Category Archives: Accounting Firms

31st Edition of IRS Corporate Financial Ratios Reports U.S. Corporate Performance

Libertyville, IL, April 12, 2016 — /EPR ACCOUNTING NEWS/ — Schonfeld & Associates offers a valuable addition to business reference resources in IRS Corporate Financial Ratios, a unique reference with saibooksinformation gleaned from over 95 thousand corporate tax returns. As a reliable information source, it can be used in many ways from gathering competitive intelligence to evaluating tax returns before filing. It is an ideal reference for CPAs, controllers, bankers, CFOs, tax lawyers, financial analysts, investment advisors and corporate planners.

The newly available 31st edition of the report contains just released information from corporate tax returns filed for the 2013 fiscal year. Of all U.S. corporations, the greatest number, 15% of the total, fell into the Professional Services sector. Within that sector, over 65% of the firms were profitable. Over all sectors, over 60% were profitable. All sectors except for real estate and holding companies had a majority of profitable firms.

One major accounting firm has used IRS Corporate Financial Ratios to develop a report to accompany delivery of the corporate tax return, which both enhances service to existing clients and can serve as the basis for additional assignments. Even the IRS, as well as some state agencies, uses it for tax and compensation audits. It may also be used in forensic accounting such as for estimating damage claims in lawsuits.

NoComps

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios is a statistical reference containing 76 key financial ratios for companies in each of over 250 NAICS industries. Based on actual tax records of the Internal Revenue Service, it is a comprehensive and authoritative source of corporate tax information and financial ratios. It is an essential book for anyone who wants to analyze tax returns in a serious way, do competitive research or perform self-audits.

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios provides clear benchmarks of financial performance. Included are: Turnover Ratios, such as inventory sales turns and inventory cost turns, Expense Percentages, Employment Percentages, such as officer compensation to PBIT, Profitability Percentages, such as gross, operating and net margin, Liquidity Ratios, such as days receivable and days payable and many more financial measures of performance.

For each industry, ratios are shown for the overall industry and for companies in four asset size classes. Within each size class, a complete set of 76 ratios is shown for both profitable companies and companies with losses. The format of the book allows comparisons so that ratios which distinguish profitable firms are immediately visible, a real aid to improving financial management.

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios is useful in developing budgets and financial plans. Besides being available in printed or PDF format, users can purchase an Excel template, IRS-CALC, with all the report data included. For any firm, tax return information can be entered, ratios calculated automatically and compared to industry norms and printed in reports.

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios includes an extensive introduction containing definitions with an explanation of how to calculate and interpret each financial ratio. A complete industry index is provided.

IRS Corporate Financial Ratios is published annually by Schonfeld & Associates based on the most current corporate tax return information available from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. It is a unique, useful reference that belongs on the bookshelf or in the computer of every financial manager. The current 31st edition is available for $225 directly from Schonfeld & Associates, Inc., 1931 Lynn Circle, Libertyville, IL 60048. IRS-CALC, the Excel spreadsheet template, is available for an additional $100. Call for more information or to place an order at 800-205-0030. Visit the Corporate Financial Ratios area of expertise on the corporate web site where a secure order can be placed for immediate download or hard copy delivery.

Contact-Details:
Carol Greenhut,
cgreenhut@saibooks.com,
800-205-0030

 

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The New Year Brings New Work for Umbrella Company Contractors

The umbrella company sector in the UK is celebrating after recent industry research revealed that contractors could soon see an increase in demand for their services. The news, which was revealed in The Recruitment and Employment Confederation’s (REC) Report in Jobs for December 2011 revealed a fall in the amount of permanent appointments that month. This information comes less than a month after the umbrella company Tarpon predicted that 2012 would be a very positive year for those in the umbrella company industry.

A spokesperson for Tarpon comments: “In December 2011, we announced that we believe that the new year would bring in a lot more opportunities for umbrella companies and their contractors, because of the addition of an extra £1 billion injection in the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), and so the REC’s report is really a fantastic indicator for both umbrella companies and contractors over the next 12 months.”

According to the REC, temporary billings also fell slightly last month, marking the first time they have decreased since July 2009. This news, combined with the decline in the number of permanent appointments falling in December 2011, and the recent announcement by the Royal Bank of Scotland that revealed that the Scottish business also grew in December, means that employers will be relying on umbrella company contractors and their services over the coming months.

