6 CPD units | 133 GBP plus VAT

Overview 

UK and Ireland accounting standards have been subject to significant changes as part of the FRC’s periodic review. These changes will affect all reporting entities, some more than others. This one-day accounting standards update will look at the technical detail of the periodic review amendments, in particular:

• On-balance sheet lease accounting for lessees

• The new revenue recognition rules

• The new disclosure requirements for small entities in the UK
• Other amendments made, such as in respect of taxation

The course will also examine the new disclosure requirements in the cash flow statement in respect of supplier finance arrangements.

In addition, the course will focus on challenging technical areas identified by ACCA, such as:

• Deferred tax

• Property revaluations

• Directors’ transactions
• Amortised cost method for financial instruments

Current issues, such as the increase in company size thresholds, audit exemption thresholds and Companies House reforms will also be examined.

Who should attend:

This update is suitable for accountants in practice or industry and will apply to both small and large companies.

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6 CPD units | 269 GBP plus VAT

Economic and business uncertainty, rapid rates of change in technology, shifts in trends and needs and fierce competition all conspire to create an ever more challenging business environment. Traditional planning, budgetary and forecasting processes struggle to cope well in this environment often evidenced by the effort expended on (and frequency of) reforecasting and planning revisions. This course examines the underlying causes of budgetary and forecast difficulties and considers more advanced planning and forecasting techniques and alternative budgetary processes and methodologies more fit for today’s challenges.

Key features

• Planning for uncertainties and instabilities in the business environment
• Taking account of what’s not in our control: external macroeconomic and political impacts and competition
• Development of robust planning frameworks
• Substituting science for guesswork - statistical and non-statistical techniques to improve forecast and planning accuracy
• Difficulties we encounter in budgeting: management disaffection, lack of transparency, constant reforecasting and forecast error.
• Alternatives approaches – Scenario Planning, Rolling forecasts, Driver-based, Activity-based and Output budgets

What will I get out of this course?

A greater understanding of the key (and sometimes hidden) pressures on planning, budgeting and forecasting; gaining an understanding of alternative processes and techniques that bring more transparency and predictive capability and are management friendly and involving, all to address the limitations of traditional approaches; binding the budget, the business plan and our strategy more tightly and in alignment.

Who should attend?

Finance Directors, senior finance and management personnel and any staffs involved in business planning processes.

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6 CPD units | 133 GBP plus VAT

Participants will gain a highly practical tax update, covering all recent tax and NIC changes, while uncovering new tax planning opportunities. This in-depth course will feature practical case studies throughout to enhance learning.

Key features

A current tax update for accountants, both in practice and in industry, covering the following topics:

• Business tax update
• Tax efficient benefits in kind for directors and employees
• IR35…Where are we now? – The latest position and the new limits
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
• CIS tax update and planning
• Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings
• The tax changes to furnished holiday lettings
• Capital allowances update, under the new regime and case study
• Personal tax update
• NIC and PAYE refresher and planning
• Trading deductions - what is allowable and what is not
• The recent tax cases and changes in legislation
• Practical VAT changes, developments and planning opportunities
• Capital gains tax refresher
• Corporation tax update and planning
• General tax planning resulting from recent tax changes
• The tax benefits of electric vehicles
• Inheritance tax planning and recent cases
• Personal tax planning for high-net-worth individuals
  
  

Who should attend?

This course will be beneficial to accountants, both in practice and industry.

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6 CPD units | 133 GBP plus VAT

This session will be invaluable for an accountant advising small and medium sized businesses and will cover the most relevant areas of legal regulation likely to affect clients, and in some cases, the practice itself.

The session will cover some or all of the following topics and include any important new developments up to the date of the course.

Company Law Update

• Impact of Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 and implementation details
• Companies House changes
• New corporate offences, including recent guidance
• Implementation practicalities
• New filing penalties
• Directors’
• Duties – new cases and a look at the Post Office scandal and what it teaches us
• Incapacity of directors
• Shareholders
• Disputes and minority protection
• Forfeiture of Shares
• Succession in small businesses – two key cases and general issues
• Share Purchase Agreements – pitfalls and recent litigation
• Sale of a Business – issues to address
  
  

Business law update

• Professional Negligence – recent developments
• General Partnerships and what defines a partnership
• LLPs and the Significant Influence test
  
  

Employment Law Update

• Employment status – new cases and developments in this area
• Flexible working – practicalities and cases
• Payroll issues
• Holiday – recent cases, carry over and holiday pay for casuals
• Tips and Gratuities
• Minimum wage
• Employment Law Reform - summary of what we know and implications including family friendly rights, flexible working, harassment, unfair dismissal rights
• Issues around social media and beliefs
• Age discrimination and the Walker Morris case
• Absence management
• Disability and dealing with neurodiversity
• Dismissal – an overview
• Redundancy procedure and pitfalls
• Any recent developments including on restrictive covenants, franchisees and good faith (Vodafone), and professional negligence

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6 CPD units | 269 GBP plus VAT

Utilising the most appropriate and effective pricing strategies has, by far, the greatest impact you can make on profitability. This session will aid your understanding of traditional and alternative determinants of price, assist you in determining their applicability to your own business and the role finance can play in developing and supporting pricing decisions.

