Marketing Monthly ... questions for Amanda Watts
Welcome to the second Q and A session focusing on marketing for accountants... with Amanda C Watts...
Q. I am a small practice accountant trying in vain to improve my social media exposure… from a very low level … in an effort to get our name and services out there. I really am a complete Twitter and Instagram novice so would love to hear your thoughts on how to get started and make an impact.
Alice Brotherton, Stockport
A. Great question thank you. There are 5 key principles when it comes to ensuring that you cut through the noise and attract a following.
- Pick a target audience. One the easiest and quickest way to get a following is to have a hunting niche that you create your content marketing for. Choosing a specific person to write for will ensure that you are seen as a specialist instead of a generalist.
- Pick one thing that you want to get known for. I am known as the go-to person for marketing for accountants. I don't deviate from marketing. You won’t hear me talk about pricing or blockchain. They key is to find a specialism and get known for that. If you want to be known for business growth, then make sure you speak about business growth. If you don't know what you want to be known for, then this is the first thing you need to get clear on.
- When you create content think about the audience. There is so much random noise online - be different and always create something that is helpful. We don't need another inspirational quote on our timeline! And steer clear of meaningless updates.
- Be in it for the long game. Show up daily and understand that not everyone is ready to buy now. Build relationships. 10 good relationships will serve you better than 1,000 followers who don't take any notice of you!
- Prolific beats perfect. Don't fuss over the little things. 80 per cent of something is better than 100 per cent of nothing. Post often and be focused.
If you choose your audience, choose what you want to get known for and consistently create content around these two points then you will attract your ideal client. As you get more confident ensure you start to share your personality because it is the one thing that is truly unique.
See you next time .... Amanda
The man behind Rhino, Eugene Blaine
Eugene Blaine started his first software company, Atlantic Global, in 1993. He took the group public in 2001 on the LSE Aim market. Atlantic built and supplied software solutions to leading companies such as Barclays Bank, HSBC, Pfizer, GSK and Aviva.
In 2012, Atlantic was acquired by KeyedIn, a leading US cloud software company. Following the sale, Eugene retired (for three full days)
before embarking on his latest venture, Rhino.
Rhino is one of four software providers on the HMRC's making tax digital software supplier list for agents and self-employed, along with Absolute, Forbes and IRIS.
The Leicestershire-based group capitalises on smart technologies. Eugene took the functions that people use in corporate systems, simplified them and customised them for the mobile phone. And the result is the Rhino Small Business App.
Working closely with small business
Eugene’s experience of growing several small businesses and working closely with other owners has been key. “Creating invoices and recording expenses was always the easy part and typically only accounted for 2 per cent of my time,” he says.
"Rhino focuses on the other 98 per cent of time that business people need to invest, to build new products, develop new services, win new customers, schedule staff and manage the critical day-to-day activities that can easily overwhelm a typical small business and impede growth.
“Rhino also creates invoices, records expenses and manages your finances ... but as an integrated part of managing those key operations.”
Key tasks in real time
Eugene adds: "Rhino utilises the customer’s smartphone to enable them to perform key tasks in real time, avoiding unnecessary delays and, most importantly, freeing up their evenings and weekends.
“In addition, the invoice document is electronically filed and can be accessed directly by your accountant to eliminate the need to maintain paper copies.” Rhino employs the same approach to all other business operations.
Having worked with world-leading organisations for over 25 years, Eugene knows the importance of adopting not just good but practical technologies to support the growth of those organisations. “Rhino doesn’t just help small business owners to grow their business; it’s about helping them to stay competitive in a fast-changing world while also helping to safeguard this key asset – the business – which, for many, will represent their single greatest investment."
He worked closely with HMRC to integrate Rhino into its Making Tax Digital portal. In fact, Rhino was the first package designed for use by businesses (as opposed to accountants) to be approved for direct submission of returns.
Here's a quick Q and A detailing the Rhino product:
Q1: Must I retain paper receipts for my expenses?
