 31 January for online returns. The deadline for paying any tax due also remians the same at 31 January.
More guidance on tax return deadlines and penalties can be found here
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 6 Sep 11, 08:51 AM
There were 460 corporate insolvencies in the business services sector in July, as several industries were hit by weakened growth and consumption across the economy.
A report from the credit reference agency Experian, which breaks down the number of corporate failures by sector, shows the services sector endured the highest business insolvencies of any industry during July with 460, while the building and construction sector endured the next highest with 305.
The Insolvency Index shows that business failures in the services sector shot up by 30% and 12%, year on year, in the services and building industries respectively. They also increased in the leisure and hotels industry by a third to 141 in July.
These figures follow several warnings from the trade bodies for construction firms that, while consumer demand remains weak, the prospects for this sector look decidedly bleak.
Link to full “Insolvency News” article
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 6 Sep 11, 08:40 AM
Lawyers have issued warnings over a wave of insolvencies across legal firms and charities, because of government plans to cut legal aid fees by a further 10%.
Fears were sparked by a proposal from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to cut costs even further, on top of the previous Labour government’s move to slash legal aid fees by 12.5%.
The MoJ is likely to encounter vast opposition when parliament resumes but on confirming the plans, it said the UK legal system was “the most expensive legal aid system in the world”.
The news follows the Immigration Advisory Service’s (IAS) placement into administration as a result of financial problems earlier this month. IAS was the largest provider of immigration law services in the legal aid sector.
IAS follwed the same path as Refugee and Migrant Justice (RMJ), another large charity which provided publicly funded immigration services. RMJ went into administration last year after getting into financial difficulties related to the legal aid scheme. It is thought that IAS had over 25,000 live cases (over double the number of cases that RMJ had when it was placed into administration).
Link to full article in “Insolvency News”
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 15 Aug 11, 02:54 PM
Acquisitions of insolvent businesses in the North West have continued to fall in the first half of 2011, according to research by Experian Corpfin on behalf of the insolvency trade body R3.
The figures show that distressed deals now account for one in ten of all mergers and acquisitions in the region, compared with one in five when activity peaked in late 2009.
During the first half of 2011, 23 out of a total of 226 acquisitions in the North West involved companies acquired out of administration or other formal insolvency procedures. This compares with 32 out of 230 acquisitions during the second half of 2010 and 22 out of 117 in the final quarter of 2009.
Link to full article on Insider Media Limited
Link to R3 website
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 15 Aug 11, 02:12 PM
Corporate insolvencies increased by just over one percent during the second quarter of 2011 to 5,465, compared to the previous three months, as the economy stuttered and sectors including retail suffered.
When this morning’s official statistics from the Insolvency Service are broken down, they show that the number of compulsory and creditors’ voluntary liquidations reached 4,233 in the second quarter.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, these represented a 2.7 percent increase on the previous quarter and a 4.4 percent rise on the same period last year.
The total of 4,233 comprised 1,290 compulsory liquidations, which are up 19.8 percent on the pervious quarter, and 2,943 creditors’ voluntary liquidations, which fell 3.3 percent during the same period.
To read the entire article please follow this link to Insolvency News
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 4 Aug 11, 12:35 PM
A £1bn scheme to encourage businesses to expand has been declared a “total flop” as it emerged it had cost more to run than it delivered in additional growth.
The National Insurance holiday scheme established by the Government last year with the aim of helping create 400,000 new businesses within three years has so far helped only 5,137 companies, according to analysis by Labour.
Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, said the review of the scheme’s work so far showed the added benefit it had provided totalled just £10.3m, £1.7m less than the cost of running the scheme.
This article appeared in The Telegraph 31st July 2011.
Link to full article
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 2 Aug 11, 01:52 PM
Contractors on employment contracts should be asking probing questions of their employer or payroll provider to precisely determine how much they are paid and what for, amid fresh assault on umbrella company payment methods.
Speaking last night, Bauer & Cottrell issued the advice in response to HMRC warning contractors, recruiters and end-clients that some umbrellas are unlawfully offering temporary workers PAYE and National Insurance ‘tax relief’ on every pay day.
According to HM Revenue & Customs, such “pay day by pay day” relief models, never before singled out by HMRC, fail to properly account for the correct income tax, or the correct employers’ and employees’ NI contributions.
Link to full article on Contractor UK
Link to HMRC
Posted by kelly in Uncategorized | 2 Aug 11, 01:31 PM
The minimum level of debt for a creditor to petition for bankruptcy could rise to £3,000 from £750, under proposals announced by the minister for Insolvency.
Edward Davey unveiled several proposals for consultation, including raising the petition debt levels for creditors, as he responded to the government’s call for evidence for it’s review of personal insolvency.
The minister’s proposals could impose a raft of changes to practices and processes across the personal insolvency profession.
They include creating a protocol setting out what to expect from a debt management plan and enabling the Money Advice Service to perform a central role in the coordination of debt advice. Davey added that the Money Advice Service should research and develop a delivery model for debt advice.
Voluntary codes of forbearance, where debtors need breathing space to seek advice, could also be strengthened under the proposals.
The minister also unveiled a consultation on how to create access for bankrupts to a basic bank account.
On proposing to raise the petition debt threshold to £3,000, Davey said the current level of £750 has not been increased since the Insolvency Act 1986 came into force.
Link to full Insolvency News article
« Recent Posts Older Posts »