The spokesperson for Tarpon continues: “Obviously, as an umbrella company the news that there has been increased growth in certain business sectors and therefore, the possibility of increased demand for our services is really fantastic to hear, especially at the beginning of the new year. While we did say that we believed that 2012 would be the year that more businesses and individuals would look to umbrella companies and their contractors for reliable, high-value and excellent service, it’s still an absolute delight to see that our prediction appears to be coming true that at the very beginning of the new year.”

About Tarpon:
Tarpon is an umbrella company specialising in contractor tax efficiency, enabling contractors to maximise their income and streamline their admin.

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Anthony Citrolo Elected Executive Vice President & Director of The Long Island Chapter Of The Accountant/Attorney Networking Group Inc. (AANG)

It has been announced today that, Anthony Citrolo, CPA, CVA, CMAA, CBI has been elected as the 2012 Executive Vice President and Director of the Long Island Chapter of the Accountant/Attorneys Networking Group Inc. (AANG)

The Accountant/Attorney Networking Group is comprised solely of practicing accountants and practicing attorneys who service multiple clients. The purpose of the group is to facilitate networking between and among attorneys and accountants – two professions that have enormous synergy and potential for cross referrals. AANG offers 12 monthly networking breakfast meetings exclusively for accountants and attorneys. AANG also hosts two major networking cocktail receptions open to all professionals. The organizations’ web site is www.aangny.org

According to Mr. Citrolo a Managing Partner of M&A firm NYBB/Reliance Strategies, “the AANG creates a great platform for Accountants and Attorneys to meet and share information and ideas that can be used to bring cutting edge financial and legal solution to business owners or entrepreneurs engaged in a business sale or acquisition. Further Mr. Citrolo adds, “since Accountants and Attorneys are key players of the deal team that representbusiness buyers and sellers, the coordination of their efforts can result in lowering the fees incurred in the transaction and giving the deal the best chance of being consummated.”

About NYBB/Reliance

NYBB/Reliance Strategies is a full-service Merger & Acquisition firm in Melville, New York assisting companies with up to $50M in revenue to develop an exit strategy or make a targeted acquisition. In addition to M&A and consulting services, NYBB/Reliance offers valuation services in determining both Business and Transaction Values. Anthony can be reached at 631.390.9650 or anthony@nybbinc.com.

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CPA Site Solutions Found Success with Innovative Methods for Email Marketing System Rebuild

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites for accountants, announced they recently redeveloped their proprietary Email Marketing System using new architecture, methodology, and coding standards.

CodeIgniter Cut Down on Time Spent Coding

The niche web developer opted to use CodeIgniter for the system’s architecture.

“We evaluated several frameworks for PHP web application development. Many of them could have worked, but they really tried to lock you in to their way of doing things,” explains Bob Rayl, Chief Technology Officer at CPA Site Solutions. “They did not offer the flexibility we need to accomplish some of the heavily proprietary functionality we bundle into our systems.”

CodeIgniter is an Application Development Framework for PHP developers. It provides a rich set of libraries for commonly needed tasks. CodeIgniter considerably trimmed the hours developers spent writing tedious code. And because the code comes secured and optimized out of the box, the team saved additional time and resources on those tasks.

The team chose NetBeans, an integrated development environment (IDE), for their new interface.

Localized Server Streamlined Testing and QA

The tech team at CPA Site Solutions chose to use a localized server for code development and testing on which they could “step-through” their code line by line as it was running on an isolated test environment. This enabled them to catch bugs early in the development cycle, resulting in less end-of-development quality assurance.

The team could also access a step-by-step history of the code, quickly leading them to the cause of any new bugs. And with a roll-back function in place, they could return to a previous working version if problematic code reached the production environment.

Finally, the localized server allowed multiple developers to work on the same project without having to trade entire copies of the code. Each developer simply located the latest version from the server to be in sync with other team members. They could also test small bits of code on their own working area of the server, so their testing and QA didn’t slow down the rest of the team.

New Coding Practices Increased Team Efficiency

For the application rebuild, CPA Site Solutions wrote object-oriented, reusable code that extends the basic functionality of CodeIgniter. They also wrote libraries that sit in a separate website but deliver programmatic data to their CodeIgniter applications. For example, getting a firm’s domain information will never need to be written into any given application again; it’s now served via a service the team created and centralized.

About CPA Site Solutions

CPA Site Solutions (http://www.cpasitesolutions.com) provides websites for more than 5,000 CPA and Accounting firms. They offer personalized websites, a dedicated webmaster, a secure client portal, a client newsletter, secure email accounts, search engine optimization, and 109 additional website features designed specifically for Accountants.

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UK Tax Investigations On The Increase

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is under huge pressure to increase tax receipts and reduce tax leakage. As a result, HMRC has a growing appetite for launching investigations where it considers there is a reasonable possibility of collecting under-declared tax.