A: No. HMRC no longer requires you to present paper receipts. They only need to have a copy that is readable. A digital copy is fine and is more reliable than a till receipt that may fade over time. Just use the app on your phone to photograph receipts as you get them.
Q2: How about invoices? Should I keep paper versions of those?
A: No. The same applies. Just ensure you have legible digital copies. When you use Rhino to create your invoice, it’s already digital, is fast to retrieve and is stored forever, or until you choose to delete it. If you send your invoices by email (which we recommend) you may never need to print any out. Now that’s truly paperless!
Q3: Can I get my data out of Rhino at any time?
A: Yes you can. Rhino has an Excel Export link at the bottom of every data list which enables you to quickly select and download the data stored in Rhino. You will lose nothing. Any documents you store can be downloaded too.
Q4:Do I still need to fill out a Self-Assessment form when I use the Making Tax Digital portal for my direct returns submissions from Rhino?
A: Good question: this is a great myth-busting opportunity. No, almost certainly not if your sole source of income is from your business. There are some exceptions, for instance HMRC puts different obligations on landlords with more than one property.
Q5: How compatible is Rhino with Making Tax Digital?
A: Rhino Software Ltd, the company behind the Rhino Small Business App, was a primary development partner in building the MTD platform with HMRC. In June 2017, a Rhino user named Beth was the first person to submit a return to the MTD pilot programme. She used her app to do that. The MTD platform went live in March 2018.
Q6: What does the monthly Rhino licence fee of £9.99 per month include? Is there more functionality available that costs extra?
A: The licence entitles you to use all the functions of the package. Everything. There’s no additional functionality waiting to be unlocked through more expense. And no hidden costs. The only extra that attracts a further charge is for document storage where those documents are large. For example CAD files, graphics files, and so on. And that document storage charging structure is completely transparent.
Q7: Is my data secure?
A: Yes it is. app was developed to the highest technical standards. As an additional precaution, we recruited an independent company that specialises in internet security to audit the app and website. Your data is stored in the cloud which means that you do not lose your data if you lose your phone.
Q8: Will Rhino use my data?
A: No. Simple and unequivocal answer. Rhino regards your data as entirely and exclusively private. We will only access your data if we are required to do so by the authorities.
How's your MTD transition looking?
I found some good advice for accountants looking to make the transition to digital the other day. It's from Damon Anderson, the affable director, partner at Xero. And it comes complete with a heavy nudge to get your act together (if you haven't already)!
Damon says: "MTD will put many practices under pressure when it comes into effect for all VAT registered companies in April 2019. For those who haven’t started the transition, there are only nine months to go until the deadline.
"Moving hundreds of VAT clients to online software in under a year is an enormous task that requires a solid action plan.
April deadline
"To ensure a successful MTD transition, getting your team ready is vital. With some careful planning and communication, it’s not too late to support your clients through their transition to online ahead of HMRC’s April deadline." Here are four ways you can get your team and your practice in shape.
Damon has highlighted for ways to get your team and practice ready to go:
- Scope: Identify VAT clients so your team know how much work awaits them. "At Xero. We think you’ll need to allocate three hours per client when converting data from desktop software to cloud. You’ll then need to think about who’ll be responsible for onboarding and training clients, as well as providing them with ongoing support. It’s important that you consider how this process will affect your team’s current responsibilities and working practices."
- Involve your team from the start: "Introducing new technology into a business is often a challenge. Change can be hard for some employees who are more comfortable doing business ‘the way it’s always been done’. Staff reluctance is nothing unusual – but it does need to be preempted so as not to delay implementation. Your team is your biggest asset in this process, so help them understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Communication is vital from the get-go. Guide your team through your thought process – a back-story and some context can be helpful for your team to understand the reasons behind the transition.
- Support: "Once they know the why and the what, they’ll want to hear the how. Provide a realistic view of how the transition will be made and how it’ll impact people’s current roles. The good news is that how your team currently operates will not change dramatically. But, how they actually do their job will change – make that distinction clear. For example, in many firms, client managers don’t go near the ledger. Typically, that’s the responsibility of associates. Xero doesn’t change that, but it does streamline the flow between these two roles. Associates focus on keeping the data clean and up to date, while your client managers interpret that data for client communication. It’s a bit different than before, but ultimately the job of each employee hasn’t changed."
