Inheriting a tax dodging company

[Magilla 510]

19 hours ago, bendix said:

Personally - and given there is a lot of money at stake - i would want to talk to a high quality local firm (no need to go to the international firms in the city.

 

For an accountant that would be Shaws (just off Eccie Road, near Nuffields) or Hawsons on Glossop Road.  For a law firm, someone like Keeble Hawson.

 

You only need one or the other.  If both accounting and legal work is required, whoever you go to will draw the right people in.

Hey Bendix, my OH is looking for a reputable accountant and I just noticed your comment.

 

I wasn't able to find Shaws ( Eccie Road is closest to us so would suit), did you mean Shorts?

https://www.shorts.uk.com

 

[bendix 10]

2 hours ago, Magilla said:

Hey Bendix, my OH is looking for a reputable accountant and I just noticed your comment.

 

I wasn't able to find Shaws ( Eccie Road is closest to us so would suit), did you mean Shorts?

https://www.shorts.uk.com

 

Apologies, yes Shorts.

 

 

[Magilla 510]

2 minutes ago, bendix said:

Apologies, yes Shorts.

Nice one, thanks.

[bendix 10]

2 hours ago, probedb said:

You're assuming quite a lot there. It's almost as if you think the only people that post on forums have no skills or a profession and are incapable of doing anything or being able to offer perfectly valid advice that is often based on experience.

OK.  I have a suggestion for you.  Next time you have a major medical complaint, forget going to the doctors or hospital and let SF and Facebook get you back on the road to recovery instead. 

 

People may have skills and a profession.  I would posit that if those accountants and lawyers were on SF, they would want just a tad more information and context from the OP before offering a professional view.  If they were offering advice without that information, they are not worthy of the name.

 

 

 

[Guest makapaka]

21 hours ago, bendix said:

Significantly less than the OP might lose if he relies on advice from the internet from people who don't know what they are doing and have no skin in the game.

 

A top partner in a top firm in Sheffield can be had for £300 an hour.  An associate for half that.  And invariably the firms will do a deal with you where the cap the fee.

 

In smaller firms, lawyers fees are considerably less.

All of which are interesting but ultimately worthless, and if they lead you down the wrong path, MUCH worse than worthless.

 

There is only one piece of advice worth listening to:  talk to a professional.   Any decent one will meet with you for free for an hour while you talk through the issues, before giving you an assessment of likely costs and processes.

 

 

 

Would you not be interested in listening to advice from someone who had been in the same situation and had dealt with it in a succesful manner?

 

 

[Guest]

30 minutes ago, bendix said:

OK.  I have a suggestion for you.  Next time you have a major medical complaint, forget going to the doctors or hospital and let SF and Facebook get you back on the road to recovery instead. 

In what way is that even vaguely related?

 

Legal advice vs physical/mental injury requiring medical treatment at a hospital, hmmm let me think.

 

In what way do you think speaking to a solicitor in person vs speaking to a solicitor online is different? Do you think they give different advice depending on the communication method?

Edited April 10, 2019 by Guest
Added

[Cyclone 10]

Have you tried asking the existing (and well paid) accountants if they think everything is legitimate?

 

I've never heard of directors loans being written off before for example.  Not in the way you've suggested it happened anyway.  "Writing it off" effectively just converts it to dividend, at which point it becomes declarable income for the purposes of self assessment, which the previous directors would have been filing annually, probably through the same accountants.

On 09/04/2019 at 11:39, Mordant said:

I have 'inherited' a small company. It's a limited company, and only has about three products which are sold b2b to the haulage industry. It functions as a mail order business in the main.

 

What I am discovering is that the company, and its director, has been using the company and company account largely as a personal piggy bank. Salaries are all under the tax threshold, and larger sums have been paid out as director's loans and written off.

 

I have a bank mandate, and can become a director if need be.

Historically, the annual accounts have been a frantic period of receipt finding and trying to write off as much profit as possible against company expenditures. Much of it seemingly fiction.

 

Now, I am not an accountant - the company already has one, and forks out 3-4k a year (on less than 150k turnover) - and I need to be able to (as much as possible) draw a line under the shady shenanigans of the past and put the company on a legitimate, transparent and compliant footing.

What do I, in your opinion, need to do next?

Further to the "can become a director if need be"...

 

Quote

When a company finds it has no directors it is in breach of the Companies Act 2006, which requires a private limited company to have at least one director and a public limited company to have a minimum of two. In such cases, any shareholder can request that a general meeting is held for a new director to be appointed.

 

It's not legal for a company to have no director.

[bendix 10]

25 minutes ago, probedb said:

In what way is that even vaguely related?

 

Legal advice vs physical/mental injury requiring medical treatment at a hospital, hmmm let me think.

 

In what way do you think speaking to a solicitor in person vs speaking to a solicitor online is different? Do you think they give different advice depending on the communication method?

The point is, if you need experts, talk to an expert.  This guy needs expert advice - as such he should seek expert advice, not the ill-informed view of anonymous know-it-alls on a forum.  We are talking about the potential financial and legal liability relating to a company with half a million pound of assets, at least.  That is all we know. There are thousands of other things we don't know - things that might impact the advice this guy should get.  A professional lawyer or accountant would know these things and would know how to get to the information.

 

Your second point re online lawyers is just weird.  How would he know the anonymous and completely arbitrary person on SF pretending to be a lawyer is, in fact, a lawyer?

 

If a lawyer registered with the SRA gives you bad advice leading to financial loss or legal liability, you as a client have a legal remedy.  Do you think the OP would have that confidence and surety taking the advice of an anonymous poster on an internet forum, who is as likely to be a shopkeeper, waitress, bookie or car repair man as he is to be a lawyer.

 

 

[Cyclone 10]

Surely the OP is going to get professional advice.  Asking on here first just gives him some idea of the size of the problem and things that he might want to talk to the professional about.

[Mordant 10]

5 hours ago, Cyclone said:

Surely the OP is going to get professional advice.  Asking on here first just gives him some idea of the size of the problem and things that he might want to talk to the professional about.

This ^ but I'm also interested in hearing about other people's opinions on the situation more generally. It might also help me find the right professional. Also - these might be answers that other readers might find useful or interesting.

 

I totally take Bendix's point, but I'm not going to go out and act on someone's posted advice beyond seeking professional advice. But I am always interested in what other people think.

 

The company currently has two directors, one of whom is leaving, This business shed a number of directors about 5 years ago following what amounted to embezzlement and general shenanigans. This latest departure is planned, as the director is returning to the continent.

It's now essentially a family affair. The director (my dad) has no interest in the company any more (he's 80) but it needs to carry on trading to provide him with an income at the very least.