Latest News

Is now the time to outsource your law firm’s finance function?

The need to generate regular, timely financial information - both for internal management and external stakeholders - can be time consuming and complex, especially when pulling together data from a range of sources. Should you outsource your finance function 

Armstrong Watson becomes first UK accounting firm to join Institute of Customer Service

Armstrong Watson is is aiming to be recognised as  “the best financial advisory firm to deal with, delivering the best client experience in the UK" and has become the first accounting firm to join The Institute of Customer Service

Xero or Microsoft Business Central? How to choose the right solution for your business

Many businesses choose to outsource their accounting and bookkeeping functions but how do you choose the right outsourced accounting software solution? There are many options available in the market, each with its own features, benefits, and drawbacks.

Get to know the National Minimum Wage – the pitfalls and the penalties

This week our payroll team celebrated National Payroll Week and we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to clarify some of the specifics around the National Minimum Wage.

Making Tax Digital – VAT compliance

Over the last 3 years HMRC have started implementing their Making Tax Digital (MTD) VAT requirements, the gradual introduction has now concluded. Since the 1^st of April 2022, it is a legal requirement for all VAT returns to be sent digitally and direct from software that provides a digital link for sales & purchases from sales system to return. If your business is not compliant, it is key to plan for changing this.

Rising payroll costs, what’s next?

There are various economic factors impacting the increase in wages, with some changes to taxation and minimum wages to arrive in April 2022. Action is needed to navigate your company through these changes. Before we talk about minimising risk, we’ve put a brief overview of the impact to the payroll cost of your business to come.

Changes to Hospitality VAT Rates

Unless the Chancellor responds to requests from the hospitality industry, starting the 1^st of April the VAT rate for most goods and services within the hospitality industry will increase from 12.5% to 20%, this reverses the temporary rates that were in place since June 2020.

Armstrong Watson launches new Outsourced Virtual Finance Department service

Armstrong Watson has launched a new outsourcing service to help clients build virtual finance departments - saving them both time and costs.   

Guy Kerkvliet has been appointed as Head of Outsourcing and will lead the national department.

Transforming your business towards a digital finance function

Automation has been a hot topic for many years now, and as society starts to find a balance between office-based working and working from anywhere it is time to take stock.

It is now more important than ever to ensure business processes are designed and adapted in a future-proof way, especially the finance-related processes that have been ripe for the digital age for some time.

Does your hospitality business have the right front of house systems in place?

As hospitality businesses in England have emerged from months of restrictions and those in Scotland continue to adapt to existing regulations, it might be a good time for businesses to take stock and see if their front of house systems still meet current and future needs.