Intensive bursts of compliance activity are targeting business sectors considered to be high risk, and HMRC is sharing information internally more effectively than ever before, thus increasing its chances of identifying potential anomalies in taxpayers’ affairs. “The tax authority has created dedicated common interest teams, such as a unit focused on high net worth individuals and offices which deal exclusively with large businesses,” explains Valerie Watson, Moore Stephens tax partner who has assisted many clients on tax investigations. “Non-domiciled individuals taxed on the remittance basis are now handled by one tax district, again enabling easier cross-referencing and sharing of information.”

Tax inspectors may also be making use of new media, such as the internet, to identify individuals with valuable assets (such as holiday properties that are being let out for income) or undeclared profits (for example, from trading through internet auction sites).

New information sharing agreements between national tax authorities are also having an impact. Following the Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Liechtenstein and HMRC, the details of UK-resident taxpayers who hold accounts or assets in Liechtenstein will be passed to HMRC. “This goes hand-in-hand with the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility”, says Valerie, “which provides an opportunity for UK taxpayers to declare any unpaid tax voluntarily in exchange for reduced penalties and immunity from prosecution.”

Another notable example that reflects the changing times is the agreement reached between the UK and Switzerland whereby the Swiss banks will levy withholding tax on UK taxpayers’ bank accounts held in Switzerland and pass the sums concerned to HMRC via the Swiss tax authorities. They will do so without identifying any taxpayers, but this nevertheless represents a marked change in attitude by the Swiss Finance Department.

Specific events can also trigger tax investigations, as Valerie explains: “HMRC is currently investigating approximately 500 UK-resident holders of HSBC accounts in Switzerland, using data passed on by an ex-employee. HMRC has been using this data to open Code of Practice 9 investigations – which relate to cases of suspected serious fraud – without apparently screening to check whether taxpayers have already made appropriate disclosures. HMRC’s new Offshore Coordination Unit has started contacting the remaining account holders to offer them the opportunity to make a disclosure.”

This highlights the fact that individuals and businesses can find themselves subject to a tax investigation without there necessarily being any actual wrongdoing. However, given the complexity of the current tax system and the scope for differences of interpretation, any detailed HMRC investigation stands a reasonable chance of finding some element of under-declared tax somewhere in the affairs of an individual or a business.

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CPA Site Solutions Named to Inc. 5000 for Second Consecutive Year

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites for accountants, was named to the prestigious 2011 Inc. 5000 list, a compendium of the fastest growing private companies in America, for the second consecutive year.

“Earning a place on this list for a second time is a tremendous honor,” comments Brian O’Connell, President of CPA Site Solutions. “And, again, I have the company’s dedicated team of webmasters, designers, and SEO specialists to thank,” O’Connell adds.

The $3 million company received a rank of 1736 out of 5,000 companies and achieved a three-year growth rate of 154%. In 2010, CPA Site Solutions was no. 1313 on the list with a three-year growth rate of 223%. The company has grown from 16 employees in 2010 to 19 employees in 2011.

Of the 10 Vermont businesses that were honored on this year’s Inc. 5000, CPA Site Solutions earned the 2nd spot. It is the only honored Vermont company in IT Services.

O’Connell Attributes Success to Management Principle

CPA Site Solutions’s steady growth is a result of how successfully the staff has embraced systems, says O’Connell. Creating systems means developing a particular process for completing tasks so they can be performed identically in the future.

Specifically, all team members document the process they used to complete a facet of their work. The company keeps an online wiki, and each team member is responsible for updating the living document as the systems evolve.

Sections of the wiki include Training New Members, Social Media, and Handling Client Frustrations.

“I highly recommend adopting a systems approach for any business,” comments O’Connell. “With a tested system in place, the team can focus on completing their job quickly and making regular improvements, rather than putting out fires. Having a system in place actually prevents most fires!”

“I firmly believe this is the best way to grow a business,” adds O’Connell.

The Inc. 5000 Distinction

The Inc. 500|5000 list, Inc. magazine’s annual ranking of the fastest growing private companies in America, represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy: America’s independent entrepreneurs. CPA Site Solutions joins Spirit Airlines, television maker Vizio, Honest Tea, and Dunkin Donuts as honorees on this year’s list.

In a stagnant economic environment, median growth rate of 2011 Inc. 500|5000 companies remains an impressive 94%. The companies on this year’s list report having created 350,000 jobs in the past three years, and aggregate revenue among the honorees reached $366 billion, up 14 percent from last year.

