Shipleys FM

Episode Four of Shipleys FM has plenty of tips and insights for businesses and their owners. We also have a great interview with Martin Bamford of Bamford Media who talks about both starting up his own business and lessons he learned from his family’s business – Informed Choice. Business special In the episode I share tax-saving and accounting tips businesses should consider before their financial year-end. In addition, there’s a great interview with Martin Bamford.  Several years ago he made the decision to follow a long-held passion to create a media agency. In doing so he lessened his time as a Director in his well-established and highly successful family financial planning business – Informed Choice.  Martin talks openly about the highs and lows of setting up on your own and lessons learned along the way. Tax efficient and environmentally-friendly company cars With the environment very much at the foreground of people’s minds, businesses are questioning how best to move their car fleets to a more eco-friendly solution.  There are certainly tax savings to be had from electric models and in this short segment I discuss the tax implications of different company cars. Understanding audit And we have an interview with my colleague, Andrew Taylor. Andrew is one of Shipleys’ audit team and in the interview talks about his work and what audit entails.

In the episode I focus on various accounting and tax issues for property ownership and answer specific questions around owning a second property.  In addition, there’s a great interview with John Lanning, a Director of the Headley Group Ltd. John also heads up one of the group’s companies – Robinson Buckley. In our discussion he explains the growth journey and evolution of the Group. He also talks about the importance of local networking and being part of a vibrant local business community.   John is a specialist in commercial property insurance and explains how his work covers businesses of all shapes and sizes - from sole traders through to major multi-site operations. In doing so he shares anecdotes of commercial property issues he’s resolved for clients over the years With the growing popularity of sites like Airbnb, the podcast also explains the tax implications if you want to let out some of your property. And we have an interview with my colleague, Alexander Beck.  Alex is a trainee tax practitioner with Shipleys and is completing his professional qualifications alongside his work. He also writes Shipleys’ Graduate blog and is one of the team answering questions from our website visitors on the site’s Live Chat.  

In this Charity special, our main topic is how to give tax efficiently to Charities. We chat about giving to charity, leaving a legacy and other philanthropic-related issues, which clients often ask the Shipleys’ team. Our client interview in with Head of Marketing & Fundraising at the Born Free Foundation, Matt Smithers.   Set up in 1984 by actors Virginia McKenna, Bill Travers and their eldest son Will, Born Free has become a leading wildlife charity. It is opposed to the exploitation of wild animals in captivity and the Charity campaigns tirelessly to keep these animals in the wild and promote Compassionate Conservation.  The podcast also features a quick reminder of the do’s and don’ts when accounting for staff entertaining. A must-listen, if you are using entertaining to celebrate or motivate your team. And last but not least, there’s a catch-up with my colleague - Hannah Hawkins - an HR Advisor at Shipleys LLP. Working with Melody Port in our HR Services Consultancy, Hannah supports our clients with a wide range of HR issues.

One of the questions most often asked at Shipleys LLP is whether it’s better to be a sole trader or limited company? For the first episode of our new audio podcast, Shipleys FM, our main topic is sole trader or limited company. When is the right time to incorporate? What are the tax consequences of changing from being a sole trader to incorporating as a limited company? I chat with Michelle and Martin to answer these questions and more. Our client interview in this episode features filmmaker David Thompson. David was the founding head of BBC Films, before leaving to start his own film production company, Origin Pictures. At Origin Pictures, David has produced films including The Awakening, An Education, and The Sense of an Ending. As he explains in our conversation, he also produced Mandela: The Long Walk To Freedom, featuring Idris Elba. We cover a quick overview of HMRC investigations; nobody wants to be on the receiving end of an inquiry from the taxman, so this segment is worth a listen. Last but not least, there’s a catch-up with my colleague Mike Luckett, Principle at Shipleys LLP. Mike is responsible for the day-to-day running of Shipleys’ two tax departments in London and Godalming. As a former HMRC Officer, he is well aware of the procedure from the other side of the fence. We hope you enjoy listening to our first podcast episode. Do also drop me a line with any questions or feedback you have, I’d love to hear from you. Please subscribe to Shipleys FM in Apple Podcasts or your favourite podcast player. And please share this episode with a friend or colleague. We publish our next episode in a fortnight, where the main topic is tax-savvy charitable giving. Until then, thank you for listening to Shipleys FM.

Dean Hardy, tax specialist from Shipleys LLP, introduces the upcoming podcast series Shipleys FM. Tune in to hear tax saving, financially enhancing, and business improving insights.