< Previous10Promotions at Roythornes Solicitors signals expansion plansRoythornesSolicitors isgrowing itsNottinghamteam with anumber ofinternalpromotions.RebeccaJackson, AlexArmstrong,Lizzie Walters,ClaireHindmarsh andLisa Millingtonhave beenpromoted toassociates.Jackson, whohas been withthe firm for ten years and specialises in, commercial, agriculturaland charity property transactions, said: “After training andqualifying at Roythornes, I am delighted to be able to progress mycareer even further within the team.“It’s a pleasure to work with such talented and skilled colleagueswhilst watching the firm continue to grow and be successful. Wehave some amazing clients and are involved in several majortransactions, which is exciting and motivating for a developingsolicitor.”Walters works within the corporate and commercial team. Shesaid: “I’m very pleased with my new role. Roythornes is a fantasticcompany to work for, and I’m looking forward to developing thefirm’s specialism in company restructurings and demergers.”Vember Mortlock, Managing Director of Roythornes, said:“Rebecca, Alex, Claire, Lisa and Lizzie’s work ethic andcommitment to the firm has been exemplary and I am delighted toannounce their new titles. Their knowledge will be invaluable whenmanaging client activity, such as property transactions, mergersand acquisitions.”East Mids recruitment firmannounces 7 new startersto handle surge in demandMidlands-based recruitment consultancy Macildowie is onceagain expanding, with seven new starters, following a verysuccessful first half of 2017 and a surge in demand for its award-winning services.The appointments include a managing consultant, threerecruitment consultants, two trainees and a member of supportstaff, across its offices in Nottingham, Leicester and Milton Keynes.Leicester’s newest additions include Becca Wilson, who after aperiod away working in the family business, re-joins Macildowie,working within the Supply Chain team. Leicester is also welcomingNeale Farthing, who joins as a trainee consultant within the HRdivision, after a successful Rugby youth career, playing for LeicesterTigers Academy and going on to achieve five caps in England’sUnder 18 side.The Finance division in Nottingham will be enhanced with theaddition of Megan Ward as a recruitment consultant, whilst JamesProctor joins the Procurement and Supply team as a trainee.Chantelle Arnold will be the newest recruit to the support team.Further afield, Milton Keynes is set to benefit from the extensiveexperience of Sunil Bali, who joins the team as a managingconsultant, recruiting in the senior HR space. Sunil is a coach,published author and speaker, and in recent years has been Head ofTalent at business giants Vodafone, Santander and Co-op.Commenting on the appointments, Managing Director JamesTaylor said: “We are delighted to be welcoming such a pool oftalent within the wider team here at Macildowie. Our internalrecruitment process was sparked by an increased demand from ourclients to find high quality candidates to support their businessneeds.“Our ambitious three-year ‘Building Great Futures’ initiative,which focuses on internal staff development to create a market-leading customer value proposition, is well underway. Theappointment of these seven new starters, all of whom join anadditional seven appointed in the late spring, is solid evidence ofthe success of this strategy, and marks a period of unprecedentedgrowth for the business.”Macildowie, which counts Paul Smith, E.ON and Boots within itsclient portfolio, made a repeat appearance on the Sunday TimesBest Small Companies to Work For list this year. It was alsoawarded the prestigious 3-star ‘extraordinary’ accreditation, whichuses questionnaires to measure staff satisfaction in eight areasacross the business, such as personal growth opportunities and theleadership provided.East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.ukAPPOINTMENTSNew partnerjoins Sills &Betteridge inNottinghamEast Midlands law firm Sills &Betteridge LLP has recently appointedSuzanne McAuley as a Partner in thefirm’s Nottingham Office.Suzanne specialises in advisingclients on personal matters. Thisincludes estate planning, successionplanning for business owners, wills,powers of attorney, trusts, taxplanning, Court of Protectionmatters and mitigating the impactof care home fees. She will alsowork with the firm’s corporateclients to run clinics for employeeswho may need legal advice.Suzanne is a fully accredited member of STEP (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) andSFE (Solicitors for the Elderly). She will join a team of 16 specialists which includes departmenthead Richard Bussell, and Duncan MacLaren, who was previously the senior partner of law firmMacLaren Britton, with whom Sills & Betteridge merged in 2013 in order to begin developing theirpresence in Nottingham.Originally from Belfast, Suzanne has worked as a solicitor in the Nottingham area for the last 7years. Commenting on her new role, she said, “As one of the largest firms in the East Midlands, Iknew Sills & Betteridge was keen to develop its presence in Nottingham and look forward tohelping them achieve this objective.”Richard Bussell added: “As well as being experts in their field, solicitors who specialise in thisarea of work need to have a caring and compassionate approach when dealing with clients andthese skills come very naturally to Suzanne. She advises clients in a very straightforward andconfident manner and will be a great asset to the firm.”New BusinessManager at SkyRecruitmentSky Recruitment Solutions hasappointed Natalie Parkinson as thecompany’s first Business Manager.The appointment comes hot on theheels of Sky’s recent expansion; withinthe last six months the number of staff hasrisen to 15, including new interns andadministrators.The company was also recentlyshortlisted as a finalist in East MidlandsChamber’s Derbyshire Chamber BusinessAwards 2017, in the Commitment toPeople Development category.David Torrington, Managing Director,said: “In the three and a half years sinceSky Recruitment Solutions started training, I have never known such an exciting time for the business.