Saffron Johnson, Accountancy Age, Friday 30 July 2010 at 11:16:00

Stephen Drew and Philip Quigley take on new assurance roles at Smith & Williamson

Smith and Williamson make two new appointments as part of a plan to allow its assurance chief to focus on the national practice.

Stephen Drew has been appointed to head of London Assurance and Business services (ABS), after becoming a partner for Smith & Williamson in 1999.

Philip Quigley, who joined Smith and Williamson from KPMG in 1993, is now national head of transaction services.

The promotions were made after national head of ABS Giles Murphy’s decision to focus more on the national ABS practice, and to allow him to concentrate on the strategic development of the ABS division and lead the proferssional practices group.

“This is a great opportunity for Stephen and Philip,” said Murphy.

Drew said: “The economic conditions are opening opportunities for us to increase our brand awareness and market share.”

He has extensive experience of assurance and advisory work and a client base of listed companies, private equity backed businesses and entrepreneurs all operating in a number of sectors including natural resources and property and business services.

Quigley has advised many companies on admission to AIM and full listing, acting as reporting accountant and has international experience in the ABS division, particularly in India, Hong Kong, China and the Far East, as well as the USA.

Quigley will be continue as head of the quoted companies group at Smith & Williamson.

Computing, Friday 30 July 2010 at 10:58:00

Rachael Singh, Accountancy Age, Friday 30 July 2010 at 10:56:00

HMRC's track record of implementing new technology raises doubts over proposals for a computerised tax account for all employees

A drastic change to HMRC's PAYE system, which will provide real-time information on employees, needs to be sufficiently funded and adequately piloted if it is to be successful in the coming years said a Baker Tilly tax director.

HMRC opened a consultation on a computerised tax account for every employee with the aim that the software will be up and running in the lifetime of the current government.

However tax director at Baker Tilly Lesley Fidler warned HMRC there is a " long way to go" before the software can be implemented.

"While it is important that there be aspirational goals for our tax system, HMRC does not have a strong record of implementing IT projects," she said.

She gave the example of recent efforts to merge the previously separate computerised National Insurance and PAYE systems, which was plagued by " difficulties".

Fidler added: "Anyone who was involved with the short-lived attempt at paying tax credits via the payroll will hope that this fresh initiative will be fully researched, adequately piloted and sufficiently funded before it goes live."

Currently both employers and pension providers make tax and national insurance payments for employees to HMRC and report them to the tax office once a year. Annually reporting those figures can result in under and over payments of tax the Financial Times reports.

The latest consultation is proposing each employee be given a single computerised tax account which brings together their employment and NI records, giving HMRC real time information of all payments made.

According to the consultation document proposed changes would also remove the need for employers, or employees, to fill in forms to obtain the right tax code, and could simplify the process when a person changes jobs.

HMRC has already invested in the software to create the accounts.

Further reading:

Firms on HMRC's Time to Pay approval panel revealed

Taxman farms out debt collection in £140m chase

Accountants not ready for iXBRL says CCH survey

David Jetuah, Accountancy Age, Friday 30 July 2010 at 10:54:00

Plans to give Scotland autonomy for tax-raising purposes could damage its fortunes as a place to do business says Calman Commission report

Scotland's standing as a place to do business could be dented by plans to arm its government with tax-raising powers, a new report has said.

There is a proposal on the table which could see the tax rate in Scotland cut by 10p, then allowing the Scottish government to raise it back up to the level required.

A report entitled Conversations with Scottish Business found that 57 per cent of firms thought a two-tier tax system in the UK would have "considerable impact " in cost, administration and time, the Daily Express reported.