Complete results of the Inc. 5000, including company profiles and an interactive database that can be sorted by industry, region, and other criteria, can be found at www.inc.com/5000.

“Now, more than ever, we depend on Inc. 500/5000 companies to spur innovation, provide jobs, and drive the economy forward. Growth companies, not large corporations, are where the action is,” says Inc. magazine Editor Jane Berentson.

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Provider of CPA Websites Now Includes Free and Discounted CPE Credits with Each Website Package

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites, announced they now include one free Continuing Professional Education (CPE) course and 30% off additional CPE courses with each of their website packages.

That’s a value of up to 38 credits and $277 for the free course and a savings of $92 for each course thereafter.

“With tax season coming to a close, we know accountants will soon be concerned with fulfilling their CPE requirements for the year,” commented Brian O’Connell, President of CPA Site Solutions. “We’re delighted to provide our clients significant savings in this area.”

All CPA Site Solutions clients are eligible for the free course and the discount, O’Connell stressed.

Clients choose which course they want to take for free, with topics ranging from“The Ultimate Guide to Retirement Planning from a Tax Perspective” to “Business Taxation,” and the available credits ranging from 4 to 38.

Each course is offered online and in PDF version, and all courses are available for up to 5 years. The course setup allows you to save your place so you can progress at your own pace. All courses are fully searchable in both online and PDF versions.

All available courses meet or exceed state and NASBA/AICPA standards.

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CPA Site Solutions Named to 2010 Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Private Companies

CPA Site Solutions, a provider of CPA websites, was just named to the prestigious Inc. 5000 list, a compendium of the fastest growing private companies in America.

“I’ve wanted to make Inc. Magazine’s list since I was 16 and dreaming of being a successful entrepreneur,” comments Brian O’Connell, President of CPA Site Solutions.  “Thirty years later my dream came true – and I owe it all to our fabulous team for making it possible,” O’Connell adds.

CPA Site Solutions was honored as the 1313th fastest growing private company in America , with an extraordinary three-year growth rate of 223%.

“On the heels of an excellent year, CPA Site Solutions is poised for future growth,” continues O’Connell. “Technology and Web-based services are increasingly important in the accounting field. We truly enjoy providing accountants with the fully loaded websites they need to excel in today’s environment.”

An Innovative Company in a Small State

CPA Site Solutions was founded in Winooski , Vermont , in 1999 by Brian and Kathy O’Connell, CPA. It was the first company to be devoted solely to websites for accountants.

The small company with 16 employees was named the 3rd fastest growing company in Vermont .

“We’re very proud to be a leader among small businesses in Vermont ,” says O’Connell. “We love this state, and we find it an excellent place to run a successful company while enjoying work-life balance.”

The Inc. 5000 Distinction

The Inc. 5000 list, produced by Inc. Magazine, represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer – maker of the iconic children’s red wagon – are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

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Brookson Introduce New Specialist Services

Brookson have further enhanced their service offering in a number of key areas, with an Overseas Service, Legal Services, Company Secretarial and Tax and Accountancy Services.

Accountants Brookson understand their customers can bring with them a totally unique portfolio of circumstances that affect the way they operate. By providing access a comprehensive range of services that may be needed throughout the journey as a self-employed individual.

The Specialist Company Secretarial Service will assist Limited company customers with the maintenance of statutory records and registers, use of a registered address and a host of other services.

Their specialist tax and accountancy service recognises that everyone has different levels of complexity when it comes to tax and accountancy needs, with their professionally qualified in-house specialists on hand to help. Matt Fryer Tax manager at Brookson comments “This service ensures that Brookson is a “one stop shop” for all customers’ tax and accountancy needs, whether related to their self-employed business or not.”

Brookson’s specialist Overseas Services will be a comprehensive set of services provided to meet increasing demand for advice relating to working outside the UK. This specialist service allows customers to take care of their continuing UK tax and accountancy obligations as well as introducing them to a business partner who will provide a compliant overseas solution. With the current economic climate encouraging more self employed freelance professionals to consider projects outside of the UK, the government is intent on tightening the tax regime covering overseas work, therefore making it even more essential than ever to seek professional advice.

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Brookson Release iDirector Their 1st iPhone Application

iDirector is a new iPhone application developed to provide freelancers 24/7 access to their account. Limited Company accountant Brookson, have invested in this new technology to further enhance the service available to their customers. This new innovative app will allow customers to:

Brookson Release iDirector Their 1st iPhone Application

• Create and submit invoices via their iPhone.
• View invoice statements and email direct to their email address outlining how much they can pay themselves.
• Confirm their dividend payments.
• View their latest cash statement from Brookson which outlines their company’s financial position.