- On board: "There are two key concepts to consider when getting your team on board. The first is transparency and communication – which we’ve discussed above. The second is showcasing the benefits of the new technology for both the business and your employees. Your team will get on-board faster if they can see how the new software enhances their day-to-day work."
For example it's likely your team will be able to access client or practice information any time, any where, across any device.
Damon adds: "It also takes care of a lot of manual work, which frees up your team to focus on existing clients or new business. Essentially, staff can do more in less time which is a major boost for productivity.
"Managing change is about making sure your people are OK at every step of the way. Preparing your business for MTD is no different. Communication, transparency and an ability to deal with issues effectively as they arise are key.
"And with Xero on-side, you’ll have access to our partner program which provides a wealth of resources and support. There really is no time to delay, get your practice – and people – ready for MTD today.
More info can be found at Xero Central.
She's electric...
So why the picture of a Tesla electric car? Well, tax expert and lecturer Rebecca Benneyworth has put her money where her mouth is. Or rather was. At her Accountex keynote in May, Rebecca said that she had been so taken by the Tesla on show at ExCeL that she was seriously considering leasing one. Well she's only gone and done it!
Incidentally, as well as amazing environmentally-sound performance, technology and design, the Tesla comes with the kind of financial benefits that would appeal to most accountants:
- 100 per cent first year allowance for business owners.
- UK plug-in car grant of £4,500.
- Reduced employer class 1A national insurance contributions.
- Fuel savings.
- Reduced BiK taxation for company car drivers.
- No road tax.
Congratulations to Rebecca. Enjoy your motoring... and the tax breaks!
Is blockchain technology now the new world order?
Unlike the answer to any question that was ever asked by the Daily Mail (it's always No), the response to the query above may well be Yes. And that's regardless of whether you're in the accounting and finance sector or not.
The fact that Hdac is shelling out zillions of pounds on (slightly baffling) football World Cup TV ads introducing the planet to "family blockchain" has to be a sign.
The South Korean "Internet of Things blockchain start-up" (I've never heard of a start-up with World Cup ads!) is screening a video (see above) that demonstrates the potential uses of blockchain distributed ledger technology (DLT).
Virtual reality transactions
Shown on ITV and Eurosport, in English and French, it shows a family in a home where the appliances talk to each other and various virtual reality transactions, like the purchase of a child's dress, are verified by blockchain tech.
The uses of the ledger technology are well-documented, even if most of us are not yet fully conversant. Home safety is a potential use, but is work in progress. For instance, Comcast is set to offer a blockchain-powered security service for smart homes. And several companies are aiming to use it for secure video calling.
Usage of connected devices
Hdac is the Hyundai Digital Asset Company, part of Hyundai, and one of the three big Korean conglomerates along with Samsung and LG. It was set up by Chung Dae-sun, nephew of Hyundai CEO Chung Mong-koo. The company says is, “an IoT contract platform based on blockchain, that exchanges but also restricts the usage of connected devices.”
Clearly, from the ads, the company is looking to show us that distributed ledger technology (DLT) seen in other blockchain platforms can ensure that transactions across different devices are safe and smooth.
Hdac says: “We are creating a more innovative future. The technological philosophy underpinning Hdac is to dramatically improve M2M [machine to machine] transaction environments daily: all transactions should be seamless and easy.”
Another use of blockchain technology is in the world of UK accounting. The Clarity Project, headed by Aynsley Damery and Steve Briginshaw, caused quite a stir at Accountex London recently.
Third party verification
The Clarity platform, which is holding a token sale ainmed at raising $30 million, utilises blockchain tech to help small businesses. It stores data, and provides analytics, benchmarking, file sharing, third-party verification and access to funding.
And, while most of us are mulling over blockchain during World Cup ad breaks, the folks from Clarity have been at the coalface or, more precisely, the Frankfurt leg of the World Blockchain Summit.
