Services
Audit & Assurance
External, internal and joint venture audit services
Business Advisory
Management accounts, strategic planning, profit improvement, ESG
Corporate Finance
M&A advisory, selling a business, fundraising, valuations, due diligence
ESG
Baseline assessments, materiality assessments, carbon footprint and sustainability reporting
Hotel Accounting
Accounting function, automation, daily reconciliations and dashboards, accounts payable
Payroll & Employment
Payroll, global mobility, employee benefits, employment taxes
Private Clients & High Net Worth Individuals
Tax planning & compliance, tax residence and domicile, trust planning
Restructuring & Recovery
Business rescue, liquidations, administrations, insolvency, debt recovery
Tax
Corporate tax, customs duty, VAT, R&D, tax investigations, international tax
Virtual Finance
Bespoke service providing real-time information about your business performance
More from AAB
AAB PEOPLE
Full-service people consultancy – human resources, learning and development
AAB WEALTH
Financial planning, cash flow modelling, retirement planning
AAB Consulting
Business consultancy helping organisations with the challenge of change
Sectors
Business Services
Professional services, medical, recruitment and media
Construction & Property
Property developers, construction companies, housebuilders, landlords
Energy
Renewables, clean energy, energy producers, energy transition, exploration and production
Family Business
Specialist support for businesses owned/managed by families
Food & Drink
Food & drink producers, processors, importers, wholesalers and retailers
Industrial
Engineering, manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, shipping, distribution
Leisure, Retail and Hospitality
Fashion, entertainment, activity centres, hoteliers
Not For Profit
Charities, social housing, higher and further education institutions
Public Sector
Government, non-departmental public bodies, health boards, ALEOS
Technology
Software companies, tech start-ups, cybersecurity firms, and AI innovators.
About
AABout Us
Our story
Our Team
Meet the specialists
Careers
Join the AAB team
Diversity & Inclusion
Building a business where everyone feels they belong
Growing Sustainably - ESG
ESG – Our commitment to building a sustainable business
News
Latest news from across AAB Group
AABIE
AAB charitable initiative
Latest deal boosts AAB Wealth assets under advice beyond £1 billion
Insights
Blogs
Stay informed with cutting-edge news for business growth. Our experts offer industry insights and invaluable advice on accountancy and business strategies.
Case studies
Explore insightful case studies tailored to specific industries, offering invaluable lessons and strategies for success.
Webinars & Events
Engage with dynamic webinars and events tailored to your interests, offering valuable insights and networking opportunities.
ESG Diligence: The Key To Sustainable M&A Transactions
AAB / Blog / Addressing challenges, changes & uncertainty
BLOG15th Mar 2019
“May you live in interesting times” is allegedly a Chinese proverb (or maybe it’s just a quote from 90s film “Disclosure”!) but there is little doubt that we do indeed live in interesting times. To name but a few issues – at the time of writing, the actual outcome of Brexit remains unclear, potential calls for a second Scottish Independence referendum depending on how Brexit does work out remain, and retailers on our country’s High Streets (and their suppliers/stakeholders), which struggled badly throughout 2018, can’t be looking forward to any real respite in 2019.
All the above uncertainty will be impacting on a great number of businesses in the North-East, and any business-owner that thinks the best way forward is to stick their head in the sand and hope it all works out OK is most definitely taking a risk.
Any business with any part of their operations involving other EU countries should be considering having contingency plans drawn up. Changes in import/export tariffs (if any) may have a financial impact, but more simply new customs arrangements may result in delays in importing/exporting goods. What happens if the goods you are importing are delayed? What happens if your customer needs that order by a certain date? Does this cause a problem for your cash flow if your supplier needs to be paid now but you won’t even have the goods until later, let alone received the payment from the end customer?
But there are other issues on the table currently that will impact on businesses regardless of Brexit. The oil and gas sector in the North-East has always had a significant number of Personal Service Companies involved. The government’s last budget announced changes in the way the taxation of such companies will be viewed by HM Revenue and Customs, beginning in April 2020.
From then, medium and large businesses who contract with PSCs will be responsible for assessing whether employment taxes should be deducted – the change here being that the responsibility currently lies with the PSC itself (long known as “IR35”). Businesses that engage PSCs will have to conduct a thorough review of the relationships they have with these companies, as if HMRC review the position afterwards and determine that employment taxes should have been deducted from payments made to the PSC, then the “employer” can expect to receive assessments for the unpaid taxes and interest/penalties on top.
Small businesses remain outside this change – but PSCs themselves should be wary of this area that HMRC are now taking a very close look at. The legislation underpinning this whole area is complex, and the financial outcomes could be very significant – head in the sand is not the way to go here.
For more information or to ask any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly.
Find out more about our Restructuring & Recovery team.
How AAB can help you with
If you or your business are experiencing financial difficulties, we can advise on your best course of action and options available, including your duties as a Director and whether a rescue is possible for your business. Not all our work involves distressed situations; we have extensive experience with Members' Voluntary Liquidations (MVLs) and strike-offs and will work with our corporate and personal tax teams, to advise on the most tax-efficient route for the beneficiaries.
Related services