Pathway to employment

I had a good start to my working day by being a guest on "Community Focus", a Sunday morning show broadcast on 103 The Eye, an established community radio station in the heart of Melton – many thanks Patrick, Steve and Christine for your hospitality. The discussion gave me an opportunity to explain the reasoning for the free to attend funded qualification in accounting and finance that is being launched on 11 April 2012.

Enrolment has been very positive, at time of writing we have a few places left on the first course, and will be rolling out more courses out in the future. We have a good mix of students that have already enrolled, in terms of age, aptitude and background. I admire their attitude in embracing this opportunity, and their involvement will help shape future course offerings. The idea is to help develop the finance professionals of the future and provide opportunities for those seeking a pathway into employment.

The main criteria for the course being 19+ and receiving Job Seekers or Employment Support Allowance, Further details can also be found at http://proactiveresolutions.eventbrite.co.uk or in the events section of my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/events/

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Posted on April 1st, 2012

Budget 2012: An overview

There has been a lot of comment and headlines on the recent 2012 budget, with its usual mixture of winners and losers – from pasty eaters (cold is 'tax' good, above ambient temparature is not so 'tax' good, caviar is VAT free!). One thing that always perplexes me is peoples perception of what constitutes a tax and who actually pays it. As I have previously commented, if it looks, feels like & takes money like a tax it is a tax – this therefore includes income tax, VAT, national insurance, fuel, alcohol and other duties, corporation tax, inheritance tax, capital gains tax to name but a few. Who pays? we all do from the cradle to the grave.

Politicians and newspapers are blurring the lines between tax avoidance (perfectly legal) and tax evasion (not legal), the difference between avoidance and evasion is, according to Dennis Healey "..the thickness of a prison wall). Claiming personal allowances and business expenses are examples of tax avoidance, to my mind we are criminalising by attitude something that should not be.

The increase in personal allowances lifts some people out of paying 20% income tax, but not NIC and other taxes and duties – however the Chancellors slight of hand is such that more people will start paying 40% tax, and it will yield more to the Treasury.

There is a planned cap of £50,000 on what donors can claim back in tax by way of Gift Aid payments – it is broadly equivalent to cash donations in a year of £250,000 – this in my opinion will not impact on the majority of charities who do normally receive such amounts. In a perverse way there is an opportunity for Charities to utilise Gift Aid to mutual advantage, for both higher rate taxpayers (total income of £42,475 for 2012-13 and £41,450 for 2013-14) and the charities.

One area of particular interest is for landlords and property investors, if we look beyond the announced stamp duty 'crackdown' there are plans, for example to alter the position regarding CGT and non-residents, and IHT for transfers to non-domiciled persons.

We have published an article overviewing the Budget impact on landlords and property investors which is freely available.

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Posted on March 29th, 2012

Work Based Training

I am appreciative of the opportunity given to me today (20-Mar-12) to be interviewed this morning at 11 on Radio Leicester (available on their podcast).  The focus of the interview was about upskilling our workforce and supporting and enabling people out of work to find and secure employment.  The experience was very positive one for me, the professionalism and warmth of the presenter Jim Davis certainly made it easier for me.

Some of the issues that unemployed people face is work experience and acquiring employability skills; our aim is to make our courses as practical as possible so that students learn how to pass the exam but also how to apply that knowledge in a job environment – our accounting practice (Pro Active Accounting) will provide a practical dimension to the  training.  We will need to engage and convince employers that they will be getting candidates who are work ready.

Many candidates cannot even get appointments to see recruitment agencies, they are simply told there are no opportunities at that level (one student told me he could not even get in the door of some agencies as they have a buzzer system to be let in, you cannot get in without an appointment and unless you are currently in a job you cannot get an appointment!). We are building relationships with some of the local agencies and inviting them to meet and talk to the candidates so hopefully opening a few doors!