Clarity COO Steve tells me that the summit "has brought the whole blockchain ecosystem together: from those who want to invest, institutional investors, consultants, token sales, media and those wanting to learn more about blockchain and crypto.
New connections and confidence
"We’ve gained valuable insights, new connections and confidence in what we’re doing. It’s been a great experience so far.
"Aynsley our CEO gave a great talk yesterday on how blockchain can be used as a force for good. And this afternoon we’re pitching against other great token sales from around the world. We’ve been interviewed and included in a documentary too.
"What’s really interesting is the social impact aspect of using blockchain is really resonating with people. We’re grateful to be doing our bit to help to contribute towards the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals via our partnership with the global giving enterprise B1G1."
ICAEW displays a healthy degree of scepticism
There's been lots of talk lately about "scepticism" and "auditing". As in the post-corporate collapse... "the audit failed to demonstrate a necessary degree of professional scepticism".
This sort of comment makes for a tasty sound bite. And it's clear that a good degree of scepticism is at the heart of a good auditor. But what does it really mean? And do remarks like this help anyone?
Thankfully the ICAEW has gone some way to shedding light on the issue in an excellent report Scepticism: The Practitioner’s Take.
Degree of scepticism
It basically says that simply urging a more doubting attitude “should be resisted”. In fact, the report deploys its own degree of scepticism by saying: “To date the quality of the debate on scepticism has been somewhat superficial.”
ICAEW manager, auditing standards, Katharine Bagshaw says: “Scepticism is about quality, not quantity - asking the right questions, not just a lot of them. There comes a point where asking more questions ‘just in case’ becomes ineffective. There are deadlines to be met and auditors have to move on.”
The report aims to "move the debate forward by capturing and offering insight into what real auditors and the people who work with them
know about scepticism, and what they think the issues are.
Best of their ability
"It reveals how auditors currently try to exercise scepticism to the best of their ability within a limited timeframe. It also sets out what they are trying to do to make better use of that time, and the staff and other resources they have available.
"We conducted interviews with 15 practising auditors, training providers who also perform file reviews, and audit regulators. We asked them about the nature of scepticism, who is responsible for it, and what needs to be addressed to improve it."
Here's an example from 'AG':
"I think people are a bit more sceptical than they were 15 years ago. There is less trust around generally and people are more prepared to push the client a bit because they’re more worried. If I have to put my name to this, I need to cover myself."
Or from JK:
"It’s far easier to question someone if you remember that the client isn’t the person in the suit
standing in front of you; it’s whoever served you your latte before you came in to work, because it’s
their pension fund that has shares in the company you’re auditing."
The report highlights the need for changes in training and practice in much more detail than I can here. Bagshaw adds: “Preparers of accounts, in particular, need to exercise scepticism themselves before handing information over to external auditors… there is a shared responsibility for scepticism.”
It's a great report. Interesting. Illuminating. And well worth a read.
US watchdog's chief accountant speaks to ICAEW
Boosting audit quality is vital to global economic progress, according to Wesley Bricker, chief accountant at the US's financial watchdog, the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Wesley's talk on “The intersection of financial reporting and innovation" at ICAEW in London last week was right on the mark ... and the full text of his lecture can be found here.
But, for today's Daily Insight and because the Big Four auditing firms are very topical what with Carllion etc, I thought I'd take a look at what the SEC man had to say.
Ultra-connected world economy
In today's ultra-connected world economy, Wesley sees information sharing as vital to ensure credible financial reporting.
"The involvement of everyone in the financial reporting structure in supporting the work of the accounting and audit standard-setters is critical," he says.
"In doing so, standard-setters can maintain a long-range vision, mission, and strategic goals that are consistent with continued advancement of general purpose financial reporting.
Transcend geographies
"Additionally, the collaboration of everyone involved in the financial reporting structure should transcend geographies.
"It is essential to continue a policy of ongoing coordination and collaboration on national and international standards, practices, and needs so that the best thinking is identified, shared with each other, and can prompt action.