This is going to be first in a long line of new innovations to the Brookson service with iPhone apps being developed for their Umbrella company customers called iPAYE and for their Sole Trader customer s called iSolo.

Brookson have also committed to developing similar applications on other platforms such as Android, Windows Mobile and Blackberry to ensure they are catering for the whole smart phone market and the majority of their customer base.

Brookson are investing in a robust and efficient technology infrastructure in order to drive the online and m-commerce innovation that is currently being experienced by their customers. This investment is necessary if Brookson are to achieve their strategy of significantly increasing their market share of the self employed accountancy market.

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Brookson Has Announced The Appointment Of Some Key Positions Within Their Information Systems Department

Accountancy and umbrella company provider Brookson, has appointed new IS Manager Robin Candy, Support Manager Gerrard Singleton and Project Manager Craig Russell.

These appointments are central to the implementation of a number of new initiatives currently being undertaken by Brookson, including the recent introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM system, which allows the virtualisation of 24 servers down to 6 and upgrading software business wide. The changes are all intended to improve the current service offering to their 9000 customers working through their own limited company, as a sole trader or as an employee of Brookson’s umbrella company.

Robin Candy recently joined Brookson from Morgan Stanley’s UK residential mortgage business wehere he held the position of IT director and was responsible for support, development and testing. Robin was also part of an award winning team who developed an online mortgage approval and underwriting solution that processed over £3 Billion of mortgages in the first 12 months. Robin said: “Moving to Brookson was an easy choice, due their focus on technology and aspirations to constantly improve their services.”

Gerrard Singleton has arrived after previously working for Cegedim Rx in Leyland and brings with him of 15 years experience in IT Support. “Working for a progressive company who continue to use cutting edge technology is always attractive to anyone working in IT,” said Gerrard. “I’m looking forward to developing not only Brookson’s service offering but also the skills and capabilities of the team in general.”

Craig Russell has been working in Programme Management for over a decade and has worked for a number of large projects including implementing SAP in 38 entities across 7 European Countries. Craig sees his role at Brookson as being ‘to provide the necessary controls and infrastructure that are vital for projects to succeed.’

Brookson’s service is ideally suited for individuals looking to set up in business, either as a sole trader or through a limited company. Small business owners often require more support from their accountant than just the completion of year-end accounts and tax returns. Brookson provide a variety of online tools, such as financial statements, that keeps the business owner in financial control of their business and working compliantly.

Brookson recognise technology has an essential role to play in delivering next generation accountancy services to the self-employed. They believe that the skills required by a modern accountancy business go well beyond accountancy skills alone; the modern accountancy business requires the expertise of individuals that are able to build and support an IT infrstature for both operational service delivery as well as online customer facing service delivery. These latest appointments significantly strengthen Brookson’s Information Systems skill base.

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Brookson Has Embarked Upon A Major Infrastructure Upgrade Program With The Introduction Of A Number Of New Products

The accountancy support services provider and Umbrella Company has recently introduced 2010 versions of Microsoft exchange and Microsoft SharePoint. The introduction of Exchange will provide more integrated communication and improved efficiencies regarding emails around the business, while SharePoint provides a far more dexterous document management capability, consolidating the way Brookson store documents, information and consequently how they manage data.

The project also sees the virtualisation of more than 24 physical servers onto 6 virtual hosts. This provides a number of benefits such as less power consumption due to reduced need for cooling the servers, faster deployment of applications business wide, easier maintenance and increased reliability.

These changes are intended to improve the efficiency of the services provided by Brookson to its 9000 customers working through a Limited company, as a sole trader or as employees of Brookson’s umbrella company.

Lee Kingshott, Information Systems Director at Brookson, commented, “New technology is something Brookson continue to invest in. With our current aspirations to revolutionise the accountancy market, improving our in house technology is critical to improving our customer experience and these recent changes are another big step in further enhancing our services.”

Paul Sweeney, Managing Director at ANS Group added, “ANS Group aim to provide cutting edge technology solutions to our customers and it’s great to work with forward thinking organisations such as Brookson. Our solutions are focused on improving business efficiency and enhancing the end user’s productivity and collaboration experience.”

Brookson is investing in a robust and efficient technology infrastructure in order to drive the online innovation that is currently being experienced by its customers. This investment is necessary if Brookson is to achieve its strategy of significantly increasing its market share of the self employed accountancy market.

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Brookson Announces Partnership With Liveperson

Brookson, a specialist accountancy and support services provider has chosen Liveperson as a strategic partner to provide live web chat capabilities for Brookson’s website.

