UK employer’s pension contributions are considered low
Written By Holly McHugh, BrightPay Payroll Software: Results from a study of Defined Contribution (DC) showed that when it comes to automatic enrolment, UK employers are only willing to pay 37.5% of the 8% total minimum contributions from 2019. This is considerably low in comparison with the rest of the globe.
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) conducted an International comparison of employer and employee contributions to Defined Contribution pension schemes. The research was based on country experiences and factors related to employer/employee contribution balances.
Other reports, such as Professional Pensions, found that Italian employers would offer 84.8% of the minimum contributions from 2019. This is 47.3% higher than the UK. Other relative comparisons were Denmark at 66.7% and Japan at 50%.
New Zealand was the only country that was paying less, as employers would provide just 27% of total minimum contributions. However, the figure rose for those in the bottom tier to 50%. The lowest minimum contribution that an employer made to an employee in New Zealand was 3%.
The research was commissioned after a 2016 survey conducted by Master Trust revealed that 24% of automatic enrolment savers admitted that they ‘definitely will’ or ‘might’ opt out when minimum contributions hit 8% of qualifying earnings in April 2019. On the other hand, 74% of those who said they would opt out, said they would either ‘definitely’ or ‘probably’ continue to save into their workplace pension if employers put in a minimum of 5%, with a 3% staff contribution.
The full report can be accessed and downloaded through the PPI’s website.
Written By Holly McHugh, BrightPay Payroll Software. Exhibiting at Accountex Summit North on stand 34.
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First speakers announced for Accountex Summit North in Manchester
Accountex Summit North – the new, free-to-attend, one day accounting conference and exhibition coming to Manchester Central on 6 March next year, has confirmed its first raft of speakers.
Among them are representatives from Sage and Xero, plus profit improvement expert Mark Wickersham; Gordon Gilchrist and Ian Fletcher from 2020 Innovation; Ed Molyneux, CEO and founder of FreeAgent; James Ashford, founder of GoProposal and author of Selling To Serve; marketing consultant Amanda C Watts; Paul Shrimpling, MD of Remarkable Practice; Daniel Richards, head of sales at MyFirmsApp; and accountancy strategist Steve Pipe, founder and head of research at AVN.
Organiser Diversified Communications UK, which also runs the flagship Accountex event in London, says the summit is already attracting high levels of interest from senior accountants based across the Midlands and North of England.
They’re not the only ones getting firmly behind the launch. Accountex Summit North has enjoyed strong industry and association support since its inception. While the summit has adopted a different format from the established London event, it’s drawing on all its strengths – harnessing Diversified’s unique experience, connections and knowledge within the accountancy and finance profession.
“We’re very excited to bring the best of Accountex to accountancy professionals in the north,” says event director Zoe Lacey-Cooper.
“We’ve been working closely with influential players in the accounting profession to ensure that Accountex Summit North features the most up-to-date and relevant seminar content for them – focusing on the key opportunities and challenges facing the accountancy profession.
“In one day, our delegates will enjoy a full line-up of CPD-accredited Keynotes, seminars, panel sessions, and interactive workshops. They’ll take away real-time insights, tools and solutions, which will help them to continue to provide the best all-round accountancy service possible,” she says.
Highlights for attending delegates include a top line-up of industry-renowned speakers discussing a range of specialised topics in four dedicated theatres (including the Tech Theatre, How To Theatre, Future and Growth Theatre, and the Keynote auditorium).
Managing the changes and challenges of today’s working practices, and taking advantage of the new opportunities they present, is a key theme running throughout the day.
Confirmed sessions (to date) include Mark Wickersham on how to implement value-based pricing; James Ashford on his nine ‘must have’ strategies for growing monthly revenue; Amanda C Watts on her ‘relationship first’ approach to maximising sales and referrals; Paul Shrimpling on the benefits of being a more future-focussed ‘Business Growth Accountant’; Daniel Richards on how to simplify the growing Add-on App stack; Gordon Gilchrist and Ian Fletcher on how to become the ‘firm of the future’; Ed Molyneux on the rise of automation; and Steve Pipe – who’ll be presenting case studies based on the latest research behind his new book The world’s best accountancy practices.