"We also should redouble our efforts for coordination within and across each phase of the financial reporting system – preparation, audit, delivery, and use.
On auditing, he adds: "When it comes to advancing audit quality and related expectations, prevention (as a complement to detection) is a worthy investment so that investors receive reliable financial information the first time. It is critical that all key stakeholders, including the audit standard-setters and audit regulators, assist in the advancement of audit quality.
Role of decision making
"One crucial preventive measure is the development of high-quality audit standards, which aid, but can never wholly replace, the role of decision making and judgment by auditors. Both local and international audit, assurance, ethics, and education standards (“audit-related standards”) are relevant to the US and its capital markets participants.
"Many US accounting firms are members of various global networks that incorporate international audit-related standards as part of a common audit methodology, training, and governance, with an aim to increase the consistency of audit execution and reduce the risk of audit failure.
Wesley concludes: "High-quality audit standards make audits—and the work of audit committees and others that oversee the audits of companies on behalf of investors—considerably more effective. And so, we all have an interest in the accountability and inclusiveness of the international audit-related standard-setters."
New ATT chief drives for higher standards
Welcome to World Cup week and a well-earned break from the Big Four. But we're sticking with accounting matters here at Daily Insight.
Sussex tax practitioner Tracy Easman has taken on the president role at the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT). Her aim is to extend the association's high-standards ethos to across the tax field. She will also carry the fight to those who promote tax avoidance schemes.
The ATT’s leadership team was announced at its agm last week. It is:
- President – Tracy Easman.
- Deputy President – Jeremy Coker.
- Vice President – Richard Todd.
Tracy joined the ATT’s governing council in 2011 and is a former chair of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) / Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) joint professional standards committee.
Professional standards
Tracy says: “A subject always close to my heart is professional standards. I will push for the high standards our members must meet to be extended to all of those who work in tax.
“It is to be hoped that the professional conduct in relation to taxation (PCRT) which the ATT worked on with six other leading UK tax and accountancy bodies, is seen as guiding the principles and standards of behaviour of not only our members and students but all tax professionals.
"It makes it clear to any of the small minority of tax professionals who are tempted to facilitate and promote tax avoidance schemes that this behaviour is not acceptable.”
PCRT sets out the principles and standards of behaviour that all ATT members and students must follow in their tax work. The latest version came into effect in March 2017. The government has supported the professional bodies in updating PCRT, with HMRC acknowledging that the guidance sets out an acceptable basis for dealings between members of the bodies and HMRC.
Principles and guidance
The ATT is committed to high standards of tax practice. The ATT and the CIOT’s professional rules and practice guidelines (PRPG) set out the fundamental principles and guidance with which their respective members must comply and helps members handle challenges encountered in their professional work. This is reviewed and updated on a regular basis to take account of changes in professional practices and member feedback.
Tracy adds: “The next 12 months will see even more changes for us all with Making Tax Digital and Brexit. They will both bring their own idiosyncrasies to our lives in tax and it is vital that we embrace the changes as tax professionals.
Already far too complicated
"In turn, I do ask the government to be brave and consider the need to ease the understanding and use of our tax system. Changes which create more complication to our already far too complicated tax regime will not add anything for HMRC, the taxpaying public or those of us in the agent community.
“Engagement with our colleagues will be more important than ever in the next 12 months, whether it be with our fellow professional bodies, Ministers, HMRC and the Treasury.
"I hope we can work together to ensure our tax system is more manageable for us all, that we all continue to work within the high standards our professional bodies set for us and extend these standards to all who advise and help the public with their tax affairs.”
Tracy is a former secretary of the ATT/CIOT Sussex branch. She was chair of the branch from 2013-2015. She became a member of the ATT in 1993 and was appointed a fellow in 2012. She qualified as a chartered tax adviser in 2000. Tracy started her career with the Inland Revenue and has worked for two tax consultancy firms. She now runs her own practice in West Sussex.