Brookson Announces Partnership With Liveperson

The software allows Brookson’s new business consultants to interact with prospective customers as they browse Brookson’s website. Prospective customers invariably have questions on a wide variety of issues that need to be answered before making a decision about whether self employed working is for them. Self employed working may not be the best option; working through Brookson’s umbrella company is a popular option. Liveperson allows consultants to expand on the guidance provided online so visitors can make an informed choice about the way of working that suits their individual needs.

With Liveperson Brookson’s consultants are able to engage with prospective customers as they read the website page by page. Brookson want to make life simpler and easier for Limited Company and sole trader professionals therefore they are looking to engage in a way that best suits the individual. Some individuals prefer to chat online because it may be impractical to have a conversation at that time or it may be that online chat is their preferred method of contact.

Head of New Business, Andrew Sloan commented: “In today’s climate, self employedprofessionals browse the internet to find accountancy services. By utilising this contact method, discussing the content as they read through the website, we are able to provide prospective customers with a clear understanding of why Brookson is so different to the services offered by a traditional high street accountant.”

This latest service improvement is another in a long line of technological enhancements to the Brookson service in recent months. Brookson’s stated strategy is to “revolutionise the small business accountancy market” and the web plays a significant part in this strategy both in terms of winning new customers and servicing the needs of existing customers.

Brookson’s service is ideally suited for individuals looking to set up in business, either as a sole trader or through a limited company. Business owners often require more support from their accountant than just the completion of year-end accounts and tax returns. Brookson provide a variety of online tools, such as financial statements, that keep the business owner in financial control of their business and working compliantly. Online chat complements a service that relies on clever use of the web.

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Brookson Introduce New Opal Telecom Telephone System

Brookson has installed a new Opal Telecom telephone system, including Mitel hardware and software, across its whole business.

Brookson, a leading accountancy and umbrella company services provider, has introduced this new system to improve their customer services offering.

The new Mitel 5000 CP system allows Brookson to route calls more efficiently to the relevant experts and ensure callers receive a hassle free experience when contacting different areas within the business. The software also provides more reporting capabilities including monitoring calls and call volumes.

The move will also ensure self employed specialist accountants Brookson maximise their call efficiencies as the new software will allow simultaneous running of both PCs and the telephone system on one network.

Head of Customer Services, Peter Metcalf commented: “The introduction of this new technology is a massive step forward in terms of our service offering, allowing the business to manage increased call volumes more efficiently, ultimately leading to an even more professional service.”

Brookson’s service is ideally suited for individuals looking to set up in business, either as a sole trader or limited company, who often require more support from their accountant than just the completion of year-end accounts and tax returns. Brookson’s revolutionary approach to accountancy reduces the administrative burden of day to day bookkeeping and the time consuming administration for our customers. Brookson do the accounting so their customers do not have to. Key to its successful ‘day to day’ service is a dedicated Customer Service Team that speak to customers on a regular basis providing specialist accountancy advice. As a result, Brookson has considerable call volumes to manage on a daily basis.

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Brookson Has Improved Its Identification Assessment Process By Introducing Experian Software For Its Customer ID Checks

Brookson, a leading accountancy, tax and support services provider to the self employed, has selected Experian as the ideal partner for its Identification Software. Experian’s Authenticate Pro and Validator Plus products will be used to verify the new customers and will dramatically reduce the time it takes Brookson to complete their customer take on process.

Brookson Has Improved Its Identification Assessment Process By Introducing Experian Software For Its Customer ID Checks

Brookson’s umbrella company customers work with a wide range of recruitment businesses. The Experian partnership enables Brookson to continue to be a compliant service provider while meeting the speed of set up required by both its contractor customers and the recruitment businesses. If contractors are delayed in taking up opportunities it costs the contractor and the agency money.

Authenticate Pro accurately verifies the identity of new customers by referencing applicant details against Experian’s data sources to obtain a ‘pass’, ‘fail’ or ‘refer’ with regards to their identity. Where a ‘fail’ or ‘refer’ is signalled, a supporting tool called Validate Plus performs a remote check on information contained in official documents, such as a passport number, without the customer having to part with these.

Andrew Sloan, Head of New Business at Brookson, explained: “Introducing new and innovative solutions is something Brookson continue to demonstrate across both its limited company and umbrella company service lines. This latest addition will further streamline our joining process, in many cases allowing customers to join on the same day, provided relevant checks are passed.”

