Accountant David Butler gives his views on 2013

David Butler, director of Carmarthen-based-chartered accountants and business consultants Clay Shaw Butler, said -
“We are seeing an increasing number of graduates flooding the market seeking work experience and looking for small/medium enterprises locally to gain work experience and training and to acquire an accountancy professional qualification. Living locally minimises their costs as they live with mum and dad. Often these skills are lost in small Welsh towns and we welcome the opportunity for taking advantage of this opportunity.
“In view of the increased Annual Investment Allowance up to £250,000 from the 1 January 2013, many businesses will take advantage of this to move forward their businesses, take the associated tax savings and in turn help growth within the economy. Likewise. the reduction in the Corporation Tax Rate reduces the tax burden tremendously.
“More than 75 per cent of executives now engage in social media believing this to increase their business turnover and overall profitability. We feel this should also improve office productivity due to the availability of centralised information sharing and a centralised message board for staff. We have increased our online ‘webinar’ training availability to our staff, reducing our carbon footprint and doing away with the need to travel for training.
“In 2013, we know clients will require a more pro-active approach from accountants and will look for those who can offer a full service. Strong links with banks and lenders and other quasi partners, including Independent Financial Advisers, will be crucial here.
“Real Time Information for PAYE will be implemented, commencing from April 2013, and this will eventually roll out to all businesses. This is the most significant change to take place since PAYE started. We see many businesses not having the time or resources to be able to cope with this and outsourcing to accountants.
“Larger firms continue to ‘low ball’ in their fees approach to clients as they require additional turnover to cover their increasing overheads, although some have clearly reduced staffing levels.
“There is a lot of work to be done in 2013 to convince the banks to lend and support their business customers.
“We will be emphasising the moral responsibility to support long-standing profitable businesses experiencing cashflow problems often created by larger customers or Government agencies and local authorities.”
Clay Shaw Butler has a team of team of 22 professional staff with a combined experience of more than 210 years. The team includes Welsh speakers at all levels.
http://www.clayshawbutler.com