On 08 March 2010, Exeter County Court made a ten year Bankruptcy Restrictions Order against Mr Kevin John Moseley after he obtained deposits from a customer both before and after his bankruptcy to their unreasonable risk and failed to keep any accounting records of his business as a builder. Under the terms of the Bankruptcy Restrictions Order Mr Moseley is restricted from acting as a company director without the permis…

EU rules that may exempt small firms from filing annual accounts have been condemned as utterly absurd Philip King Chief Exectutive Officer of the UK Institute of Credit Management. At a time when the supply of credit is needed more than ever, and yet harder than ever to get, the suggestion that exempting small companies from filing accounts will help businesses grow is perverse, says Mr King. "It will have …

From 1 April 2010, businesses seeking extra time to pay a tax debt of over 1million will, in most cases, need to get an independent review in support of their request. The review must be carried out by an independent third party, so the tax authorities are unlikely to accept reviews from a firms existing advisers. This new ruling will affect many organisations struggling to meet their tax bills given that, as at Februar…

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling is today launching a new free money advice service to be rolled out around the country. The Moneymadeclear service includes a helpline, website and face-to-face advice services, delivered through a range of partners such as Citizens Advice Bureaux and Age Concern. The cost of the service will be funded by a levy on the financial sector and funds recovered from dormant bank a…

The rate of business insolvencie for the automotive industry in January 2010 was 44.15 per cent lower than January 2009, and also half (48 per cent) the rate experienced in December 2009, according to the latest Insolvency & Late Payment indices from Experian®, the global information services company. 0.08 per cent of automotive businesses became insolvent in January 2010, compared to 0.14 per cent in January 2009 a…

Bibby Financial Services, the specialist factoring and invoice discounting provider, is offering a 5,000 cash prize as part of its efforts to support businesses across the UK. The prize draw, into which any small and medium sized business from across the UK can enter, is supported by an ongoing campaign to better understand the needs of businesses. Entrants are asked to complete six short questions concerning topics suc…

Business owners believe a few key sectors will lead the recovery, helping the economy build on its fragile start to growth, according to research by RSM Tenon, the seventh largest accountancy and business advisory firm in the UK. A fifth believe that businesses in the finance sector are the most likely to recover first, followed by food and drink manufacturers (13%), retailers (9%) and oil, gas and mining firms (8%). <…

Companies with UK profits chargeable to corporation tax of 300,000 or less, currently pay corporation tax at the Small Companies'' Rate (SCR) of 21%. Plans to raise the rate to 22% have been deferred (until April 2011) in the last two Pre-Budget Reports. Profits exceeding 300,000 are taxed at the large companies rate of 28%, with a deduction for marginal relief where profits are between 300,000 and 1.5m. These p…

Equifax the leading consumer information specialist is hosting two morning seminars in London and Nottingham, for the financial services sector, to address the impending challenge of Single Customer View (SCV) regulations. The latest changes to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) come into force on 31st December 2010, when the FSA will expect financial service providers to be able to produce an up-to-date …

Insolvency Service raises cost of bankruptcy by 90 Save up to go bust? With the Insolvency Service raising bankruptcy costs by 90 the price of going bust has never been so high, standing at 600 all in, including court fees. However, when the cost of bankruptcy is seen in context of the average bankrupts unsecured debts, this is still value for money for the debtor. 600 is just 2% of the average amount of unsecured debt …