A huge change in the way people fund their retirement is expected following the Chancellor’s well reported ‘pension revolution’. From 5th April this year, millions of people reaching retirement age will be able to spend their pension pot in any way they want. The move will remove the requirement on many people with defined contribution...

Ask someone to name a famous franchise and they will probably say MacDonald’s or Subway but there are numerous kinds of franchises out there in the market place. In relation to any other small business, franchising has proved to be successful, with 94% of units still operating profitable businesses 5 years down the line whilst...

It might surprise you to know but Inheritance Tax (IHT) is starting to become more of a concern to many people, the main reason for this being rising property prices. Most estates (the assets you leave when you die) are still not charged with Inheritance Tax, as the total value is not high enough, but...

With record numbers of UK students being accepted for full time university courses, it will come as no surprise to you that that young people across the UK are more likely to begin university than ever before. With almost 496,000 students beginning full-time undergraduate courses last year, this means that 40% of young people in...

By John Craig If you are a small business you will definitely be interested to hear that there is a way to simplify your VAT return and if you qualify, reduce your VAT liabilities too. If your VAT taxable turnover is less than £150,000, The VAT Flat Rate Scheme has been designed to simplify the...

By Kevin D. Ferguson BA CA, Partner , JRW Chartered Accountants There is no absolutely no doubt that cycling has enjoyed a boom in recent years with the amazing success of British cyclists in the Tour de France and the 2012 Olympics really capturing the public’s imagination in the sport.  Sir Bradley Wiggins, Laura Trott,...

CELEBRATING 90 YEARS You may or may not know that JRW CA was formed from the merger of two long established local accountancy firms, The James Rosie Partnership and Welch & Co. In fact Welch & Co were established exactly ninety years ago last month (October 2014), the first office was in Hawick’s Sandbed before...