Key features

• Pricing is much more effective than cost management in driving profits
• What is value and how do customers perceive it – the Value Proposition
• Understanding price elasticity
• The psychology of pricing
• Pricing strategies we can pursue
• Cost, contribution, and penetration-based pricing.
• Target, skimming, and discrimination-based pricing.
• Decoy, psychological, and value pricing.
• Competitor, going rate, and commodity pricing

What will I get out of it

An understanding of the impact of pricing on sales, how pricing may be set to reflect the value perception held by customers, and how psychological factors impact customer price perception. Gain an understanding of various pricing mechanisms and when they can be applied to best effect.

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3 CPD units | 126 GBP plus VAT

Overview

Designed to keep you up to speed with new and forthcoming changes to accounting standards, this update course will ensure that you continue to adhere to the very best industry practices. We will look at recently issued amendments and consider their practical implications. We will also do some ‘horizon watching’ looking at projects on the IASB workplan.

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3 CPD units | 108 GBP plus VAT

Fraud can be hard to detect and many auditors have come to severely regret audit failures in this area. Auditing for fraud is special and needs a different approach.

In May 2021, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published revised ISA (UK) 240 The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements. This standard applied for periods commencing on or after 15 December 2021.The standard reinforces the requirement that auditors are required to detect certain frauds, despite the difficulties involved.

This course builds on the ISA and uses practical examples to bring the topic to life.

This course will cover

• The auditor’s responsibilities in relation to fraud
• Risk assessment
• Designing tests
• The role of the audit team discussion, in detecting fraud
• How to appropriately apply scepticism
• Management override
• Testing journals
• Issues around related parties
• Real world fraud case studies
• Reporting fraud

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12 CPD units | 420 GBP plus VAT

This programme consists of four sessions which makes it a cost-effective way of staying informed of the latest technical issues. You are able to buy each of the sessions individually or collectively.

Please see the programme schedule below to book more sessions or book all four sessions at a discounted price.

Financial Reporting Update part one - Changes to FRS 102 and emerging issues
Lecturer: Guy Loveday

Financial Reporting Update part two - Common blunders under FRS 102
Lecturer: Guy Loveday

Business and Corporate Taxes Update
Lecturer: Russell Cockburn

Employment and Personal Taxes Update
Lecturer: Russell Cockburn

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3 CPD units | 103 GBP plus VAT

Overview

“Is it OK for me to use ChatGPT at work?”

“Is Artificial Intelligence protecting or undermining human rights?”

This course explores the ethical dilemmas we face today, both in the workplace and in wider society, as machine learning algorithms become more prevalent.

Using real-life examples from business and society, this course will debate the ethical issues being faced and demonstrate why professional accountants are ideally placed to lead the governance and regulation of this technology.

Who is this for?

This course requires no prior knowledge and is ideal for anybody using or planning to use some sort of machine learning algorithm (i.e. everyone!). It is especially relevant for business professionals who are considering the implications of using these algorithms in the workplace, and for accountants who want to understand the implications of this technology for their future careers.

Learning outcomes

To understand the main features of the current wave of Artificial Intelligence.

To use ACCA’s ethical principles to address the dilemmas currently being faced through the use of AI.

To analyse the role of government and explore the implications of regulatory versus free market policies.

To demonstrate the role of professional accountants in steering AI’s evolution.

To recommend 10 practical steps to regulate AI.

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3 CPD units | 126 GBP plus VAT

Overview

Stepping into a leadership role is an exciting yet challenging time that often requires changes in priorities, relationships, and self-confidence. Many new leaders feel under-qualified, doubt their skills, or fear they will be exposed as frauds. This lack of self-confidence can hinder decision-making and leadership effectiveness. It’s common to worry about making mistakes or facing backlash from your team or superiors. Establishing authority and gaining respect, especially if you've been promoted from within the same team or are younger than your subordinates, can be particularly challenging. Additionally, navigating the transition from doing to leading, managing time and priorities, and delegating to others can be difficult.

You are not alone! By recognising and addressing these common challenges, you can become a more effective and self-assured leader. Join us for our interactive workshop where you will learn how to build your confidence.

Key feature

• Overcome impostor syndrome
• Make decisions that affect others
• Build authority and respect as a leader
• Develop trust and rapport with team members
• Manage your time and delegate tasks
• Deal with issues within your team

You will leave with a practical toolkit and confidence skills needed to thrive in your new leadership role.

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6 CPD units | 263 GBP plus VAT

Overview

Great finance leaders see beyond the day to day accounting routines and become a change leader who can transform finance into a best-in-class operation and drive change throughout the business by providing valued insights to managers. A strong finance leader will create clarity of vision for the function and focus on building high energy teams with the skills and attributes to add value and to create an environment which is seen as an aspirational place to work.

Key features

• What makes a great finance leader
  • Creating a vision and road map for finance setting direction and aspirations
  • Making sound decisions, avoiding the judgement trap caused by inherent and cognitive biases
  • Understanding the end to end business
• Improving finance efficiency, reducing low value added work, increasing quality and freeing time to concentrate on value adding activity
• Building a great team and knowing their strengths, skills and attributes
• Understanding what managers want and need - turning finance into a valued and trusted partner, more responsive to management needs
• Developing goals and action plans for finance and to measure performance progress

What will I get out of this course?

An understanding of how the role of finance is evolving towards a greater focus on adding more value through a more partnered approach and insightful reporting and of the key role the finance leader holds in driving change and transformation within both the function and the wider business.

Who should attend?

Finance directors, financial controllers, and any finance staffs whose aspirations lie in finance leadership roles.

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