Leavitt Walmsley Associates

A Message from Lord Pickles and Lord Blunkett, followed by Leavitt Walmsley Associates's best practice article

The ability to listen and learn from one another has always been vital in parliament, in business and in most aspects of daily life. But at this particular moment in time, as national and global events continue to reiterate, it is uncommonly crucial that we forge new channels of communication and reinforce existing ones. The following article from Leavitt Walmsley Associates is an attempt to do just that. We would welcome your thoughts on this or any other Parliamentary Review article.

Rt Hon The Lord David Blunkett, MP

Rt Hon The Lord Eric Pickles, MP

www.lwaltd.com

THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW

Highlighting best practice

34 | LEAVITT WALMSLEY ASSOCIATES LTD

Steve Collings,

audit and technical director

LWA is an award-winning firm of accountants and has

been providing a value-added accountancy and business

advisory service for over 20 years.Headed by directorsLes

LeavittandSteve Collings, the firm has a team of hard-working

and friendly accountants in itsManchester and Warrington

officesserving clients all over the UK. Steve discusses the

changing landscape of accountancy, the changes to tax in the

UK and the future of the firm.

We work with a diverse range of businesses of all sizes across the country including

manufacturing companies, solicitors and academy schools. As well as the author

of over 20 books and a nationwide lecturer, I, the firm’s technical director, am

a member of the UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice Technical Advisory

Group at the Financial Reporting Council, who are the UK’s accountancy and

auditing regulator. We thus understand the importance of reliable and correct

financial information; these are traits which have won us awards for achieving high

standards across the accountancy profession and high levels of praise from external

quality assurance reviewers. This reaffirms our belief that you do not have to be

a national firm to carry out certain types of work for clients, particularly when it

comes to specialist assignments such as academy schools.

Changing landscape of accountancy

The world of accountancy is going through a period of change at present with the

introduction of FRS 102,

The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and

Republic of Ireland

. The new accounting framework came into effect for accounting

periods starting on or after 1 January 2015 for companies and groups classed as

medium-sized and large in the eyes of the Companies Act 2006. The transition has

proved to be a challenge for many companies; not only in effecting the transition, but

also for finance staff and their advisers in understanding the detailed requirements

of the framework which, in turn, meant additional costs were incurred.

Businesses classed as small under the Companies Act 2006 were required to move

to FRS 102 for accounting periods commencing on or after 1January 2016. The

transition for smaller companies has, again, proved to be a challenge in many respects,

although from 2017 it is expected that this period of turbulence will begin to settle.

LWA works with training providers and presents accounting and audit update

courses for accountants to keep them up to date with developments in the

profession; this is where valuable feedback is received. An overwhelming number

of accountants expressed concern about the impact the new rules would have

on their firms and on their staff, questioning the cost of implementation over the

benefits they, and their clients, would receive. Since the transitions to the new

framework started in 2016 and 2017, most of these concerns have been alleviated

as accountants have developed a better understanding of the framework.

AT A GLANCE

LEAVITT WALMSLEY ASSOCIATES

»Directors: Steve Collings and

Les Leavitt

»Established in 1985

»Based in Sale, Greater

Manchester, and Warrington,

Cheshire

»Services: A full spectrum of

accountancy and tax services

»No. of employees: 15

»Winners of British

Accountancy Awards and

Outstanding Contribution to

Accountancy

»www.lwaltd.com

Leavitt Walmsley

Associates Ltd

35LEAVITT WALMSLEY ASSOCIATES LTD |

BEST PRACTICE REPRESENTATIVE 2018

LWA started to plan for these changes

in 2014 in recognition of the fact that

they were cited as being “… the most

significant change in accountancy for

a generation”. We also worked with

our software provider, IRIS, one of the

country’s leading provider of accounts

production software, throughout 2016

to ensure their software reflected the

new rules correctly. We also produced

various online products with IRIS to help

practitioners using the software to better

understand how the software handles

the move across to the new rules.

Of course, times change, business

evolves and it follows, therefore, that

the accountancy profession has to

adapt accordingly. In 2017, the Financial

Reporting Council (FRC) announced

changes to the framework, the majority

of which will come into effect for

accounting periods commencing on

or after 1 January 2019. While these

revisions are largely editorial and

clarification issues, it is crucial that

accountants keep abreast of such

changes to ensure that the standard

of financial reporting in the UK and

Republic of Ireland remainshigh.

