A group of more than 80 business leaders from companies investing in innovation, R&D and new technology attended a seminar that explored funding options and incentives for innovation in Oil & Gas and support for research and development last week. Organised by the Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC) and Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), it was hosted at AAB’s Kingshill View office in the Prime Four Business Park. Delegates were given the opportunity to hear from numerous organisations with expertise in this area spanning, funding, R&D tax credits, innovation, collaboration as well as hearing from oil and gas technology developers who have accessed innovation funding and R&D tax credits who shared their experiences and the impact on their business.

Alasdair Green, Head of Management Consulting at AAB commented “there are a number of misconceptions around R&D tax which can discourage businesses from claiming what their innovation and development activities entitle them to. Additionally, some claims can simply be incorrect and incur adjustments or penalties. It’s so important for companies investing in new technology to be aware of the funding options available, tax relief, what the eligibility requirements are and the best approach to take so that they can continue to invest in innovation and drive their businesses forward.

We were delighted with the turn out to the event and the experiences shared by all presenters, which has hopefully given delegates an insight into this area and the significant potential it presents for supporting innovation projects.”

Ian Phillips, Chief Executive of OGIC added “Technology development and innovation are key themes for industry as part of the wider maximising economic recovery agenda in the UK. There is a range of support and benefits available to companies investing in research and development and this event highlighted the opportunities which are open to them and how to access these. Ensuring that businesses receive the relevant support will accelerate the speed at which technological advances are brought to market to address real industry challenges.”

Presenters on the day included:

• Hydrasun
• Aubin Group
• Blaze Manufacturing
• Oil & Gas Innovation Centre (OGIC)
• Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP
• Interface
• Scottish Enterprise
• Innovate UK

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB) has announced that during the year, the firm set up the Anderson Anderson & Brown Charitable Initiative (AABIE). The official launch of AABIE occurred at AAB’s ‘A Festive Welcome to Kingshill View’ event held with their clients last week at their new offices in the Prime Four Business Park. The event saw an appearance from AABIE (the mascot) herself to mark the announcement as Drum Property Group’s Managing Director Graeme Bone carried out the official opening.

AABIE has been set up as the platform which facilitates everyone at AAB to be able to invest in the communities in which they operate. The initiative seeks partnership with charities, invites applications from worthy causes for donations and grants from the initiative, and also enables employees to use their time and skills to support local charities through projects and volunteering events.

AABIE is managed by a Board of Trustees, all of whom are senior members of the firm’s leadership team, and is chaired by Sheena Anderson, one of the founding Partners of AAB (now retired). Activities undertaken, all of which are supported by relevant teams and committees across the firm, come under five strategic themes, namely; Education, Health & Wellbeing, Community & Volunteering, Fundraising and Environment.

Staff have been raising funds for the initiative ahead of launching and have also been using volunteering time to support a number of schools, universities and local charities, which totals well over 1000 hours to date.

Graeme Allan commented “fundraising and supporting local charities has always been part of life at AAB with our dedicated fundraising committee raising a cumulative total of over £110,000 for charities since it launched in 2008. The introduction of AABIE will enable us to enhance the work we already do within the local community and to increase our involvement further, by giving us a platform to work with numerous charities and worthy causes.

The idea for AABIE came out of a great corporate social responsibility discussion we had with our staff and their own desire to give even more back as a firm. We are hugely excited to be launching AABi and are delighted we were able to do this with our valued clients at our first Christmas event in our new home.

The trustees look forward to receiving applications from the fantastic causes in our local community, who meet the funding criteria, and distributing grants in the New Year and beyond.”

During the Festive Season, AABIE will be supporting VSA, SSPCA and Instant Neighbour with Giving Boxes. Find out more information on the funding criteria and application process.

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, is pleased to announce the launch of a new specialist Training Division to build on existing workshops and courses currently delivered to clients.

Businesses will benefit from AAB’s combination of industry experience, practical knowledge and real business solutions, providing high quality training courses suitable to all industries.

AAB understands the challenges that businesses face and has tailored a range of courses current to the market in the following disciplines:

• Financial
• Corporate Tax
• Indirect Tax
• Employment Tax
• International Tax
• Charity Services
• Anti-Bribery

The new division will be headed up by Gary Johnstone, and supported by Alasdair Green, Claire Smith, Sarah Munro and Kirsten Robertson.

Course attendees will learn from a range of real case studies bringing practical solutions to current business challenges. This will strengthen businesses and improve individuals’ technical skills and commercial awareness. AAB’s specialist courses will ensure that your team will have the expertise necessary to address business challenges and plan for the future.

