PAYE reforms slammed by finance professionals
The government has put forward ideas for an overhaul of the PAYE system, but finance professionals fear the changes could do more harm than good.
Three famous tax cheaters take issue with the authorities
AccountingWEB appears to be developing a rogues gallery of taxation ne'er-do-wells as the same celebrities continue to make headlines. Wesley Snipes, Conrad Black, Lil Wayne, and Suge Knight are, once again, in the news.
'Hoodies into entrepreneurs' training company to pitch at Midlands leg of £50,000 business contest
A company that turns around the lives of young offenders by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills is among the five finalists in the Midlands heat of a nationwide competition tracking down the UK’s best new business.
UK skills rating sliding
The UK is living on “past glories” and its economy risks sliding down the international rankings unless the skills of 10 million workers are improved, according to experts.
20% claim they are bullied by boss
In somewhat of an indictment of UK business leadership, just over one in five UK workers claim to be bullied by their boss, while almost a third believe their manager is incompetent.
View from the Cloud: will Salesforce Chatter be silenced by enterprise pricing?
There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that marketing professionals expect to use social media tools for their campaigns in the next year: 82% said this would be the case.
Rebuilding trust in financial services
Trust in financial services is at an all time low. So what can companies in the sector do to rebuild customer confidence, asks Sam Jordan?
In the eyes of their customers at least, bank managers are not what they once were. Deregulation and intensification of the pursuit of profit have been major contributing factors to the slow erosion of customer confidence across the financial service sector for a generation.
Proskills launches training calculator
Businesses interested in calculating the cost of not investing in training for staff can now use a dedicated skills calculator to see where improvements can be made.
Gartner's five roles for government in the Cloud
There are five roles government organisations could play in order to realise and maximise the benefits of Cloud Computing, according to a new report from Gartner. The report pointed out a number of reasons for the increasing interest from government organisations in the Cloud, not least budgetary constraints and “the need for flexibility”, and called for the alignment to occur under a number of recommendations.
Pensions tax relief: Will simple work?
Perhaps one day it will come to be seen as the last gasp of the UK’s outmoded and overly complex approach to tax law, but conoisseurs will be keeping their eyes open for clauses in the Finance Bill 2011 repealing provisions in the Finance Act 2010 (April) to restrict tax relief on pensions, before they actually come into effect.
Video: Anthony Lau - How winning The Pitch 2009 benefited his business
Anthony Lau, founder of Cyclehoop, was the 2009 winner of The Pitch, BusinessZone.co.uk's small business competition. In the interview below, Dan Martin catches up with Anthony and discusses the story behind his business, how the contest victory has benefited him and tips for the entrepreneurs competing for the title in 2010.
How to create client preference
Robert H Bloom outlines the four decisive customer moments and how firms can ensure they retain client loyalty at these points.
The big management reporting challenge: KPIs
In the first of our series of challenges, we're inviting members to pit their wits against each other to solve a selection of puzzles and case studies for a chance to win a bottle of wine.
The following case study comes from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA). Read through the text below and then post your answers to the questions that follow as comments below. We'll post the answers back on this thread next week and the member judged to have given the best answer will win a bottle of wine.
An entrepreneur's guide to pay-per-click advertising
Pay-per-click advertising (PPC) can be a minefield for those just starting out in business and it's one part of the marketing mix that many business owners don't fully recognise the value of. In our latest entrepreneur's guide, Internet search specialist Jamie McGrath explains how to get it right.
Included in a strategic marketing strategy, paying for traffic is the most effective method of increasing visitors to your site. It is one of the quickest ways to increase traffic and without regular traffic your business is going nowhere fast.
PPC compliments other marketing methods and the big advantage is that it will reach your target market much quicker. Setting up an advert campaign can be tailored to your budget and it's easy to measure. You'll be able to specifically target your audience and know if they reached your website as a result of an advert. You are in control of the pages your visitors see, so you can sit back and watch your traffic increase.
Business problem solving: Mediation
Marjorie Hurwitz Bremner outlines the merits of mediation in solving commercial and employment disputes.
What is mediation?
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) defines mediation as “a flexible process conducted confidentially in which a neutral person actively assists parties in working towards a negotiated agreement of a dispute or difference, with the parties in ultimate control of the decision to settle and the terms of resolution”.
Profile: Sudipta Moore
Name of firm: Moore Accountancy
Location: Altrincham, Cheshire
Established: I got my practicing certificate in April 2010
Staff employed: None
Working from: Home
Shock CEO departure – what now for Adobe’s Omniture v2.0?
Omniture CEO Josh James departs suddenly from his role, only months after a takeover by Adobe. With Adobe admitting "Omniture was made in Josh’s image", what next for the web analytics firm?
Capgemini seminar to feature leading lights of social CRM
Capgemini UK has announced that it is to host a business seminar exploring social CRM, offering attendees the opportunity of learning about the new discipline from some of the leading thinkers from the world of CRM.
The 2010 Social CRM Strategies for Business Seminar will be held on November 4-5 in Capgemini's new Accelerated Solutions Environment in London, and will bring together some of the world’s leading authorities on Social CRM including Paul Greenberg, Esteban Kolsky and Bruce Culbert.
Google social networking plans progress with gaming discussions
Google is in discussions with a number of leading online game producers to incorporate their offerings into its proposed social networking site, which is expected to try and take on Facebook.
Ofcom targets broadband speed claims
The communications watchdog Ofcom this week warned of as “a growing gap between the actual speeds delivered and the speeds that some ISPs use to advertise their services”.
The regulator’s research into broadband speeds during May found that the national average had increased 25% from 4.1Mbit/s to 5.2Mbit/s. But the actual speeds achieved tended to be lower than those advertised, noted Ofcom chief executive Ed Richards, who put forward a new industry code to ensure consumers were given accurate information when they signed up for a broadband service.