Another issue is confidence for people who have worked in finance roles in the past but perhaps because they have taken time out to bring up families etc they do not now have the confidence to apply for roles. They feel that they are ‘out of date’ with the current working environment, even though speaking to them they are clearly very experienced and they know what they are doing. Attending this course and getting the piece of paper at the end will prove to them, and their prospective employers, that they do have the capability to do the job.

The Level 2 Introductory Certificate in Financial Management & Accounting is awarded by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants [ACCA],  (the global body for professional accountants).  Our own accountancy practice is registered as an ACCA Approved Employer with platinum status so we understand ACCA’s reputation for quality and excellence, which is why we chose to offer this particular award.

We still have some places available for our first fully funded  course, due to start on 11 April. Further details can be found at

http://proactiveresolutions.eventbrite.co.uk

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Posted on March 20th, 2012

Training Developments

The issue of training , teaching and skills acquistion has been a major & important part of my life, both as a deliverer, teacher & trainer as well as a participant.   I have been fortunate enough to have taught pretty much at every level of education from primary level to postgraduate, from teaching important life skills such as literacy and numeracy, to teaching intricate tax rules to financial advisors at Coutts. 

Learning, in my humble opinion is a continual process, one never stops acquiring knowledge and skills, for  both practical and esoteric reasons.  Work based skills are having the spot light  shone on them with greater intensity, this needs to be done within the framewok of creating a framework of knowledge and showing how to tap into and apply that framework.  

Accredited courses provide such a framework and accreditation is also a way of applying quality control, acknowledgement and wider recognition to an individuals course of study, non-accredited courses are also an important element of a blended learning experince. 

We have recently obtained the ILM (Institute of Learning and Management) approval as an accredited learning centre , enabling us to deliver a suite of  qualifications for businesses, self employed, apprentices and managers in the Private, Creative and Not for Profit Sectors, details to follow.

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Posted on February 23rd, 2012

Planning – it needs to be done

It has been a very busy, demanding exciting & interesting  few weeks since my last blog, like most of us I want to be make sure the phrases "I  was meaning to, or I'll do it when I get time etc" do not get in the way of achieving aspirations (and writing this blog).   We lead demanding lives, one casusalty of this is that planning takes more of a back seat, planning is a process and discipline that plays a vital role in our business and working lives, but it is an area that is sadly neglected or scant attention paid to.  We would not normally go on holiday without at least some rudimentary planning, for example where to stay, required curerncy, visas and places to visit. 

There are three plans (forecasts) that individuals and organisations shoud ideally have, namely (1) cash flow – survival is impossible without access to cash; (2) business plan – a planning tool to help you document your vision and how you will achieve it; (3) strategic plan  – addressing (i) where we are we now; (ii) where we want to be;  and (iii) how we get there

There are many reasons why businesses and organisations fail to survive, one of the more common reasons is poor management, which means includes weak financial, business and planning skills.   

We have published a range of business and strategic planning information and tools which will support individuals and organisations, these are freely available on our website.

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Posted on February 16th, 2012

A Fresh Start

I consider that I have been fortunate in my ‘working’ life to have gained, developed and been exposed to a wide and varied business background, skills and knowledge – gained from working within the commercial, not for profit and educational sectors and via academic study.  For those that might be interested there is a more detailed personal profile published on the website.

Our new website reflects the main areas that Pro Active Resolutions works in, namely self-employment, the creative and voluntary sector, businesses, education and training.  We provide practical accounting, management, training and consultancy support to businesses, the not for profit and individuals. 

The purpose of my blog is to contribute to, share information, and facilitate dialogue on a wide variety of topics.   Hopefully this will strike a chord and will provide a positive contribution to an ever changing landscape.

We have a growing library of free resources and information, such as our acclaimed freelancer guide, business planning tools and fact sheets.   Over time we will be increasing the range and variety of these resources and be announcing some new developments.

Happy reading and please feel free to comment and contribute.

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Posted on January 23rd, 2012