By Kiri McEniff
The Pensions Regulator has issued new guidance for trustees of Defined Benefit Pension Schemes on assessing and monitoring the employer covenant, replacing the previous guidance issued in November 2010. This is refreshing to see as the market has developed considerably in recent years and the new guidance reflects this.
The employer covenant is the extent of the employer’s legal obligation and financial ability to support the scheme now and in the future. Regularly assessing and monitoring the covenant is a DB scheme requirement under Part 3 of the Pensions Act 2004.
The consideration of employer covenant is a key area of responsibility of Trustees and should be assessed at each triannual valuation and monitored regularly between formal reviews. The new guidance sets out the role of the covenant, how it should be approached, when an assessment should be performed and when it should be commissioned externally. The main points of the guidance are illustrated by checklists, tables and practical examples.
The guidance is a useful tool to trustees in understanding how and when employer covenant should be assessed, either with advice from a covenant assessor or based on their own assessment.
The Regulator advises trustees to consider commissioning an external expert covenant assessor where:
– The trustees do not have the necessary expertise and experience to assess the legal and financial aspects of the covenant;
– The trustee board as a whole is not able to take an objective view (for example, if an influential trustee holds an important role in the employer);
– The scheme is highly reliant on the covenant (for example, the scheme is large relative to the employer, is under-funded or has a higher risk investment strategy);
– The covenant is complex (for example, there is a complex legal or operating group structure or an asset-backed contribution (ABC) structure is being used);
– The covenant is undergoing significant changes (for example, the employer is restructuring); and
– The employer and trustees do not have a good relationship or the employer has been unwilling to provide requested information.
The issue of the new guidance indicates the value the Regulator places on the employer covenant in the valuation process. Our team of covenant experts have undertaken numerous covenant reviews in recent years and are more than happy to answer any queries you may have. Feel free to give us a call on 02895 320155.
The paperless office has been an idealistic vision for business owners for decades, ever since the creation of computers and data storage. However, the evolution of technology and IT equipment, and online storage becoming relatively inexpensive has empowered us to make this happen for real. The transition from the cluttered offices full of files, cupboards, drawers and filing cabinets filled with paper, to a clutter free, paper free world is of course daunting for business owners. But, here in RBL we have decided to bite that bullet and go…… paperless.
The average office worker uses up to 45 sheets of paper per day, half of which is wasted. Add that up over a year and that’s a lot of paper to keep track of, store and pay for. The initial thoughts of most business owners when deciding to move to a paperless environment, is the time and money it will save, primarily on paper and ink costs.
However, there’s more to it than that, with quite a few other benefits to consider and bear in mind:
- Cost of cupboards, cabinets and drawers;
- Storage space costs – space which could be better utilised for additional staff etc;.
- Employee costs of managing, filing and searching for documents;
- Big savings in time searching for misplaced documents. 30% of the day is spent searching for hard copy documents;
- Centralisation of documents; and but with remote access
- Increased information security
Adapting your office to a paperless one does take some adjustment, and business owners will experience some employees who are non-believers, sceptical and will resist the change. I include myself in that as I’ve just proceeded to print this very article to allow one of my colleagues to read it!!! Still not convinced as to why would a business put themselves through it? (apart from reducing the amount of paper cuts you inflict on yourself on a daily basis!) Well here’s one final reason….
FREEDOM! Imagine your entire business processes stored in the cloud where you can access all of your business data anytime, anyplace, anywhere! Liberating thought isn’t it!
So, if you would like further information, guidance or assistance in making the change by moving your business processes to the cloud, please feel free to give us a call on 028 95 320155. You will no longer be criticised for having your head in the clouds.
By Jennifer McCaughan
Over the last while you may have noticed Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis front the latest advertising campaign for Auto Enrolment aimed at making small businesses aware of their duties to automatically enrol their staff into a pension scheme. More than 47000 large and medium sized employers have already completed the process of automatically enrolling their workers and now it is the turn of the 1.3 million small and micro businesses in the UK.
