You may have been following the recent tax case involving HMRC and specialist recruiter Reed.

Contractor accountants may be interested to learn that Andrew Haldane has called for a separate accounting regime for UK banks. He recently told the ICAEW that the current bank accounting rules do not take enough consideration of the ambiguities associated with assets and liabilities.

I’m coming rapidly to the end of my current engagement and have been reflecting on what I’ve been doing. Not out of any great sense of sadness or nostalgia but because I have to hand over to the permanent guys that I’ve been covering for while they were off doing more interesting stuff.

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, hinted recently that tax breaks may be available to firms that offer employee share ownership schemes.

Contractor accountants may want to remind their clients that the deadline for filing self-assessment income tax returns is fast approaching.

Contractor accountants who have overpaid VAT are unlikely to be allowed to claim compound interest from HMRC.

Contractor accountants may be interested to learn that HMRC intends to introduce stricter procedures for dealing with investigations into civil fraud at the end of this month.

January, and the vexed question of self-assessment rears its head again. My accountant friends have said good bye to the family until February and closeted themselves with quill pens and envelopes of receipts. Others have burned the midnight oil trying to complete their online returns.

Contractor accountants might be interested to learn more about the recently published accounts of former PM Tony Blair.

Contractor accountants may be interested to learn that HMRC launched an alternative disputes resolution pilot scheme for SMEs in North Wales and the North West of England last week.

Contractor accountants need to be aware that HMRC intends to code out employee debts of less than £3,000 through the PAYE system.

Accountants for contractors might like to know that both PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg have indicated that a general anti-avoidance rule will probably be included in this year’s budget.