Welcome to Strength in Numbers

Welcome to the second edition of Strength in Numbers, our regular newsletter which brings together timely news and updates covering topics relevant to the everyday concerns of businesses and individuals alike.

Firstly, I would like to draw your attention to our new and refreshed website which is now live. The updated site includes changes to navigation and improvements to the structure of our content so it is easier to view information. It is also mobile responsive making it easy to navigate on a wide range of web browsers and portable devices. In addition to the changed design and layout of the pages, new functions have been added to make your experience of visiting our website much better. We hope you like the changes, and if you have any feedback, please let us know.

In this edition you’ll find articles from our corporate finance, payroll, wealth management, tax and VAT teams. We also draw your attention to gender pay gap reporting as organisations with 250 or more workers must publish their figures by 4 April 2018 for the first time.

A couple of reminders…
On 25 May 2018 new data privacy laws come into force and are set to be the biggest change in regulations around the handling of personal data in over twenty years. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces the current Data Protection Act 1998 and applies to all companies in the UK and the EU that process and hold personal data. Organisations must provide clear requests for consent in a format that is easily understood and accessible and individuals have the right for their personal data to be deleted on request.

Significant penalties can be imposed on employers who breach GDPR. If you are running a business you will need to find out what action you need to take to ensure GDPR compliance.

The Workplace Pensions Reforms are now in place and make it a legal requirement for all employers, of all sizes, to automatically enrol their employees into a workplace pension scheme. Doing nothing is not an option. Employers who continually fail to meet their obligations are likely to face substantial fines and, in the worst cases, imprisonment. If you need advice on managing your pension and payroll obligations under auto-enrolment please contact our auto-enrolment team.

Other news…
We were thrilled to be ranked as the 61st largest accountancy firm in the UK by Accountancy Age Top 50+50 league table; jumping up 3 places from last year. The ranking reflects the hard work and commitment of our partners and staff who consistently deliver a first rate service to our clients.

The firm has experienced strong growth over the last few years and we have continued to increase our client base in the region – you can read about some of our new client wins in this edition. As always, our priority is the success of our clients and we are focused on delivering technical expertise, sector specialisms and a broad range of advisory services for businesses and individuals.

We are committed to conducting business in a responsible way and making a positive impact in the communities in which we work and live. In 2017 we raised just under £6000 for various charities, including Macmillan, Children in Need and Parkinson’s UK. Staff across the firm’s offices also took part in the Trussell Trust’s Christmas campaign by donating a large amount of food and seasonal items for special Christmas packages distributed amongst the charity’s North West foodbanks. As part of our CSR strategy, we are looking forward to another successful year of fundraising for both national and local charities in 2018 which includes two brave runners participating in the London Marathon this April!

We hope you find the articles in this issue interesting and of practical use. If you would like to discuss any of the items in this newsletter or need advice on general financial, taxation and business matters, please contact your local Mitchell Charlesworth office.