The Positive Accountant - Vol 1 Ed 21
Today's been an interesting day, the sun has been shining, lots of good things happened. And we're on edition 21 of this blob (as someone referred to it today)
A new phenomenon happened on a conference call I was hosting this morning, one that isn't on the Bingo card (see edition 11). Partway through the call there was a 'beep' and the announcement said 'Guest 1 has left the call'. I wasn't sure whether this by accident or deliberate. Guest 1 will be reading this, only she knows !
Unfortunately Guest 1 was quite important to the call continuing. So we waited.
And waited.
After a while I texted 'Guest 1' and told her she had left the call, could she dial back in. The reply was unfortunately not as the paper on which the number and PIN was written had been destroyed as soon as it had been used.
No harm done, it was re-texted across and Guest 1 rejoined. But it just proves that the conference call glitches happen to the best of us !
Remember, if you have 'missed' any previous blobs, they can be found at
http://www.positiveaccountant.com
What are my positives today:-:
1. It looks like a great year for getting tax returns done. My family hate January. My children know that Dad's always grumpy(er), that he has to work goodness knows how many hours every day and night, getting tax returns in (just) before the midnight on 31st January deadline. (Last one this year (mine, ahem) was 23.59)
But the information for two returns, which normally arrives on 27th January, popped into my inbox today.
2. Somebody out there has been trawling the internet for me.
Last night I referred to the benefit of not having to readTaxationand cast some insinuations about those that enjoy it.
Today I received an email from a reader, Jonathan, who would fit the category of a 'letterbox waiter'. He sent me a link to a 2006 article. A long since forgotten article about a seriously dull piece of tax legislation, Treasury Consents and cross border transactions.
Co-authored by yours truly.
Anyone who is bored rigid over the long weekend can find it at
https://www.taxation.co.uk/articles/2006-03-30-215541-age-consent
3. The Easter Bunny is coming soon....
Assuming that he's not self isolating....
And talking of self isolation, Roberta (name changed to protect the innocent !) says thatafter three weeks of working from home, she's decided that she needs to self isolate from the fridge...
And what am I talking to clients about today ?
Employee problems - most of those who employ people have wonderful staff. I know that I do. (I have to say that - I think they read these blobs)
But a couple of times this week I've bumped into client problems with furloughed staff, presumably enjoying the sunshine, who've refused the idea of coming back to work next week. One has even gone as far as to hire a no win no fee lawyer claiming discrimination asking for one staff member to go back to work whilst others are furloughed.
Sad, but a reminder that there may be problems lurking in the future,
Banking - a common issue this week has been a company approaching its bank asking for support. Let's say they have asked for an overdraft of £200,000, the logic being that that gives them all they need plus a margin of safety, allowing the director to sleep at night
But the cashflow projections which the bank require show peak overdraft at £120,000.
Banks won't give facilities that aren't needed. So either only ask for what you need, or make the projections match the request (with contingencies in there if needed). Also bear in mind that the projections need to be believable and show that the business has a long term future.
Stay safe, enjoy the weekend
Adrian
07917 338342
Earlier this year the girls went on a Chocolate Making course
These were the results. And as Easter is here now, I wonder if they can be tempted to try again....