Douglas Martin, Partner, commented “We are delighted to be launching our new training division. We have been successfully providing our clients with relevant training workshops in a number of areas and by establishing and developing a broader and more complimentary range of training courses, this will enable us to provide further assistance to our clients, ensuring that we are best placed to help them achieve the best possible results.”

Gary Johnstone added “At AAB we understand the importance of having an exceptional team with the expertise and skills required to add value to a business and the role that quality and relevant training has in achieving this. We look to forward to developing new and existing client relationships through our specialist and bespoke courses in financial and tax disciplines and can tailor the delivery of these to our clients’ exact needs.”

The first two courses from this new specialist training division which AAB will run are ‘Indirect Tax Considerations For International Trade’ on Wednesday 7 December 2016 and ‘Innovations Tax Relief’ on Wednesday 18 January 2017. More information on booking can be found on the Training Page of the AAB website.

AAB have over 250 people working in specialised teams across 39 different service lines, all focused on working in partnership with clients to understand and help deliver their ambitions.

AAB one of the leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, is delighted to announce that their Integrated Employment Solutions team (IES) received the Auto-enrolment Engagement of the Year award last night at the 2016 Payroll World Awards.

This award recognised AAB’s commitment in delivering successful auto-enrolment strategies by implementing an efficient process that benefited their clients, whilst also ensuring the best savings outcomes for employees. The auto-enrolment award also recognised the delivery of communication plans which went above and beyond what is required by law, and the demonstration a high level of on-going client engagement, throughout the auto-enrolment project and beyond.

Payroll World’s established flagship event unites the industry for an evening of celebration, honouring individuals and teams for outstanding achievements and pioneering work within the payroll industry. AAB has been successful at these awards for five consecutive years, receiving various awards for innovative client service, specialist payroll services and the team’s commitment to the training and development of their people.

Steven Fraser, Director at AAB commented “We are delighted with this national recognition of our firm’s achievements. It is rewarding that the hard work of our staff and their commitment to providing our clients with the best service possible is being highlighted in this manner. Each year offers up different challenges and through their exceptional talent, experience and expertise our people continue to rise to the occasion and deliver results time and time again.”

Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), one of the leading independent firms of Chartered Accountants in Scotland, is pleased to announce the launch of a new Litigation Support service to augment the existing share valuation and forensic accounting services it currently offers to clients.

AAB’s new Litigation Support service encompasses dispute resolution, expert witness assignments, valuations and investigations in the following areas:

• Corporate and Commercial
• Family and Personal
• Forensic
• Insolvency

The new division shall initially comprise an experienced team of six, which will be headed up by Corporate Finance Partner Gordon Steele and Audit Partner James Pirrie.

Gordon Steele commented “We are delighted to be launching this new service line. We have successfully been providing support and advice to clients and their legal team in this area for a number years, but this new service line allows us to bring all of our expertise in house together by establishing and developing a broader and more complimentary range of litigation support services. This will enable us to assist our clients in new ways.”

Jim Pirrie added “We are excited to bring this new service offering to the market and look forward to enhancing our reputation in this space, and building new relationships. Clients who require this type of support and advice require a partner who can use sound judgement and commercial sense to deliver a comprehensive service and our multifunctional approach makes us an ideal partner to guide them through those difficult times.”

Maritime Assurance & Consulting (MAC) has been acquired by Bureau Veritas (BV) a global leader in testing, inspection and certification (TIC)

Based in Aberdeen, Maritime Assurance & Consulting was established in 2010 and now has 30 employees as well as more than 40 associates. MAC’s principal market is in offshore oil and gas, in which they hold a number of significant frame agreements with leading operators and service providers. For more than 90 clients worldwide, MAC provides high quality support in Dynamic Positioning Assurance and Consulting, Engineering Assurance and Consulting, Marine Warranty, Marine Assurance and Consulting and Project Assurance and Consulting.

Graeme Reid, MAC Managing Director, added: “Joining BV, Maritime Assurance & Consulting can quickly accelerate its growth through the global footprint of BV, supported with the resources to access this network. This provides growth opportunities for MAC and development opportunities for our employees.”

MAC’s capabilities will be a great enabler to further develop Maritime Assurance services for BV clients worldwide, in particular in the offshore sector. MAC will operate as a wholly owned BV subsidiary, continuing to provide the level of service and support its clients are accustomed to. The business will continue to be managed by the existing directors and senior management team.

Anderson Anderson & Brown Corporate Finance acted as lead advisors to the majority shareholders of Maritime Assurance & Consulting in the disposal to BV.

