LMG News & Events
Budget update
For a summary of the 2010 UK Budget, please click here.
For our Budget 2010 Tax Facts summary, please click here.
LMG assists London Market insurance broker with its continuing FSA accounting compliance requirements
LMG were appointed auditors and accountants of a fast growing London Market insurance intermediary in late 2009. As customary with FSA regulated entities on first becoming involved with the client LMG arranged a health check to ensure that the company was complying with the ever increasing compliance and accounting demands imposed by the regulator.
Of the company's own admission, the previous advisors had tended their resignation as they felt they did not have the necessary expertise to advise in this particular field. LMG quickly realised that there were certain facets of the company's compliance history that needed remedial work and set about putting a plan of action in place with the directors to rectify all matters.
This involved advising on improvements to the client's systems and procedures to ensure ongoing compliance as well as introducing the company to a specialist firm of London Market compliance consultants who worked alongside LMG to ensure that all general compliance, accounting and corporate governance were covered in accordance with the regulator's requirements
LMG's Charity Division wins two prestigious new clients.
We have recently acquired two charities operating in the media and journalism world.
The first, with an income approaching £1m, is based in Bethnal Green, and facilitates young people to research and write stories on issues that are important to them for publication in national and local newspapers, magazines, television and radio through a unique learning through journalism programme.
The second is based in Southwark and aims to increase global understanding through effective use of the media.
Cheryl Varsani joins LMG
Cheryl is the newest member of staff at LMG, having joined us in February. Cheryl will principally be working on Management Accounting for many of our clients who require regular periodic accounts. Some further info on Cheryl can be found on The Team pages.
Tim Shreeve leaves us to work in Bermuda
Having been with us for a year, Tim has decided to leave the UK behind him for the sunnier climes of Bermuda, where he has taken up a contract position with Deloittes. Our good wishes go with Tim, and his efforts to reduce his golf handicap.
Recent case study: By Partner Paul Goldwin.
In the last few months I have been heavily involved in helping a client company of ours which is the UK subsidiary of a leading supplier of veterinary anaesthesia products and services in the Australian vet market.
I was initially involved in setting up the UK entity, as well as providing accounting, banking and administrative services to the company, particularly during the period prior to the set up of the UK office in Oxfordshire.
However, more recently I have become more involved in liaising with their Australian accountant and external advisor in ensuring that we create a structure that maximises tax efficiency for both the UK and Australian sides of the business and generally providing the higher level strategic advice that comes with the set up of an international structure.
More specifically, I have had many recent dealings with the team in Australia who were tasked with putting together the successful application for a not inconsiderable Export Development Grant in Australia, based primarily on the company's financial investment in the UK.
The last six weeks or so in particular have been busy on this client as the directors were over from Australia and we took the opportunity to meet at the company's offices on various occasions to try and finally agree on both the tax structural issues that we had been working on with the Australian accounatnt and on a variety of business/strategic issues that needed to be agreed to leave the UK company on the correct financial and operational footing for the future.
This all came to a head at the company meeting held on 29 September. This proved to be a fairly tense affair with the Australian contingent not happy at the direction that the UK Manager, was taking the company and unhappy at the fact that the UK had still not broken into uninterrupted profitability as he had expected by now. This was an important meeting for us, as our our financial projections were looked at in detail and I found myself acting as mediator and arbitrator between the Australians on one part and the UK team on the other.
Fortunately, I managed to steer both parties into acheiving some common ground by focusing on issues that both agreed needed work on their respective sides and by agreeing a focus for the future.
Although there is much work still to be done, I get the impression that the client is very pleased with LMG's efforts in providing it with the business support and advice that it needs to establish a firm footing in the UK and more importantly for the parent company shareholder/director to be able to have someone in the UK to talk to and provide some 'on the ground direction' to the UK team.