So what exactly is auto enrolment? The Government decided to introduce auto enrolment in an effort to encourage more people to save towards their retirement and if your business employs even one member of staff you will now have new duties including putting staff that meet certain criteria into a work place pension and contributing towards it.
Every Employer in the UK will have been allocated what is known as a ‘Staging date’. This is the date that the employer will have to have complied with the new laws and automatically enrol their staff. If you have not received a letter by now from The Pensions Regulator you can check your staging date on their website: http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/staging-date.aspx
You may be asking what the criteria for being auto enrolled is – there are 3 different types of employee in terms of automatic enrolment eligibility: an Eligible Job Holder; a Non-Eligible Job Holder; and an Entitled Worker. For the tax year 2015/2016 if an employee between the ages of 22 and State Pension Age earns over £10,000 per year they are known as an ‘Eligible Job Holder’ and must be auto enrolled. Outside of this is the ‘Non-Eligible Job Holder’ and this is employees who either fall outside of the age range of Eligible Job Holder (21 years old or younger or State Pensionable age to 74 years old) and earn over £10,000 per year, or employees who earn between the Lower Earnings Limited and the amount required to trigger Auto Enrolment (for 2015/2016 this is a salary or between £5,824 and £10,000). Non-Eligible Job holders do not have to be automatically enrolled on the staging date but they can choose to ‘opt in’ if they wish. An ‘Entitled Job Holder’ is a person that earns less than the Lower Earnings Limited (for the tax year 2015/2016 that is less than £5824) of any age. Entitled Job Holders do not need to be automatically enrolled however Employers need to make sure that that these workers have access to a pension scheme if they request to be part of one, however employers are not required to make contributions.
If your business has heard from The Pensions Regulator, then action is required. Luckily the team at RBL are here to help and can cover all of your businesses Auto-Enrolment requirements. Do not hesitate to contact us at Ross Boyd Ltd on 028 9032 0155 to discuss how we can help.
By Sarah Jane Valentine
When you hear the word marketing, what do you think… posters and advertisements? Some sort of logo design? Or maybe even that’s someone else’s job? Unfortunately, all of these can apply, but when it comes to good marketing nothing could be further from the truth!
For a long time marketing for small businesses has had a pretty bad press. Something you really go for at the start to make sure everyone knows your name and then once you’ve got a bit of recognition and business is ticking over that’s it. After all no one really wants to invest money in marketing when the company is doing well and how you do track what you get back for it. In these times of austerity no one has cash to splash on a frivolous extra. Then when times become a little less hard, the odd penny here and there may or may not be thrown in the general direction of “marketing” like it’s a necessary evil. Sound familiar?
Well what if you look at marketing as an investment rather than an expenditure? We’re always keen to invest in our companies, be it with money, people or time, to allow it to grow, so looking at marketing as a similar investment puts things in a different perspective.
Coca Cola is a great example of this. Probably one of the world’s most recognised brands and also probably one of the biggest investors in marketing activity, pumping billions into their campaigns every year. They don’t stop because they’ve hit the big time, they keep investing because they want to stay in the big time.
Coca Cola look at marketing as food rather than medicine and that’s exactly what it is. By undertaking sustained and strategic marketing you feed your company the 3 square meals a day it needs to grow. However, if you look at marketing as a reactionary activity or a medicine if you like, that you only administer when the books are looking under the weather, you’ll find that you won’t sustain the healthy activity you had and in fact you may find things go the other way.
You don’t need a billion dollar budget like Coca Cola to make your marketing activity have impact. In fact, with the rise in social media, it’s never been cheaper to get your brand out there. Bringing innovative ideas and boosting your brand is as easy as, well… it’s as easy as writing this blog post! Enjoy marketing, embrace it and invest in it. Trust me, you’ll begin to love it and in turn, love your well-nourished company and healthy profits!
RBL is helping its clients grow profitably through a wide range of support initiatives and services. Please feel free to call us on 02895 320155 to discuss how we can help to build your business value.
