Case Studies

SIPP utilisation strategy

A businessman recently came in to see us because he was intrigued by the possibility of investing his self-invested personal pension funds into his business. By the end of our initial no obligation discussion we had identified ongoing savings for his business mounting to six figure tax savings. This was achieved by intelligent restructuring of the business. We even structured a way for him to invest his SIPP into his business to give him sufficient funds to expand the business.

His comment just before engaging us was: ‘ I wish I had known about this years ago!’

Tax Planning

A Director of a family company who had been introduced by an existing client came in to see if we could reduce her corporation tax bill. Her previous adviser had suggested that she operate through a Limited company structure. The formula she had been working to was to reduce her profits to £300,000 by paying Director’s salaries (on which she paid Employers NI). She would then declare the £300,000 as a dividend. She had also been discouraged from putting her sports car into the company because of the benefits-in-kind regime. After restructuring her affairs through a Limited Liability Partnership, she was able to save significantly on Employers NI, reduce her tax considerably and is now driving her car with little to no tax effect! She now realises how the Limited Company structure was like living in a strait jacket!!

Finance Director Service

A computer programming company gave us a call when a VAT visit went horribly wrong. They had run a very successful business for many years, but as accounting was not their core speciality they had largely ignored this area of the business. The part-time book-keeper they had been using had ‘gone missing’ when the VAT Inspector was scheduled to visit their offices.

We were able to address the immediate issue of HMRC. During this process we realised that a company of their size and growth ambitions needed a dedicated Finance team. The problem was that they did not have the budget to employ an FD, an accountant and a data entry clerk. They had tried to recruit someone to do all theses roles but found it hard to find someone who would have the credibility to arrange financing with the bank and who then was happy to roll their sleeves up for the afternoon and input purchase ledger invoices on to SAGE.

We were able to talk to the client about what was an acceptable budget and we agreed to take over the entire Finance department. We were able to establish systems, structure, financial discipline and budgets that enabled the entity to have accurate, relevant and timely information on which to make informed decisions.

The client was very happy because this opened up a whole new world of financial information that enabled the organisation to plan, incentivise key staff, and align the departmental objectives with the company’s strategic goals.

Project Management

A client in the leisure industry had commissioned us to assess the performance of its flagship club and compile a risk assessment of its operations and financial system. This required a detailed overview of all the processes and procedures to ensure that there were resource efficiencies and risk was minimised.

Impressed with the findings of the report and the insight into its operation, an offer was made for us to project manage the opening of their new health and lifestyle club. The client was looking for a trusted and flexible project manager who had a reputation for delivering within scope, within budget and on time. The project required setting up a core project team (GM, Sales, Operations, Finance, IT) that eventually would migrate into full time roles at the club. It was critical to mentor the core project team to achieve our objectives and to step in when they needed assistance. This required establishing instant credibility and compatibility within the team. Key deliverables included: recruiting 70 staff in a 3 month period, launching the club on time and ensuring that the finance and accounting system was integrated with Head Office. In fact many of the lessons learned and solutions provided at this club were rolled out into the other clubs. With the health club up and running it was time for the project manager to move on to another project…but not before he had a few celebratory drinks with the project team!!