“Internal promotions, a new Business Manager in Derby (Natalie Parkinson), new premises, recognition for thebusiness in terms of Chamber of Commerce awards nominations etc. – and a current projection of 20-30% growthyear on year in terms of turnover.“My teams are going from strength to strength, and both Ripley and Derby offices are on an upward trajectory – Iwouldn’t swap my staff or my business for anything!”New MarketingManager atLeicesteraccountants,Newby CastlemanLeicester-based accountants, NewbyCastleman, has appointed Nicola Cooper tothe role of Marketing Manager.Nicola has spent the past five yearscarving her career in marketing, mostrecently at Effect Digital, a Leicester-basedmarketing agency, where she managed clientaccounts and campaigns in a variety ofsectors.Her new role will involve looking after allaspects of Newby Castleman’s marketingoperations, from budgeting and strategy towebsite content and organising andmanaging corporate events.Nicola says: “I’m really happy to betaking up this position at Newby Castlemanand I’m eager to start implementing myplans to freshen up our marketing content.“We have a great team here and I’vebeen made to feel very welcome. We hosta heap of games nights, challenges andcharity events which everyone enjoys.“I am hoping to grow our digitalpresence too – we are a localLeicestershire firm and I plan toshowcase some of the great events andthings in our city and county via oursocial channels.”Stephen Castleman, partner atNewby Castleman, said: “It iswonderful for the business to havesomeone with Nicola’s dynamism onboard and we believe she has amajor role to play in driving thebusiness forward.“We have been impressed withthe significant contributions shehas already made to a numberof projects in the short timeshe has been with thecompany, such as the launchof our redesigned websiteand our Hope AgainstCancer social mediacampaign.”www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 11East Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk12Manufacturing production at fastest growth since1995Production among UK manufacturers grew at the fastest pace since January 1995 in the three months to July,according to the latest quarterly CBI Industrial Trends Survey.The survey of 397 manufacturers also found that employee headcount increased at the fastest rate for three years andthat hiring intentions for the coming quarter also improved.Optimism, meanwhile, rose marginally in the three months to July, while export optimism for the year ahead rose at aslower, but still healthy pace.Growth in total orders moderated in line with expectations, but remained robust. Domestic orders expanded at a strongpace, similar to the rate in the previous quarter, and growth in export orders also remained brisk, despite slowingsomewhat.Output growth is expected to continue to grow strongly in the quarter ahead and manufacturers are upbeat aboutprospects for overall demand.Domestic orders are expected to continue growing strongly, while expectations for growth in export orders improvedto a four-decade high.Alongside robust expectations for demand, firms accumulated raw materials at the fastest pace since April 1977 andstocks of work-in-progress expanded at a record rate.Against this backdrop, investment intentions improved across the board, particularly for training and retraining whereplanned growth in spending for the year ahead is the highest in over two years.MANUFACTURING NEWSETG launches Norton MotorcyclesTechnical Academy as part of £6m planto bridge the skills gapA leading independent machine tool supplier is tackling the skills gap head on after making a£6m commitment to developing a network of Technical Academies.Martin Doyle, Managing Director of the Engineering Technology Group (ETG), made theannouncement at the launch of its first facility at Norton Motorcycles in Castle Donington andlaid out the vision to create a further 14 centres across the UK.The Academies, which will all be located on the site of a strategic manufacturing partner, willprovide companies with the opportunity to upskill their staff on the latest CNC machine tools and precision technology, with some providing a fullapprenticeship curriculum.They have been developed in collaboration with 14 like-minded technical partners with all of the training set to be provided by Ofsted ‘outstanding’ In-Comm Training.Each centre will also provide demonstration/showroom facilities and reflect the manufacturing expertise required by the region they are based in,ensuring firms get access to skills that will help them grow and individuals receive training that will help secure them employment.