By David Cuffey
Milk….. poured extravagantly over your cereal, frothing up your cappuccino, or simply a nice cold glass with a bar of chocolate, milk is something we all take for granted… However, do we ever really stop to think about how it makes it to our fridge? A lot of work and business planning goes in to making sure we always have a pint of the white stuff to hand when we need it.
Over recent months and years the price of milk produced by Northern Ireland farmers has fluctuated significantly. The latest release from DARD (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) shows the monthly information on the average Northern Ireland farm gate milk prices and the volume of raw milk produced. In April 2015 the Northern Ireland average farm gate price of milk (including retrospective bonuses) was 21.95 pence per litre, 10.99 pence per litre lower than April 2014. And as I write this, the price has dropped again to 18 pence!
Northern Ireland has always had a traditional farming background, delivering a greater percentage of its Gross Domestic Product from agriculture than almost any other region in the UK with over 2000 people employed in the dairy industry alone.
So if it’s such a big industry and the product produced is something we all know and love… what’s the reason for the massive fluctuation in Milk prices?
The answer….? Quotas… For many years the EU produced milk quotas in 1984 to regulate the amount of milk produced in Europe and sustain pricing levels. The aim of the quotas was to prevent over-production which had resulted in costly butter mountains. The quota has been a real asset to Northern Ireland farmers, allowing them to buy up quota from other parts in the UK and fulfil their shortage with Northern Ireland’s over production. In fact, according to the Ulster’s farmers Union, the quota transfer ability allowed Northern Ireland to increase production by 50% over the past 15 years.
The end of milk quotas sees challenging times ahead for Northern Irish farmers, requiring real business planning and diversification to ensure that their business survives this newly turbulent market place.
Changes like this can happen in any business and maybe it’s time to consider a diversification and forward planning for your company. At Ross Boyd Limited, we are silver partners for Xero cloud based accounting software (The UK’s leading accounting software) and love specific products to support farmers run their businesses. Moving to Xero can reduce your accountancy fee’s, provide up to date financial projections, change the way you invoice clients and keep better track of your financial information. We would love to hear from you so we could discuss further how Xero could change your business for the better along other services we provide, so please get in touch on 02895 320155 or email info@rossboyd.co.uk
By Kiri McEniff
You have probably heard a lot about the debt crisis in Greece in recent months – the nation took a referendum to decide if the country would continue to comply with the austerity terms of their international creditors, and despite a majority ‘no’ vote the nation’s parliament continued to negotiate with the euro-group on a bail-out deal.
In brief, Greece suffered greatly in the European recession, owing billions in debt to private banks. The country was bailed out by Troika, receiving €110 billion in 2010 and a further €130 billion in 2011 from The ECC, ECB and IMF. The Greece government had to impose strict austerity measures as part of the deal, and by 2013 the economy had begun to improve.
In 2014 another recession occurred and as a result a snap election took place in January 2015, which seen the radical left wing party Syriza from a government. They campaigned for an anti-austerity platform and rejected the bail-out deal. Greece missed a crucial IMF repayment of €1.5 billion (£1.1 billion) and conducted a referendum to decide whether the people of Greece would comply with the austerity terms of their international creditors. Up to this point the euro remained considerably immune to the Greece crisis, however when the news broke that they rejected the austerity deal by 61% the euro plummeted.
Despite the referendum rejecting the reform, the nation’s parliament continued to debate the austerity measures put forward by the creditors, which naturally enough caused the public to take to the streets to express their anger over the demands being made. As rioters marched on the Greek parliament the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate neared the 1.43 level.
This Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate is the strongest it has been in seven and a half years. This strong rate is not only attributed to the Greek debt saga, but also to the news that UK wages are exceeding inflation and the underlying strength of the UK economy.
The strong GBP to euro exchange rate is good news for Northern Ireland holiday-makers planning European holidays as they will enjoy better deals. However, the rate has an adverse effect on Northern Ireland tourism as the expensive pound makes it difficult to entice tourists to the northern side of the border.
