No Accounting for Taste ep97: Putting the shutters down on new clients

AccountingWEB

On the podcast this week we’re discussing the latest Making Tax Digital news, a big fine for KPMG, an embarrassing IR35 error for government departments and later in the show we explore growth - more specifically, why it’s OK now and again to close the door on accepting new clients. Beth Jackson, the co-founder of 2 Sisters Accounting and 2020 Accounting Excellence finalist, joins the AccountingWEB editorial team this week to discuss her decision to pull the shutters down on new clients. Jackson paused the firm’s growth plans while her business partner took a couple months off on maternity leave. She realised that the only way the firm could continue to deliver a good level of service to its existing clients was to stop bringing on new ones. Jackson is not alone in taking this measure; accountancy firms across the UK have grappled with the growth paradox since the lockdown restrictions kicked in and small businesses turned to accountants en masse for extra support. But firms have quickly realised that an expanded client base risks diluting service levels. This decision was even more difficult for Jackson as talking to new clients is one of her favourite parts of the job. That's not to say there hasn’t been some upshots - the velvet rope approach to growth has only added to the growing waitlist. She also joins the team to race through the biggest stories of the week, including: - A £13m fine for KPMG after it fixed the pre-pack sale of mattress retailer Silentnight to a private equity business it was also advising and dumping pension scheme liabilities - An accelerated MTD for income tax start date for some self-employed taxpayers following the news of a big bang mandation in April 2023 - An embarrassing IR35 error for the home office and the DWP after it came to light that the government departments owed millions in back taxes for inaccurate application of the rules. Read the articles in full on AccountingWEB.co.uk.