In the ever changing world of compliance, regulations and reporting, let us take strain so you can concentrate on running your business. We work across a wide range of industries in the Small and Medium Enterprise sector offering services from monthly management accounts to annual financial statements and statutory audits.

Accountancy:

With SGD, you no longer have to dread your year-end – we are here to help!  Our team will work with you to prepare the year-end financial statements, to ensure reporting requirements are met and to advise your business for the future.

Audit:

Need an audit? Not a problem, here at SGD we are dedicated to providing the best possible services to our clients. We are not here to simply pick out any blunders and ensure reporting compliance; we are here for your business. Our audit team are able to delve into the core of your organisation and offer advice on applying positive changes from making processes more efficient and implementing stronger controls to working towards your company’s long term goals.

We have experience in auditing companies, groups, foreign subsidiaries, charities, solicitors and pension schemes. We audit a variety of sectors including manufacturing, retail, technology, services and professions.  Not sure if we can cater for you? Why not give us a call and we can discuss your needs.

Resources:

At SGD we are not only here for you at the year-end – we can assist all year round too.

We offer a range of bookkeeping services – we can work with you on your bookkeeping software, Sage Line 50, Sage One, Xero, FreeAgent and QuickBooks and so on, alternatively we include use of our ‘in house’ Sage One software as part of our package, giving you access to your information whenever you want and saving you paying for an additional subscription.  We advise on set up and support as well as processing your company’s transactions on a timely basis.

We can provide regular management accounts which might include historic reporting, assessment of key performance indicators, budgets and forecasts to reflect how your business is doing in a timely manner and enable efficient reporting to the board. This is a personal service and the management accounts pack will be tailored to your specific needs.

Interested? Call our office and we will be happy to help!

Death and taxes are two things we would probably all rather avoid entirely if we could. However most people accept, like US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin in the 18^th century, that both are inevitable.

At SGD our experience is that, while they cannot be entirely avoided, taxes can be managed. With proper planning, the effective tax rate can be reduced to a level where it is no longer a barrier to our clients’ plans.

We advise the owners of a range of Small and Medium Enterprises, from start-ups to £100m turnover groups, as well as high net worth private individuals, on all aspects of their personal and business tax affairs. Particular areas of expertise include

• Remuneration planning, profit extraction and employee incentive schemes.
• Buying and selling of businesses
• Corporate reconstructions
• Succession planning
• Inheritance Tax planning, including Trusts
• Taxation of non UK domiciled individuals.

The pool of expertise developed among our tax directors and senior staff over many years through a range of national and local firms covers all areas of taxation firmly rooted in real world situations. This experience, along careful consideration of your circumstances and aspirations, enables us to put together tax efficient and commercially effective tailored solutions.

There are two principles that underpin our tax planning strategy. One is that tax planning should be designed around the commercial and personal objectives of our clients and not the other way round. The other is that efficient tax outcomes can be achieved by expert knowledge and application of the allowances and reliefs set out in the tax legislation, without resorting to artificial or aggressive schemes which seek to exploit perceived loopholes.

As a result of these principles, our clients are achieving their objectives within a tax efficient structure but without the fear that it will one day be unravelled by HMRC.

We look forward to making this a reality for you.

Our aim is to help individuals and businesses to achieve their financial goals. Our approach is straightforward. You tell us about your current situation, your financial objectives and when you want to achieve them.

Using our expertise we develop a practical plan designed to help you meet those objectives. We’ll discuss the plan with you and agree on the course of action you want to take. Whilst the final decisions are of course yours, we’re here to help and guide you with jargon-free advice both now and in the future.

 

Areas for Consideration:

We are able to offer advice on:

 

• Pensions
• Investments
• Enterprise Investment Scheme /  Venture Capital Trust
• Trusts
• Inheritance Tax
• Life/Income Protection
• Group Life Cover
• Mortgages

What next?

Please contact our office for more information and an initial discussion if you wish to explore any areas further.

We understand that every business is unique and that is why our business start-up services are tailored to your needs. We will be there for you every step of the way, from handling the legality of forming a company to setting up your first business bank account and beyond. We will guide you through the steps of starting up to ensure your business has the best foundations to become as successful as possible.

If you have a great business idea but are not sure where to start – start with SGD!

Made to measure:

We offer the opportunity for you to customise how we help you start up your business. We can:

• Offer advice as to the best structure for your business including advice on ownership and planning for profit sharing.
• Take care of the formation of any company or LLP and ensure the completion of statutory records.
• Register your business with HMRC for income tax/corporation tax and VAT if applicable.
• Set up your payroll including registration of the PAYE scheme.
• Advise on the financial software to meet the needs of your emerging business.
• Assist with setting up the all-important business bank account so your customers have somewhere to pay!
• Help with anything else you need, all you have to do is ask.