As you are probably aware, the pound to euro exchange rate heavily impacts businesses in Northern Ireland, especially given that Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic. The Northern Ireland tourism industry and Northern Ireland’s exporters are the most affected by the strong pound to euro exchange rate.
The Eurozone and the Republic of Ireland are a major market for Northern Ireland’s exporters, and the increasing exchange rate is a big challenge for them, as the cost of goods produced here will become more expensive for European buyers. This is especially true for exporters in the food and drink market.
If the Eurozone and fluctuating exchange rates impacts your business and how you plan for the future, why not contact us here at Ross Boyd Ltd (info@rossboyd.co.uk or on 02895 320155) to see how we can work with you to help protect and future proof your profits.
by Andrew Neill
Would you believe that for many, the summer months bring disappointment and sadness, sometimes even leaving many feeling bereft…. But how can this be? Well, The Premier League is off season….
Now, whilst this is devastating news for football fans, leaving them twiddling their thumbs… the same can’t be said for the footballers. They may not be playing every week but that doesn’t mean they’ve stopped working….
This also applies in the world of business, no matter who you are or what your business, there will come time when you find yourself in the “off season”, but it isn’t always a bad thing.
For those businesses starting up, it’s often the early years that present companies with quite a few “off seasons” (in every sense of the term), but with careful planning and guidance these can really be used to the advantage of the business. Take the example of Bournemouth Football club. They will take part in the top flight of English football this season for the first time in their history. Yet in the last 20 years the club went into administration twice and nearly ceased trading forever. Their success story can be used as an inspiration to almost any business; there will be periods where your business is not at its best and may even be making a loss, but use those times to train for the next “Season” of profit and growth.
Perhaps your business is a lot like the football league, scheduled around certain time periods in the calendar. If you are a home fuel provider then your “Season” is going to be winter whilst summer will be the expected quieter period.
Arguably, challenges, and indeed failure, can be the most successful aspect of business as it allows us to strive for improvement. There is no business which can forever continue to grow year on year and never experience difficult spells. However, you can mitigate the chance of failure. Just like the off season in the football calendar, you can combat it. Business owners can prepare for the off season with contingency plans and other actions.
If you are a business owner and you want to prepare for uncertainties and strategically plan how to use your “off season” to the Business’s advantage, please contact us at Ross Boyd Limited on 02895 320 155 or by emailing info@rossboyd.co.uk. We have vast experience in supporting businesses and actively taking a role in making your business successful, even in the “off Season”.
Ross Boyd Limited has been making the headlines of late, with two appearances in the last week! Click on the images below to see why we’ve gone and got our name in print…
Saturday 6th June saw the bunting unfurled and the gazebos erected as Ross Boyd Ltd held their first Family BBQ! The firm is keen to offer clients something extra.
Over 100 clients and friends were welcomed to Ballydrain Road for a burger, a beer and a spin on the Bouncy Castle! And although the weather was less than
favourable early in the day, the clouds held on to their rain and at times there was even a hint of sunshine! Unheard of for a BBQ in Northern Ireland in June! Kids young and old were catered for with some serious competition in the football department, outstanding displays of bouncing prowess on the bouncy castle, faces painted to a standard that Van Gough would have been proud of, and live music really set the day off!
The event was a great opportunity for clients new and longstanding, to come together and catch up with the team and get an update on the latest innovations in Cloud accounting and developments in the world of Xero, all while enjoying the finest of foods, cakes and wines.
We also held a raffle in aid with prizes kindly donated by Established Coffee, Joli Designer Clothing and Neill Wines, in aid of The Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice which raised over £250 for this great cause, as well as creating some happy winners at the same time. A really worthy cause I’m sure you’ll agree and thank you to those who took part.
We would like to thank everyone who attended the event and we really look forward to welcoming you all to our next one. If you couldn’t make it never fear, our next one won’t be too far away, so watch this space! Although we can’t promise there’ll be face painting, fun is always guaranteed!
We strive to offer a range of technical and more informal events to assist clients achieve great financial management and profitable business growth.