“This is exactly what the northern powerhouse needs, an unmissable free conference focussing on the latest developments and issues facing the profession, with world class speakers, exhibitors and delegates all under one roof,” says Pipe.
“Our members – thousands of accountants across northern England – will benefit significantly from attending Accountex Summit North,” says Jason Hinkle, head of member networks at ACCA. “I know they will receive first class insight into current and future issues from industry leaders, while also benefiting from the numerous networking opportunities the summit will present.”
That networking includes the opportunity for delegates to meet around 80 exhibitors showcasing their latest products, services, software and solutions. BrightPay Payroll Software, Octopus Blue, CIS, Debt Recovery, Enterprise Tax Consultants and First Corporate Law Services were among the first names to sign up. They’ve since been joined by Sage, Xero, OCREX, Rollpay Bureau, Premier Capital, Receipt Bank, Spotcap, Compleat Software and many more.
Accountex Summit North is free to attend for accountants only. Places are limited, and all registrations will be verified and confirmed. The full conference programme, including the option to pre-book Keynotes and seminars, will be available in the coming month. To apply for a delegate ticket, please visit www.accountexsummitnorth.co.uk.
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Media enquiries:
Emma-Louise Jones, Head of PR
t: +44 (0)1273 645134
e: [email protected]
Website: www.divcom.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK
Sam Sloan, Group Director / Head of Marketing
t: +44 (0)1273 645115
e: [email protected]
Website: www.accountexsummitnorth.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ACXSummitNorth
Sales and sponsorship enquiries:
Rachel Gregory, Sales Manager
t: +44 (0)1273 645145
e: [email protected]
Zoe Lacey-Cooper, Event Director
t: +44 (0)1273 944459
e: [email protected]
Notes:
Logo: http://www.accountex.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/ACX-North-logo.jpg
Diversified Communications UK Ltd (Diversified UK) is a fast growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough, and Nailsworth. Diversified UK’s portfolio includes Accountex Summit North (new for 2018); Accountex; SITS – The Service Desk & IT Support Show; British Tourism & Travel Show; Casual Dining; lunch!; Commercial Kitchen; GO! Organic Festival (new for 2018); Natural & Organic Products Europe; Nordic Organic Food Fair & Natural Products Scandinavia in Malmö, Sweden; GEO Business; Ocean Business; MARELEC Marine Electromagnetics conference; Euro Bus Expo; and Coach & Bus UK. For more information, visit: www.divcom.co.uk.
Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company providing market access, education and information through global, national and regional face-to-face events, digital and print publications and television stations. Diversified serves a number of industries including: seafood, food service, natural and organic, healthcare, commercial marine, and business management. Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified employs over 850 staff, across eight divisions in seven countries. For more information, visit: www.divcom.com.
How accounting software can ensure accounting compliance and accuracy
Written by CaseWare UK: Producing statutory accounts for businesses ranging from small businesses to large corporate entities can be a time-consuming and labour-intensive process, causing headaches for accountants.
With the Making Tax Digital initiative ramping up the reporting schedule to compulsory quarterly accounts updates from April 2019 for new businesses, and updates in the pipeline for GAAP and IFRS, how can accountants ensure that their accounts production process runs smoothly and quickly without compromising accuracy?
One way that accountants help to negotiate the myriad of accounting structures and client demands is by letting accounts software take the strain. But what are the benefits of implementing accounting software for your business and how can it ensure accounting compliance?
Automate the tagging and submission process
The production, tagging and submission of final accounts are often time-consuming for accountants who use Excel or Word to prepare financial statements. They could spend hours checking information and inserting the correct tags to ensure everything is correct prior to submission.