Stuart Johnston, Managing Director at Experian QAS added: “The authentication process plays a crucial part in improving business efficiencies in the financial services market: it affects the customer experience, the staff workload and the compliance levels of the company. It’s great that Brookson is integrating our product range so effectively, combining Validate Plus and Authenticate Pro to offer efficient and rapid validation of customer details and make the customer acquisition process less of a headache.”

With more initiatives in the wings, Brookson is looking to significantly increase its customer base across all services lines and continue to improve the quality of service it provides to limited company, sole trader and umbrella company customers. The new Experian software will make the joining process more efficient while delivering a better joining experience for the customer.

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Brookson Completes 2010 Strategic Recruitment Programme

Brookson, a leading tax accountant and support services provider, has completed its strategic recruitment drive to help strengthen its existing senior team in preparation for extensive 2010 growth plans.

The senior management team appointments consist of new sales and marketing director, Chris Bowden, head of group marketing, Sandi Rowley, and head of new business, Andrew Sloan. These sales appointments together with recent appointments in operations and IT build on Brookson’s tax accountant expertise to create a team with the appropriate depth of experience to achieve its growth plans.

Chris Bowden, 42, has over 20 years experience in global logistics, specialising in corporate account management and sales. Chris joins from FedEx where he managed large multinational, global accounts including Rolls-Royce, Microsoft, Dell and HP.

Appointed to communicate the development and modernisation of Brookson services through numerous new marketing channels, Chris will reaffirm Brookson’s commitment to support its customers with the latest technological innovations.

Chris will be challenged with building multi channel strategies across all Brookson service lines including limited company, sole trader and umbrella company service lines.

Sandi Rowley is a highly accredited B2B marketer and joins the Brookson team from Alliance and Leicester commercial banking, with over 21 years of direct marketing experience in the finance industry. Tasked with ambitiously growing the business through the integration of key marketing channels, Sandi will be using direct and digital strategies to support new initiatives that will position the company at the forefront of accountancy services. Sandi’s experience at A&L marketing products and services to entrepreneurs looking to set up a business will be invaluable to Brookson.

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Brookson Launches New Healthcare Initiative For Customers

Brookson has launched a new healthcare initiative with health and wellness care provider Bupa.

Brookson Launches New Healthcare Initiative For Customers

Brookson, a leading tax accountant and support services provider, has negotiated an exclusive discount with the leader in health and wellness care, Bupa, for private medical insurance.

The 25 per cent discount is applicable to Brookson customers and their immediate family to provide peace of mind now and in the future. This initiative is available across all Brookson’s service lines which include self employed customers working through their own limited company, or as a sole trader, as well as customers working through Brookson’sumbrella company as employees.

Andy Linaker, strategic business manager of Bupa, added: “Self-employed individuals are some of the most vulnerable workers in the marketplace when it comes to illness or accidents. With their focus often around securing contracts and ensuring a regular flow of work, arranging private healthcare typically falls to the bottom of the priority list. While the UK is fortunate enough to have the NHS, it is important not to underestimate the impact that prolonged waiting lists or extended treatment can have on the income of a self-employed individual.”

Bupa’s private medical insurance provides flexibility and swift access to treatments, with the minimum amount of fuss. By working closely together Brookson and Bupa plan to enhance the Bupa offering and create a variety of bespoke benefits for Brookson customers.

Brookson’s approach is to provide additional benefits to customers on top of accountancy advice and support services. Brookson want to provide their self employed and sole trader customers with the ability to plan ahead and minimise the impact on income as much as possible, should illness occur. Bupa recognise the challenges that self employed professionals face during periods of illness making them an ideal partner.

Via EPR Network
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Brookson Purchases The Latest In Customer Relationship Management Software

Brookson, a leading accountancy provider, has purchased the latest in customer relationship management (CRM) software from K3 Business Technology Group (K3).

Brookson Purchases The Latest In Customer Relationship Management Software

Brookson will use the system to drive new business through highly structured sales and marketing campaigns and it is anticipated that the system will assist the company to grow its customer base from the current 9,000 to 16,000 in three years time.

As a contractor accountant, Brookson is targeting self-employed professionals trading through a Limited company or as a self employed sole trader. Brookson will also target temporary workers that do not want to run their own business but would benefit from working as employees through Brookson’s umbrella company.

The new Microsoft Dynamics product replaces an in-house bespoke solution and is a major step forward in technology for the Warrington-based firm. It will integrate seamlessly with Brookson’s other Microsoft technology. This will provide a unique technological platform to support and focus the company’s sales efforts, allowing much greater levels of organisation so that each campaign is processed systematically.