It is now important that the

accountancy profession has a period

of stability as frequent changes to the

rules are both unhelpful and costly

to practitioners and businesses. The

FRC have confirmed that significant

changes to accounting standards

issued by the International Accounting

Standards Board will not yet be

reflected in FRS 102. However, listed

companies (e.g. FTSE 100 companies)

must adopt IFRS 15,

Revenue from

Contracts with Customers

for periods

starting 1 January 2018 and IFRS

16,

Leases

for periods starting 1

January 2019

The 2014 version of

IFRS 9

Financial Instruments

must be

adopted for periods starting 1 January

2018. LWA welcomes the fact that

these significant new standards will

not be reflected in FRS 102 for the

foreseeablefuture.

Tax

Tax continues to be one of the most

complex areas of business. LWA has a

dedicated tax department which deals

with all forms of tax for its client base.

Where complex tax issues arise, such

as in a complicated capital gains tax

transaction or a specific tax issues in a

business sale, LWA utilises the services

of a number of highly regarded tax

professionals to help ensure the client

pays the correct amount of tax and

takes advantage of all relevant tax

reliefs available in the transaction.

The subject of Making Tax Digital

(MTD) is one of the most topical issues

in the accountancy and tax professions

at present. In the March 2015 budget,

plans were announced to abolish the

annual self-assessment tax return and

introduce MTD, which will involve

a new quarterly filing regime for

businesses and landlords. MTD has

received widespread criticism from the

accountancy and tax professions due

largely to the costs businesses at the

smaller end of the scale will incur and

the original and ambitious timescale

for implementation (which has now

been delayed).

LWA continues to keep abreast of

developments in this important area

as MTD will eventually affect the vast

majority of businesses of all sizes in

theUK.

Going ahead

Staying ahead of the competition and

developments in tax and accountancy

is a daily challenge. Embracing

that challenge and becoming more

innovative in the way that both LWA

and our clients work is a key driver to

both our and our clients’ success. In

the accountancy and tax professions,

2018 will be challenging, but LWA is

equipped with the skill and technical

expertise to overcome those challenges.

LWA has a team of

hard-working and

friendly accountants

serving clients all

over the UK

Of course,

times change,

business

evolves and it

follows,

therefore, that

the

accountancy

profession has

to adapt

accordingly

“

www.lwaltd.com

The Parliamentary Review Publication, in which this article originally appeared, contained the following foreword from The Rt Hon Theresa May MP.

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP's Foreword For The Parliamentary Review

By The Rt Hon Theresa May MP

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review. For Her Majesty’s Government, our task in the year ahead is clear: to achieve the best Brexit deal for Britain and to carry on our work to build a more prosperous and united country – one that truly works for everyone.

The right Brexit deal will not be sufficient on its own to secure a more prosperous future for Britain. We also need to ensure that our economy is ready for what tomorrow will bring. Our Modern Industrial Strategy is our plan to do that. It means Government stepping up to secure the foundations of our productivity: providing an education system that delivers the skills our economy needs, improving school standards and transforming technical education; delivering infrastructure for growth; ensuring people have the homes they need in the places they want to live. It is all about taking action for the long-term that will pay dividends in the future.

But it also goes beyond that. Government, the private sector and academia working together as strategic partners achieve far more than we could separately. That is why we have set an ambitious goal of lifting UK public and private research and development investment to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. It is why we are developing four Grand Challenges, the big drivers of social and economic change in the world today: harnessing artificial intelligence and the data revolution; leading in changes to the future of mobility; meeting the challenges of our ageing society; and driving ahead the revolution in clean growth. By focusing our efforts on making the most of these areas of enormous potential, we can develop new exports, grow new industries and create more good jobs in every part of our country.

Years of hard work and sacrifice from the British people have got our deficit down by over three quarters. We are building on this success by taking a balanced approach to public spending. We are continuing to deal with our debts, so that our economy can remain strong and we can protect people’s jobs, and at the same time we are investing in vital public services, like our NHS. We have set out plans to increase NHS funding annually by an average by 3.4 percent in real terms: that is £394 million a week more. In return, the NHS will produce a ten-year plan, led by doctors and nurses, to eliminate waste and improve patient care.

I believe that Britain can look to the future with confidence. We are leaving the EU and setting a new course for prosperity as a global trading nation. We have a Modern Industrial Strategy that is strengthening the foundations of our economy and helping us to seize the opportunities of the future. We are investing in the public services we all rely on and helping them to grow and improve. Building on our country’s great strengths – our world-class universities and researchers, our excellent services sector, our cutting edge manufacturers, our vibrant creative industries, our dedicated public servants – we can look towards a new decade that is ripe with possibility. The government I lead is doing all it can to make that brighter future a reality for everyone in our country.

British politics provides ample material for analysis in the pages of The Parliamentary Review

The Rt Hon Theresa May MP
Prime Minister