MP presses FRC on PWC audit of BHS
More Big Four woes. MP Frank Field, chair of the work and pensions committee, wants an update from the Financial Reporting Council over its mainly unpublished but stinging report on PWC’s 2014 audit of Taveta.
That's the one that included auditors signing off Philip Green's BHS as a "going concern" days before its sale for £1.
Last week, Green tried to gag parts of the report that refer to Taveta directors and financial info on the now discredited audit.
Publish the report
High court judge Matthew Nicklin rejected the request and gave the FRC permission to publish the report. Field writes: "Could I ask how the FRC now intend to proceed on this matter?"
Field's letter to FRC chief Stephen Haddrill, goes on: "During the case the FRC argued that Taveta are not regulated by the FRC and therefore were not the subject of the investigation, nor a party to the settlement agreement." That's where PWC admitted misconduct and accepted the biggest fine levied by the FRC.
The missive says of the situation: "It highlights a weakness in the FRC’s powers that was also exposed as part of the inquiry into Carillion; the FRC has no ability to investigate individuals that are not chartered accountants.
Actions of individual directors
"So even if the FRC did find fault with the actions of individual directors in the preparation of the accounts, they were powerless to take action against most of them.”
And another thing... “Our understanding is that only one member of the Taveta Group senior management team, Gillian Hague, was a member of a qualifying accountancy body, the ICAEW, at the time of signing the accounts. Could the FRC confirm if she was or is subject to any individual investigation?
Field also asks if the FRC would welcome an extension to its powers in this area.
Sold as a going concern
"Would the FRC have opened investigations into other members of senior management if they had the ability to do so?”
The letter further highlights parallels between BHS, which survived about a year after being sold as a “going concern”, as certified by PWC – and Carillion, which FRC is investigating...
"Clearly, therefore, PWC’s failure over BHS is not an isolated incident when it comes to the going concern basis.
Skewed incentives
"It feels like once again this is a case of skewed incentives working against the best interests of ordinary stakeholders, such as employees and pensioners.
"On the one hand you have management teams who have little incentive to openly admit to the risk of their companies collapsing and on the other you have an audit team whose whole audit approach would need to be reassessed if it was felt that the going concern basis was not appropriate.
"The result appears to be going concerns statements that are rubber-stamped with insufficient levels of challenge from auditors. What more should be done to ensure that auditors are properly challenging the appropriateness of these going concern statements.”
Measures to bring the Big Four to order
The latest shenanigans involving the Big Four audit firms have prompted a former, longstanding member of the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to join the debate over what should/can be done about these groups' increasingly unpleasant grip on the market.
Rarely a day goes by when there isn't a headline about an alleged blunder or 'misunderstanding' or investigation involving EY, Deloitte, PwC or KPMG.
Steve Harris, who served on the board from 20019-18, says: "The auditing profession plays a vital role in maintaining the integrity of the world’s capital markets, but recent audit failures are renewing doubts about whether the world’s largest accounting firms are truly serving the public interest."
Failure to detect a criminal fraud
His comments come after a US judge this week ordered PwC to pay damages of $625 million after an alleged failure to detect a criminal fraud that led to the failure of Colonial Bank. PwC says it will appeal.
The Big Four firms are under scrutiny in the UK especially after the failure of Carillion. That looks set to cost taxpayers about £148 million. Some MPs have called on the competition watchdog to orchestrate the break up of the four to separate audit from consulting and tax work. Scandals in India and South Africa further muddy the picture of the big-time audit profession.
Harris, writing in the FT, says: "Although the firms have a public obligation to produce independent audits, they are paid by the companies they inspect, making them vulnerable to management pressure and bias. Today’s Big Four are not just accounting firms. Instead, they offer a wide variety of consulting and advisory services under one umbrella, including investment banking, asset management, legal services, cyber security, personnel recruitment, advertising and marketing campaigns. These services have become a lucrative line of business for the Big Four, bringing in large annual revenue increases."
Bolster investor trust
He asks: "So what can be done to improve audit quality and bolster investor trust?
