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June 3, 2024

Business Insights

The Office for National Statistics conducts a fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS). The voluntary responses received from the latest survey revealed the following insights.
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May 30, 2024

Apple and Microsoft announce new product updates

Both Apple and Microsoft have announced updates to their product lines in recent weeks. Apple unveiled updates to their iPad Air and iPod Pro lines, and Microsoft have introduced Copilot + PCs as showcased by their new Surface Pro and Laptop.
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May 29, 2024

Inflation rate falls in April

Official figures released last week by the Office for National Statistics show that the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) dropped to 2.3% for the 12 months to April 2024. This is down from 3.2% for the 12 months to March 2024.
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May 28, 2024

Admitting a new partner into the partnership: What should you consider first?

For businesses that run as a partnership, there often comes a time where you need to consider admitting a new partner into the partnership.
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May 23, 2024

Government promise to cut National Insurance confirmed

While commenting on the GDP growth and what it indicates about the economy, the Prime Minister again drew attention to National Insurance.
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May 22, 2024

Are you an early bird?

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have released figures showing that 295,250 Self Assessment tax returns were filed in the first week of the new tax year. Almost 70,000 were filed on the first day – April 6th.
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May 21, 2024

Understanding economic changes: How recent events affect businesses

Data releases in recent weeks from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) coupled with Bank of England decisions might make recent news about the economy seem a bit confusing. Understanding how this news affects businesses is important so let’s break it down.
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May 16, 2024

Shott Scale Up Accelerator: Leadership programme opportunities available

Making the leap from a technical expert to a business leader can be challenging. The Shott Scale Up Accelerator is a 12-month programme that aims to help senior decision-makers in high-growth engineering and tech SMEs develop the skills needed to scale their business to the next level.
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May 14, 2024

Introducing WorkWell: A £64 million initiative to support workplace health and well-being

The UK government has announced a new initiative aimed at helping people with health conditions stay in or return to work.
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May 13, 2024

Official figures show that the UK no longer in recession

Figures published by the Office for National Statistics on 10 May 2024 show that the UK has officially exited recession.
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May 9, 2024

How might the changes to company size thresholds affect your business?

From October 2024, company size thresholds are to increase by 50%. For each company, these new thresholds will begin to apply from the start of the next accounting period commencing on or after 1 October 2024. But what are the implications of these changes to your company?
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May 8, 2024

Is your use of AI compliant with health and safety?

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published an article outlining its approach to regulating artificial intelligence (AI) in workplaces.
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May 7, 2024

New digital service to check your State Pension forecast launched

A new digital service has been launched that makes it easier to check if you have any gaps in your National Insurance (NI) record that may affect your State Pension entitlement.
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May 3, 2024

Increasing your profit – why it’s not the same as growing sales

The so-called Micawber principle, as stated by Wilkins Micawber in Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield, says: “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.”
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May 2, 2024

Hybrid working – what counts as a business journey for tax purposes?

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have updated their guidance on what qualifies as ordinary commuting and private travel for tax purposes to include hybrid or flexible working.
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