One month to go before the end of the tax year and the banks and pension investors are inundating us all with the “use your ISA allowances” and “maximise your pension contributions before the changes next tax year”. Interest rates remain pitiful and again the rates are being reduced across the board yet again on all taxable and tax free savings and investments. Even dividend yields are falling, some of which driven by increases in share values. Possibly now may be the time to invest in shares and the FTSE hitting a five year high this week would seem to indicate that investors are coming back into equities.

All the above assumes that consumers, who have been suffering for the past five years with increased food, fuel and transport costs, coupled with little or no wage increases, (for those who have a job), have any spare money to save. For any employees who do not currently belong to any type of pension scheme there is potentially another outflow, (albeit with a longer term benefit), the auto enrolment by companies and their employees into the NEST pension scheme or equivalent.

Many smaller companies do not know;-

• Their company’s auto enrolment date
• How many employees are affected, depending on their annual salary
• What changes are required from a payroll and HR perspective
• Communications and financial controls
• Cash flow implications with employers having to contribute on an increasing sliding scale over the next few years

MW Interim Finance has recently assisted in providing some thought provoking feedback on the above to a business who employs a large number of temporary and part-time workers, as well as a permanent workforce. It was a complicated scenario that required a thorough knowledge of the HMRC rules to ensure the company planned its strategy accordingly.

This is just one aspect of how MW Interim Finance could help your business; from operational issues through to restructuring and managing strategic change effectively.