If this sounds like the type of services you need to get your business up and running, please contact our offices – we would love to help your business become a success!

Trusts have been a part of the UK legal and tax system for many years. They enable assets to be given away without there necessarily being a loss of control. Much tax legislation and case law has evolved over time and an up to date understanding of this complex area is essential if individuals are to take advantage of the legal and taxation advantages which can be afforded by the use of trusts. We act for a large number of trusts and family estates.

Who we work with

We work for individuals with high net worth, both in relation to the use of trusts for reasons of protection and for tax planning, including the mitigation of Inheritance Tax. We work with trustees of existing trusts, of all types. We work with the personal representatives of the estates of deceased persons.

What we do

We provide advice to individuals on the use of trusts, in order to protect family assets and in order to mitigate tax liabilities, including inheritance tax. We provide compliance services to trustees of all types of trust, including the annual preparation of trust accounts and tax returns and in dealing with other compliance requirements such as the completion of Inheritance Tax Accounts.

We provide compliance services to the personal representatives of deceased persons, including the preparation of estate accounts and tax returns and inheritance tax accounts. We also work with lawyers to assist them with their work in these areas.

The benefits to Trustees and Personal Representatives

To be a trustee or a personal representative is a serious responsibility carrying with it obligations to comply with many legal requirements. As well as having a clear understanding of the issues which face you as a trustee or personal representative we are able to help with your compliance obligations by ensuring that accounts and tax returns are dealt with correctly and on time. We are able to provide advice to individuals on the use of trusts for reasons of family protection and tax planning and to advise on your own unique family circumstances.

What next?

Why not call us to discuss your particular needs and let us demonstrate to you our expertise and willingness to help you in dealing with the important opportunities afforded by the proper use of trusts and in the efficient management of estates.

In this day and age, you do not need to pay heavy solicitors fees for assistance with inheritance tax and probate, SGD is fully licenced to cater for all of your needs. We can be here for you during the difficult time following the death of a loved one to help sort everything out and to take the stress away from you and your family.

It is likely we have already had contact with your loved one, helping to prepare their tax returns, business trading accounts or offering planning advice so who is better equipped to help with their estate than us?

We will be your single point of contact for all administration and taxation matters following a death including:

• Establishing all assets and liabilities.
• Establishing possible ongoing pension entitlements for a spouse or family member.
• Bringing all assets under the control of the executors.
• Carrying out identification and bankruptcy searches for all potential beneficiaries.
• Dealing with any payments due to legatees named in the Will.
• Liquidating estate assets or transferring them in specie to beneficiaries if desired.
• Dealing with payments due to the residuary beneficiaries in the Will.
• Considering the income tax/capital gains tax position of the executors during the estate administration period and reporting to HMRC as necessary.

You do not have to wait for that unfortunate event before you contact us, we can also help you plan for the future. You may wish to discuss the preparation of a Will or begin to put into practice some inheritance tax planning. We also hold Wills in our fire-proof safe for no charge, so whatever your needs, SGD is here for you – we are only a phone call away.

Probate diversity results 2018
Probate diversity results 2019
Probate diversity results 2021

To comply with the GDPR regulations we would like to introduce you to our client Portal. The Portal goes way beyond traditional document exchange and simple file sharing. It’s a personalised document exchange system that allows us to create a totally secure online environment for you and our firm to communicate and work together.

Secure, two-way real-time messaging makes it easy for you to communicate with us online, whether it’s seeking approval for a tax return, finalising accounts or any other request.

 

Advantages of Portal:

Security

Portal uses the highest available military grade 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard, hosted in one of the most secure data centres, giving you and our firm complete peace of mind. On top of this, we apply the same security protocols used by internet banks and similar websites to provide you with the visible reassurance of the familiar closed padlock and https website address.

Portal includes a two-way messaging facility so that conversations with you can be stored in your client file and accessed from a single, central location. By making sure that all sensitive communication stays within this secure environment, Portal reduces risk and protects your confidentiality.

 

Electronic Approval

Any document that’s been published to the Portal can be flagged to require your approval. The approval or rejection status is automatically updated in our systems including the time and date of approval and the approver’s name. This ensures you are able to sign-off documents, backed with a full audit trail.

 

Efficiency

Portal allows you and our staff to access key documents 24/7, eliminating potential postal delays and charges. Portal allows us to capture all client communication in a single location for greater visibility and control.

 

Personalised login

The Portal will have a personalised login for every client. You have full control of your Portal account, your login and password plus a fully automated “forgotten password” facility.

 

Audit trail

A full audit trail is retained in our systems showing every transaction on the portal, including date, time and the IP address of anyone accessing the Portal or reviewing and approving documents.