Lee Kingshott, IS Director for Brookson, commented: “We recognise the benefits that an effective CRM management can give to our business and we are always looking for efficient ways to improve our systems. It is this innovative approach that has contributed to our continued success and we look forward to the ongoing development of the relationship with K3.”

“Brookson presents a perfect opportunity for utilising the latest in CRM technology. The system designed by K3 will enable the company to focus its sales activities by enabling more effective use of its extensive limited company and self employed sole trader prospect databases. Information will flow more freely throughout the company and there will be tighter integration with its other Microsoft technology,” said Maggi Fraser, general manager of K3 Business Technology Group.

The system is now in place and has been used throughout Brookson’s recent Revolution campaign, which was launched through eye-catching direct mailshots and emails, targeting those currently running their own business and those looking to set up a business. The campaign makes business owners aware of a service that is far removed from the traditional tax accountancy service they may currently use.

Via EPR Network
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Brookson Joined By New Tax And IT Specialists To Head Up Growing Departments

Brookson, a leading tax accountant and support services provider has introduced a specialist tax team led by Matt Fryer to support the increasingly wider tax advice needs of its customers. In addition, Brookson has strengthened its team with IT director, Lee Kingshott as it continues with its revolutionary approach to online support for accountancy services.

Brookson Joined By New Tax And IT Specialists To Head Up Growing Departments

Brookson recently established a sole trader service to complement their established limited company and umbrella company service lines as part of a strategy to reach a wider market place. These latest appointments are considered key in order to deliver a market leading service.

As Brookson customers include engineers, IT contractors and healthcare professionals, the specialist expertise which Matt and Lee bring to the business will help in supporting delivery of innovative solutions to these self employed professionals.

Matt, will head up the team responsible for ensuring that HMRC obligations are met and tax planning opportunities are maximised for Brookson customers. Matt is an experienced tax accountant, with nine years experience in the field of ‘personal tax advice’ following roles with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and KPMG.

Lee has a close understanding of Brookson’s market having worked as a limited company IT contractor himself. Lee joins from Surecomp Business Solutions, having also held directorships with subsidiaries of the Royal Bank of Scotland and senior positions within Barclays Bank.

Recruited to oversee Brookson’s IT operations, Lee’s main focus will be delivering excellence in customer service. This will involve the evaluation and implementation of the latest technology available and maintaining ongoing security of Brookson’s on-line services to sole traders, limited companies and to their umbrella company employees.

About Brookson
Brookson is a leading tax accountant, IR35 specialist and supports service providers through to small businesses and business start ups. Brookson supports self employed people in their chosen way of working through its limited company, sole trader and umbrella company services. As a 150 strong accountancy service, managing the affairs of over 9000 customers, Brookson is committed to offering the very best service, support and advice.

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Wisteria Formations Releases New Complete Company Formation Guide

Wisteria formations, the UK’s leading online company formation agent, confirms the release of their complete company formations guide. Following an increasing number of enquiries from clients, Wisteria Formations can announce the release of the complete company formations guide. Wisteria Formations is one of the UK’s leading company formation agents. The company is backed by Wisteria Chartered Accountants, the accounting, tax and business plan specialists. They have been able to draw on all of this knowledge to produce a complete guide to incorporating a company in the UK, available for free download on their website, www.wisteriaformations.co.uk.

Andrew Millet, Director of Wisteria Formations and Wisteria Chartered Accountants, explains what prompted the release of the guide, “We often receive enquiries from clients regarding what they need to think about when setting up a company, as well as more specific queries. There is a lot of information available on the internet, but it was not easy for clients starting out for the first time to know where to look for it. In addition, you can’t always get all of the information you need in one place. The aim when producing our new company formation guide was to help our clients understand the process of forming their company and the things they need to think about. We have ensured it is easily found by placing a PDF version of it on our homepage in an accessible format.”

The company formations guide is designed to help people in a wide range of situations, from complete beginners to those who may have incorporated a number of companies before. It deals with issues arising at the conception of the business such as which business structure to use and takes you through the formation process step by step dealing with the issues you need to consider after formation. The majority of the guide is about how to go about forming a limited company and responsibilities you take on by doing so. This is useful for many new company formations as often people start a limited company without being fully aware of the responsibilities that they will take on as a director of a company.

Other information on the internet comes from many different sources and you will often find conflicting advice which can easily lead to a misunderstanding. The complete company formation guide aims to rectify this problem by taking people step by step through everything you need to consider when forming a limited company.

Wisteria Formations are happy to offer free support and advice when working through the online company formation process, through their UK customer support team. This, along with this the creation of the new company formations guide, will hopefully help to improve the understanding of limited companies in the future.

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