Big news of the day is about a court case that concerns a piece of the 2008 budget referred to as BN66. This is one of those things that came out in the supporting documentation that tells the actual truth about the contents of the 2008 budget as opposed to what the chancellor said in the House.

The Companies Act 2006 was introduced on 1st October 2009 as a way of bringing UK companies into the 21st century. It consists of 1300 sections and is the single largest piece of legislation ever made.

If management accountants can overcome the many challenges ahead they should find themselves well placed over the next ten years. At least that’s the view of the International Federation of Accountants.

As SMEs struggle to access funding from the banks, the Treasury has launched a paper asking businesses to give their views on how to increase finance options. These will then be proposed later this year.

Been some rather contradictory stories in the press this week. Nothing new in that I guess, but it does make guessing what the job market is going to do a bit tricky.

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has branded the new Tax Health Plan that is being offered to contractors and freelance consultants in the medical sector as unfair, saying it should be offered to professionals in all sectors.

HMRC confirmed last week that it plans to close 130 offices saying that the move is part of an ongoing programme designed to deliver better value for money. This will be of little comfort to staff as the jobs of up to 1,700 employees are believed to be in danger.

Another challenging week. I somehow managed to be the other end of the country from the snow for a change, so haven’t had any travel problems to deal with (well, apart from a sheet of black ice between my hotel and work yesterday morning, which was interesting!)

Nearly 50% of contractor accountants would rather be doing something else in the next five years, according to research by accountancy software provider E-conomic.

It’s that time of the year when people herald in the New Year with plans to renew their gym membership, eat less and cut down on booze. These resolutions also apply to the world of contracting.

In 2000 people said (and keep on saying) that the Millennium bug was a myth and we just wasted £4.5bn fixing something that didn’t happen. Well OK, but if we hadn’t spent the £4.5bn they would still be recovering from the damage.

Contractors may have breathed a sigh of relief following the pre-budget report having found little changed. However can any tax payer really expect to pay the same tax/NIC post general election?