“There is a real need for industry to get to grips with developing the skills of the next generation of engineers and those already working in the sector,”explained Martin.RSM survey says manufacturers must investin key systems to stay competitiveUK manufacturers need to invest in key business systems to compete with EU and internationalcounterparts, according to a survey by tax consultants RSM.According to the results in RSM’s UK Manufacturing Monitor, over half of manufacturers plan to updatekey business systems within the next five years, with the majority looking to invest within the next threeyears.Ensuring technology is fit for purpose, using technology to improve decision making and integratingtechnology are cited as the biggest digital challenges – highlighting the imminent need for investment.Incorporating new technology into the industry would enable it to become more efficient, modern andcompetitive.Despite this focus, as little as 11% of UK manufacturers currently have sufficient innovation processes inplace to assist them with future growth. Without adequate organisational structures in place that deliveroperational efficiencies, UK manufacturers could lag behind international competition following Brexit. Inparticular, the sector could see increased competition from the low-cost, high quality East Asian productswhich the UK has been safeguarded from as part of the EU. Furthermore, President Trump’s call for UStrade protectionism could lead to new risks, demonstrating a greater need to innovate in order to survive.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ DMITRY KALINOVSKYThird of manufacturers missing outon R&D tax creditsA significant percentage of UK manufacturers are not taking advantage of R&D taxcredits to help support growth, RSM has found.Despite increased government support totalling £2 billion annually, only 59% ofUK manufacturers questioned have claimed R&D tax credits.This means that 41% of manufacturers are not claiming and could be missing outon valuable tax savings.With the uncertainty of Brexit looming, financial assistance for companies that willsupport the UK’s economic prosperity is more important than ever.Innovative development of new or improved products, processes or systemsdeveloped via new methods or techniques could be eligible.In addition, as advanced manufacturing processes filter through the industry theopportunities to claim could increase – highlighting the potential to unlock morecash.Nevertheless, according to the results of RSM’s UK Manufacturing Monitor, only39% of companies surveyed felt very confident that they could access R&D creditsor business grants, with 11% uncertain of their company’s eligibility.Nick Blundell, RSM’s Head of Manufacturing in the central region, said:“Accessing development funding is crucial to the prosperity of the sector,particularly at a time when Brexit negotiations could undermine the current EUfunding streams available.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 13Labour market flexibilityis key strength of UKeconomy says CBIThe Matthew Taylor review, was commissioned by thegovernment to consider how employment practices needto change in order to keep pace with modern businessmodels.The review considered the implications of new forms ofwork, driven by digital platforms, for employee rights andresponsibilities, employer freedoms and obligations, andour existing regulatory framework surroundingemployment.Here, Neil Carberry, CBI Managing Director for Peopleand Infrastructure, responds to the review.“The Taylor Review rightly recognises that labourmarket flexibility is a key strength of the UK economy,driving better outcomes for everyone. Businesses agreethat flexibility must be matched with fairness, but buildingon our current approach, as the report concludes, is theright way forwards. The CBI is ready to work in partnershipwith the government to address the challenges the reportraises.“Spreading good practice, not just focussing on newlaws, is something the CBI has long supported given thelink between good employee relations and higherproductivity, which is the only sustainable route to risingwages and better living standards. There is much for firmsto like, as well as some valid challenges, in the sevensteps the Taylor team has outlined.“A number of proposals in the report will be ofsignificant concern to businesses, however. Changes tothe application of the minimum wage, rewritingemployment status tests and altering agency worker rulescould have unintended consequences that are negative forindividuals, as well as affecting firms’ ability to create newjobs.“The Government will need to consider these aspectsextremely carefully, alongside proposals for any future taxchanges, to ensure our labour market retains the flexibilityand entrepreneurship that has made it the mainstay of theUK economy.”On employment status, Neil says: “Businesses willwelcome the Review’s commitment to maintaining ourthree forms of employment relationship. This establishedapproach is already well-adapted to the modern economy.“Firms agree that more should be done to helpbusinesses and individuals understand their rights – andwelcome the proposal for a day one statement of termsand a fast-track tribunal process to establish status, whichthe CBI has recommended to the Review.“However, proposals to rewrite employment status testswill ring alarm bells in many firms. Starting from scratchwill increase uncertainty and make the law less able torespond to new ways of working in the future.“Reversing the burden of proof will also increaseuncertainty. Individuals would be better protected byenforcing existing legislation and increasing understandingfor employers and labour market participants.”On the Agency Workers Rules, Neilexplains: “Businesses will be deeply disappointed by thestance the review team has taken on agency temps whoare paid between assignments as part of the so-called“Swedish Derogation”. Firms are ready to look at anyevidence of poor practice around these rules – butabolition is not the answer.