Anderson Anderson & Brown (AAB), one of Scotland’s largest independent firms of Chartered Accountants, has announced the appointment of Alistair Duncan as Director of Indirect Tax.

In a career spanning over 27 years, the extensive knowledge and experience of indirect tax gained first with HMRC and then in practice since 1998, allows Alistair to provide innovative solutions for clients helping them to minimise their VAT liabilities in a tax compliant manner. Alistair joins a dedicated and highly experienced team at AAB. The Indirect Tax team offer clients practical assistance and solutions tailored to their individual needs from a comprehensive service offering ranging from compliance matters to complex restructuring projects.

On his appointment, Alistair commented, “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to join such a strong team at AAB. The next few years promise to be an exciting and interesting time for indirect tax and, at AAB, we have a team that will be able to help our clients meet the coming challenges.”

Graeme Allan, Managing Partner at AAB commented “Alistair is an excellent addition to our Leadership Team at AAB and we are delighted to welcome him to our firm. The wealth of knowledge and experience he has further enhances the ability of our team to provide top quality indirect tax services to our clients.”

The Partners of AAB are delighted to announce the promotion of three members of their Management Team to Senior Manager positions.

Jill Walker is a member of AAB’s Private Client Team where she focuses on managing the tax affairs of partnerships and individuals, including individuals who require advice around residence and domicile. Jill is also part of AAB’s specialist Expertise to Entrepreneurs (‘E2’) team where she provides entrepreneurial tax advice concentrating on tax efficient business structuring and remuneration.

Andrew Dines is a senior member of AAB’s Wealth Team of Chartered Financial Planners. Andy is a specialist, qualified to advise in key areas such as Defined Benefit pensions, Estate Planning and has developed our EIS and VCT propositions. His principal role is providing personalised planning support, liaising with tax specialists across the wider business, helping clients navigate the complex world of investment, tax and wealth management.

Katy Burr is a specialist within AAB’s Integrated Employment Solutions team and leads our UK and Global Payroll offering. Katy helps businesses navigate the increasingly complex payroll requirements across all countries and sectors. Katy is a previous winner of the ‘Payroll Manager of the Year’ award at the prestigious Payroll World Awards.

Graeme Allan, Managing Partner, commented “these promotions demonstrate the broad range of specialist skills we continue to develop within our team and we are confident they will further enhance our client service delivery.”

We are delighted to announce that the firm has been shortlisted for the 2016 Payroll World Awards in the categories of Best Employer in Payroll, Payroll Provider of the Year and Auto-Enrolment Engagement of the Year. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in London on Thursday 3 November.

Now entering its 6th year, Payroll World’s established flagship event unites the industry for an evening of celebration, honouring individuals and teams for outstanding achievements and pioneering work within the payroll industry. AAB has been successful at these awards for four consecutive years, receiving various awards for innovative client service, specialist payroll services and the team’s commitment to the training and development of their people.

Commenting on this latest recognition of the firm Steven Fraser, Director at AAB said “It is fantastic to receive this continued recognition for our team’s achievements and that the work we do is being viewed positively by independent bodies. We pride ourselves on doing the very best for our clients and our people, so it is great to be shortlisted for these particular awards, which are a testament to this commitment.”

A ‘pillar of the North-east business community’ has been awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award 2016’ at one of Aberdeen’s most prestigious annual business events.

Mike Brown, a Founding Partner of Aberdeen-based Chartered Accountancy firm Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP (AAB), was presented with the accolade at the annual Elevator Awards which was held at the Mercure Ardoe House Hotel.

Attended by more than 400 people, the Elevator Awards commend business excellence, entrepreneurial behaviour and outstanding community contributions made by top businesses in Aberdeen City and Shire. Winners announced represent a wide range of up-and-coming companies, innovative organisations and firms from sectors including energy, technology, sport, leisure, food and drink, beauty and professional services.

Gold Paralympian and World Record Holder Richard Whitehead was the keynote speaker at the event, which sold out in record time and has been hailed as the most successful to date, with the number of applicants up 25% on last year.

Presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Steve Cook, Chairman of Elevator said that Mike Brown had demonstrated a devotion to his profession second to none and had given a lot to the business community in the North-east.

The driving force behind much of the growth and diversification within the ever-expanding AAB, he always puts his clients first and does the best for them. He has also been involved with the enterprise movement for many years, firstly with Aberdeen Enterprise Trust and then with the merged Enterprise North East Trust, now Elevator – an 18-year stint in this voluntary capacity always giving a very much valued and reasoned opinion.