Of course, the tagging process is something that gets easier the more it’s done, but, in an environment where time is of the utmost importance, manually managing the tagging and submission process is far too inefficient.
To alleviate the time pressure, many accountants outsource the tagging of financial accounts to specialist providers, so that they can focus on other activities. It certainly expedites the process, but there are more cost-effective solutions that accountants can utilise to streamline the tagging of financial accounts and ensure accounting compliance.
Automated solutions, such as CaseWare’s Account Production software, can simplify and speed up the process. Accountants can automate the XBRL tagging process, produce compliant financial statements across a wide range of entity types, access powerful analysis tools and submit accounts to HMRC or Companies House.
They can build statements quickly and easily, as guidelines on how to populate key information – such as Director’s names, registered addresses and company numbers – is available.
These solutions can work in tandem with a document manager, allowing the user to add Excel/Word documents, which may contain a breakdown of a particular figure within the accounts, and automate lead schedules.
Keep track of complex regulation updates
When looking for an accounting software provider, businesses and accountants alike must ensure that the provider’s software can handle complex account structures and that it covers your entity type, such as pensions, charities and academies.
A good accounting software provider will offer a wide range of templates that are compliant with accounting standards – and regularly updated.
CaseWare provides iXBRL solutions for UK and Irish FRS 101, 102 and 105, plus UK charities using the FRS 102 standard, and regularly reviews its templates.
Consistent accuracy across your business or practice
Reporting accuracy across the business or practice is key – and inconsistent or incorrect tagging can slow down the submission process. For businesses and practices that submit certain financial accounts regularly, it’s important to have a solution that automatically records tags year on year so they don’t have to retag the same items again.
A good accounting software provider will build efficiency and support accountants by retaining previously used tags on financial statements so businesses and practices only need to tag any changed or additional content on their financial statements.
Another efficiency-boosting feature of a iXBRL tagging solution is to utilise a ‘traffic light’ system for all of the accounts. For example if data is tagged to its standard iXBRL tag, it’s green, if it’s missing a standard, it’s red. This drastically enhances the ability to review financial statements and accounts and identify problems with the tagging.
While accounting accuracy and compliance is key for good financial reporting, it shouldn’t be at the expense of manual and time-consuming checking and matching processes. Accounting software can take the strain of financial year-end reporting and streamline the process for businesses.
For more tips on the features and business benefits you should be looking for in your accounting software provider, click here.
Written by CaseWare UK. Exhibiting at Accountex Summit North on stand 35.
UK Living Wage increases to £8.75 per hour
Written by Debbie Clarke, BrightPay Payroll Software: Living Wage Week runs from 5th November to 11th November 2017 and as part of this week, new living wage rate details are revealed. The UK Living Wage and the London Living Wage are the only rates that are independently calculated every year to meet the real cost of living. In comparison, the ‘National Living Wage’ is the living wage rate set by the Government for people aged 25 and over.
The Mayor of London announces the London rate for the Living Wage whereas the UK rate is announced countrywide at the same time. The new London Living Wage has increased by 4.6%, from £9.75 to £10.20 per hour. This helps reflect the higher cost of living facing families in the city. Director of the Living Wage Foundation, Katherine Chapman, explained the increase is due to inflation (currently 3%) as well as increases in the cost of transport, rent and household goods.
The UK Living Wage rate has increased by 3.6%, an increase of 30p from £8.45 to £8.75. The Government's current National Living Wage for over 25s is £7.50, which is £1.25 less than this rate.
There are over 1,000 London-based employers that have agreed to pay their staff the Living Wage hourly rate and a total number of 3,600 accredited Living Wage organisations including Ikea, Nationwide, Diageo and Google. New companies that have signed up are Heathrow Airport, The National Gallery, Somerset House and The Southbank Centre.
For further information about the Living Wage Foundation and Living Wage Week visit the Living Wage Foundation website.
Written by Debbie Clarke, BrightPay Payroll Software. Exhibiting at Accountex Summit North on stand 34.
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