“The Swedish Derogation is not a loophole, but a keypart of both the EU Directive and the UK deal that broughtin the regulations, allowing workers a stable relationshipwith one agency and therefore greater security. TheGovernment should reject proposals for its abolition.” SHUTTERSTOCK.COM/ SIRTRAVELALOTEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk14ACCOUNTANCY REVIEWMore thanjustbalancingthe booksAn accountant may not work for your company,but there are few who want you to succeed morethan they. Choosing the right one can be adifficult process, however – and many smallbusinesses put far too little thought into it. In times of old, an accountant woulddouble up as a business advisor,offering a sounding board for any newinvestments and business plans – andwith good reason. Few have moreinterest in seeing your companyflourish than the one who handles youraccounts. The stronger a company is,the better the relationship betweenthem and their accountant will be.Choosing the right accountant can be atricky prospect, however. There are many who seeaccountants as a necessity and littlemore, an organisation that will handlethe book keeping, and submit returns –but which will otherwise stay out of theway and be unobtrusive. To be fair,there are many accountants whowould prefer this approach too, butthat is not how many of the larger andmore successful firms operate. Clive Lewis, Head of Enterprise at theInstitute of Chartered Accountants inmore. Like anyone providing a service,it’s important to remember that youraccountant wants your company tosucceed. Doing research is important, but sois knowing what a practice specialisesor has expertise in. This is particularlyimportant for small business and start-ups, as some accountants willspecialise in these, while others workmore with large and establishedcorporate clients. What’s important isto engage and speak with them, bothto find out what they can do, but alsowhat they can do better than anyoneelse.A good relationship with youraccountant is also important to ensureyou are kept up to date on upcomingchanges. A prime example of thiswould be the Making Tax Digital (MTD)policy was the Government’s attemptto update tax returns into the twenty-first century. This was set to affectEngland and Wales (IECAW) says thatchoosing an accountant can be evenmore important than taking on amember of staff. “If you get the wrongperson, you can miss out on thingsyou should know, and that can be verycostly.”It’s not all just in terms of tax savingsas some may think, for an accountantswork can go deeper. A goodaccountant can – and will – help whenit comes to raising capital, especiallyfor new ventures or expansion. Theymight help with identifying grants,government funding pots or tax reliefschemes. They can even help sellshares in a business, crowd fund, orfind angel investors. The problem oftencomes in on the side of the one hiringan accountant, who not only is notaware of this – but may offer anaccountant little chance to explain whatelse they can do, simply asking themto balance the books and nothingNow, it seems as though businesseswill not need to make the switch toMTD and update HMRC quarterly untilat least 2020. There is little doubt thatthe move will be a necessary one, asthe current tax system is consideredoutdated by many. The Government’sdecision will, however, hopefully leadto more consideration being put intothe change, and how to implement it. Chas Roy-Chowhury, head of tax atthe Association of Chartered CertifiedAccountants, added that the changesshould be delayed. “We have raisedsome serious concerns about theimplementation plan for MTD, and weadvised that it be delayed until after theGeneral Election to ensure that there istime for full and comprehensivedebate.” “We also welcome the decision todelay other measures consideredcontroversial – such as interestrestriction, loss relief carry forward, anend to permanent `non-dom` statusand the dividend allowance reduction,so that they can be subject tonecessary scrutiny before beingpassed into law.”Despite being heralded as a changethat will make tax easier for many, it isclear that this is not necessarily thecase. Online and digital tax leavesbusinesses and self-employed at themercy of the state, which has beenknown to make tax mistakes in thepast. Additionally, it is in the interestsof the state not to save businessmoney on tax, but instead to take themost possible. What seems obvious is that this isnot – and never will be – the kind ofchange that will invalidate the need foran accountant. In fact, with the almostcertain move towards more regularlysubmitted tax returns, the need forexpert advice will only becomegreater. www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 15 large businesses by 2018 and smallerones from 2019. Its absence from theFinance Bill has led to its suspensionfor now, but barring a dramatic changeof opinion from the Government, itseems obvious that this will come backto the table at some point.First announced by formerChancellor George Osborne, the policywas cautiously welcomed by many asmaking the affair of tax returns asimpler one. That was, of course, whenless information was available about it.With more details at hand, it has beenpointed out that the new proposalswould require small businesses andthe self-employed to submit tax returnsup to five or more times a year. This isa marked increase on the single returnbusinesses send each year – andwould have placed undue pressure onmany struggling with difficult tradingconditions, or the self-employed whosimply cannot afford such.SHTTERSTOCK / GARRY LEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk16ACCOUNTANCY REVIEWQ&AAntony Voakes& Niall KingsleyDuncan & ToplisWhat are your areas of specialisation?Antony: As a