The Business Exchange Swindon & Wiltshire Edition 31: June/July 2017 | Page 7

BUSINESS NEWS BREXIT & BUSINESSES: “NO NEGATIVE IMPACT” says Regulatory Accounting One year on from Brexit, and with an unexpected General Election in June, you could be forgiven for thinking the economy might feel jittery and that businesses were drawing in their horns. But according to the team at Swindon-based Regulatory Accounting - a subsidiary of the RFS Group, a leading FT100 regulatory and compliance consultancy – the very opposite is true, at least when it comes to SMEs and smaller businesses. While Brexit has caused an element of uncertainty – a number of banks are rumoured to be looking to locate out of the UK, and at the time of writing we don’t have the outcome of the General Election - businesses in general are buoyant and the future is looking bright. “A year on from Brexit and everything is looking very positive,” said Jon Lacey, accounts director with accountancy firm Regulatory Accounting. “We see this among our busine ss client base and within our own business.” Regulatory Accounting - which as well as accountancy services provides advice and support to businesses at all stages in their development - has noticed a trend for growth among its clients. Jon said: “We see our clients growing, we see mergers and acquisitions taking place, and we are also helping a range of businesses from start-up to succession and exit strategy. Many of our clients are recruiting at the highest level for new partners, managers and directors. Overall, the picture is very positive and at least at an SME level Brexit seems to have had no detrimental effect.” Corporation Tax, currently at 19 per cent, is set to fall to 17 per cent by 2020, and Jon said this plan was unlikely to change, providing another fillip to businesses. With the summer months approaching, Jon suggested it was a good time for businesses to take stock of their strategic business and marketing plans and ensure they were on course to achieve their goals. “All too often a business plan is written and put in a drawer,” he said. “It really should be a working document that helps track and measure performance. With the Summer months often being quieter, it is the ideal time for business owners and managers to check they are on track and make sure they’ve not taken their eye off the ball.” He also reminded SMEs which are about to be drawn into Automatic Enrolment (also known as Workplace Pensions) to make sure they have their pension schemes in place and ready to go. Auto-Enrolment, which requires all employers to enrol qualifying staff into a pension scheme, affected larger companies first, but now small and micro businesses are being drawn in. Jon Lacey, Regulatory Accounting Finally, it was a surprise to learn that the new Making Tax Digital plans – whereby HMRC will require quarterly online tax returns – have been omitted from the Finance Bill. But Jon urged business owners not to be complacent – MTD will almost certainly be resurrected after the election, and all businesses and self-employed people need to be ready. For more information about business development, accountancy services, auto-enrolment and Making Tax Digital, contact Jon Lacey at Regulatory Accounting. For more info: www.regaccounting.co.uk 01793 209160 The South West’s Dynamic Insurance Broker www.pib-insurance.com 0117 926 9937 [email protected] PIB Insurance Brokers is a trading style of Cooke & Mason Plc. Cooke & Mason Plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Firm Reference Number 308333. Cooke & Mason Plc is registered in England & Wales. Company Registration Number 2682789. Registered Office: Rossington’s Business Park, West Carr Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, DN22 7SW. THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017 7