Opinion

Kevin Collie, senior paraplanner at Mearns and Company, discusses the DIY skills individuals may have learned throughout lockdown. It seems like only yesterday that we emerged from our lockdown bunkers ready to face the world again. Some of us were sporting once-in-a-lifetime lockdown tans and other

Stuart Clark, managing director at Glasgow-based Russell & Russell Business Advisers, discusses the complexities of the tax involved in using gift vouchers in the hospitality sector. For business people and their professional advisers, it is like trying to navigate a pathway on constantly shifti

Derek Money, head of sales at White Oak in Glasgow, says that now is the time for businesses in Scotland to take advantage of the coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) and look towards growth in 2021. Scottish businesses have shown their true spirit during what has been the most chal

Jim Lockhart, accounting partner at accountancy firm Armstrong Watson Glasgow, is urging Scottish businesses to go back to basics in face of declining confidence and falling demand. Last week saw the publication of both the ICAEW Business Confidence Monitor (BCM): Scotland for Q4 2020, and the

Graeme Williams, director of M&A at KPMG in Scotland, considers the state of the deals market in Scotland. The last twelve months have taken their toll on Scotland’s economy with no sector or business left unscathed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Stuart Clark, managing director of Russell & Russell Chartered Accountants in Glasgow, lists five things to consider if you might make the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) for your employees. The tax treatment of company-owned electric cars is not as simple as you would hope, but there are defi

Chris Sanger, EY’s head of tax policy, discusses the recent tax policy announcements made by HM Treasury. Despite the news from the Chancellor that the Autumn Budget has been postponed this year, it has not prevented HM Treasury from issuing today an Autumn set of tax announcements, to add to

Bryan Shaw considers some of the more common pain points in syndicated deals and shares some suggested strategies to resolve any roadblocks. In the early months of 2020 and during Covid lockdown, access to capital for early-stage and scaling businesses became more difficult as investors’ risk

Louise Brittain, restructuring and insolvency partner at accountancy firm Azets, discusses how new personal insolvency legislation is open to fraud. The Debt Respite Scheme gives people who receive professional debt advice access to a 60-day period in which interest, fees and charges are froze

Peter Graham, director, forensic accounting at MHA Henderson Loggie, discusses the lessons which can be learned from Johnny Depp's libel action. Last week the newspapers reported the judgement in the case of Johnny Depp’s libel action against News Group Newspapers.

Graham Boyack, director of Scottish Mediation, discusses how the HMRC mediation scheme can save time and money by resolving unnecessary disputes.  If you’d asked me to guess what sort of webinars I might be looking at during the Covid situation, I don’t think that one from the

Murdoch MacLennan, banking partner with accountancy firm Azets, is calling for an urgent extension of the repayment term for all existing and any new Coronavirus Business Interruption Scheme Loans (CBIL) and Bounce Back Loans (BBL) to be extended to the government’s proposed new ten-year maxim

Graeme Finnie, managing partner at French Duncan, discusses the potential outcomes of the US Presidential election, and its impact on Scotland’s economy and business community. How the 2020 US election outcome affects Scotland’s economy and SME community could be largely dependent on the

Alan McIntosh, a money advisor, discusses the impacts of COVID-19 on the personal finances of Scots. 

Simon Poole, co-founder of the North Berwick-based employee-owned business Jerba Campervans, discusses why the employee ownership model should be considered as a viable option in a post-COVID world. In times of true crisis, we see widely accepted norms crumble.