"Suggestions over the years have included replacing the inherently conflicted issuer-pay model, creating audit-only firms, breaking up the groups to ensure greater competition and forcing companies to change auditors regularly.
Suggested measures to deal with the problems include:
- Watchdogs forcing the largest audit firms to produce their own publicly available audited financial statements. This would aid transparency and help to monitor their activities.
- Non-audit activities should be limited to services that are either closely related to or incidental to auditing.
- Regulators should tighten the independence and conflict of interest rules to prevent cross-marketing and anti-competitive behaviour.
- Policymakers should insure that audit regulators are independent of the profession to avoid the growing threat of regulatory capture.
- Regulators could create the equivalent of a Hippocratic oath that would require all auditors, including firm leaders, to attest that the investing public, not company managers, are their primary clients.
- Auditors should affirm that they have a duty to assess whether a company will struggle to stay afloat, and tell the public if they have concerns.
Harris adds: "The Colonial and Carillion cases should serve as a wake-up call to strengthen regulation and reshape the culture of the auditing profession. It is time to act lest we repeat the accounting scandals of the past."
I can't help but feel that this subject is going nowhere, slowly, But I wish it weren't.
Legalise cannabis and collect more tax, says IEA
Statisticians at the Institute of Economic Affairs reckon the UK could collect more than £1 billion a year in tax revenue if cannabis were legalised.
A report by the right-wing think-tank says about 255 tonnes of weed is sold to three million black-market users at about £2.6 billion a year.
The institute, much favoured as an information source by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, is pretty forceful in stating its case.
Black market is awash
"The criminalisation of cannabis in the UK has failed, " is says. "The black market is awash with high-strength, hazardous products. Seizures, prosecutions and health problems place a significant burden on the justice and health systems, while teenagers find it easier to buy cannabis than alcohol.
"The dominance of hazardous, high strength ‘skunk’ cannabis in the black market should be a key reason for legalisation.
"Licensed sales would allow safer, regulated cannabis to displace the more dangerous strains and generate tax revenue that could be spent on mental health services. Regulators could set maximum limits on THC – associated with psychosis – and minimum limits on the non-intoxicating antipsychotic CBD, to reduce the risk of mental health problems.
Cut taxes in other areas
"Moreover, licensed sale would make it more difficult for those under 18 to access the drug, whilst the ability to tax cannabis would allow governments to cut taxes in other areas. Legalisation would also create new jobs and businesses in the legitimate, tax-paying economy, as well as savings in the criminal justice system."
This is an interesting area, particularly when you consider the potential medical uses of marijuana. However, you can't help but think the IEA might have left out this effort at humour in its press release. (Or maybe not!).
Here's Chris Snowdon, IEA head of 'lifestyle economics': “It’s high time for reform of cannabis policy in the UK. Canada and the USA are showing the way. Done properly, the legalisation of cannabis is a win-win-win: criminals lose a lucrative industry, consumers get a better, safer and cheaper product, and the burden on the general taxpayer is reduced.”
Scrutiny of the audit market
Meanwhile, the Big Four are in the news again. It seems that they always are. This time the UK competition watchdog is urging greater scrutiny of the audit market.
The Competition and Markets Authority has met with EY, Deloitte, PwC and KPMG to discuss the (lack of?) effectiveness of market control measures that were introduced in 2015. BDO, Grant Thornton and Mazars — have also been involved in the conversation.
Former Tory MP Andrew Tyrie, took over as CMA chairman in June. Three months ago he said of the audit market: “There must be a competition aspect, there are only four of them, there used to be five, if you go down to three some would . . . consider it an oligopoly.”
Conviviality miss...
And, Big Four-wise, that's not all... the Financial Reporting Council is getting its teeth stuck into another investigation. The latest probe for the accounting watchdog is KPMG’s 2017 audit of Conviviality and an unnamed ICAEW member. It's about the “preparation and approval of Conviviality’s financial statements and other financial information".
Conviviality, a supplier of alcohol to restaurants and bars, hit the skids in April after several profit warnings and the failure to note a fast approaching tax bill.