Tax Director with the firm, Ithink our tax advisory function is the best inthe East Midlands and we provide amazingadvice to clients day-in day-out on all areas oftax. I also have a lot of respect for myaccounting colleagues and the excellent workthat they do. Between us we make a reallystrong team. The key for us is getting to knowour clients’ businesses inside and out and thishelps us to provide them with proactive,strategic advice.Niall: A Director at our Loughborough office,my experience is very much of a generalpractitioner having been involved in audit,accounts, VAT and taxation for SMEs. Mypassion, however, lies beyond dealing with thetypical compliance services and more towardsproviding added value business advice to myclients; giving them input and expertise to helpthem overcome the challenges they face or toachieve their objectives and acting as asounding board.How has the accounting professionchanged in recent years?The accounting profession has changedincredibly in recent years and will continue todo so. The latest cloud based accountingsoftware is a world away from bookkeepingsystems that our clients were using 10 yearsago, and this means that we can keep in touchfar more closely with our clients and flag orAntony Voakes,Tax DirectorDuncan & Toplis are one of thelargest independent firms ofChartered Accountants in the EastMidlands, operating out of 11offices in Lincolnshire,Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.We had a chance to catch up withthem this month and talk to twoDirectors, Antony Voakes and NiallKingsley, to find out more.www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 17 What are the most important steps that SMEs cantake to ensure their survival?Considering both the shorter and longer term plans forthe business and the owners is crucial in forming astrategy to achieve them.Building a professional network and surroundingyourself with trusted advisers is key to ensuring yourbusiness can meet the many internal and externalchallenges it will face at the different times in its life cycle.Ensuring records are up to date enables relevantmanagement information to be at hand and timelydecisions to be made, leading to better control of cashflow and financing. In essence it is about being a proactivenot a reactive business. On the same theme it is importantfor an SME to be able to have the ability to adapt andembrace changes, both technological and social, and avoidreliance on a small number of key customers or suppliers.Recruitment is notably a challenge for many businessesat the moment and investing in the development of astrong team is the final point I will make here in terms ofplanning for growth, succession or your exit strategy.help fix any problems quickly and remotely. The latestsoftware generally links directly with the client’sbanking records and is also capable of producing in-depth management information at the touch of a buttonwhich enables us and our clients to be in touch withtheir finances at all times. The clients are even able toaccess their accounting systems from their mobilephones which means that wherever they are in theworld they always have access to their financialinformation.In the future, as accounting systems become evermore sophisticated, we believe that much of thetraditional role of an accountant could be automatedand replaced by artificial intelligence. Therefore wethink that in the future our role as accountant willevolve from compliance to someone who is an adviserand strategic partner in our clients’ businesses.The government’s new initiative on Making TaxDigital has received mixed reviews – are thereany advantages to businesses? This is inevitably going to present challenges to manybusinesses and individuals. The Government’s recentannouncement delaying the proposal until 2019/20 andremoving those below the VAT registration thresholdwas therefore welcome. However, we act for manybusinesses that have already embraced cloudaccounting software, in readiness for MTD, who areseeing the benefits of these systems. The accessibilityto up to date management information plus otherfeatures such as live bank feeds, automation of postingsand invoicing can create huge administrativeefficiencies.What can businesses with little digital experiencedo to adapt to the Making Tax Digital measures?As a first step, look into the software optionsavailable. There are a number of cloud based systemsavailable for a relatively low monthly subscription fee.Take advice from your accountant as to the bestpackage for you. One of the benefits of these cloudaccounting systems is the instant accessibility for bothyou and your accountant meaning if you need help itcan be accessed by both parties and any necessarychanges or postings made. A number of useful videowalkthroughs/demos are available for such software tohelp users, but of course, for some, the best optionmay be to outsource this record keeping to theiraccountant. Niall Kingsley,DirectorEast Midlands Business Link www.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk18BUSINESS SCENEEurope’s largest annual multi-sportfestival for businesses, held inNottingham recently, generated in excessof £3.8m for Nottinghamshire’s economy.The UK games, attracted 5,000participants at various locations aroundthe city, including the University ofNottingham, Colwick Park and WollatonHall and proved a resounding successwith local and blue chip companies fromacross the country coming to the city tobattle it out.UK corporate gamesgenerates £3.8m forNottingham’s economyUK corporate gamesgenerates £3.8m forNottingham’s economywww.eastmidlandsbusinesslink.co.uk East Midlands Business Link 19 Next >