Guide to... valuing a business

Understanding how much a business is worth - and how it can be made more valuable - is of vital importance to anyone buying, selling or simply running a business

Guide to... your money and your business

As the owner-manager of a small or medium enterprise, your own financial affairs are likely to be closely entwined with the way you run your business

Guide to... filing and records management

Good filing and record-keeping systems make sure you have what you need, and avoid wasting time and effort looking for misfiled information and misplaced files.

Guide to... being sued

Being sued is stressful, time consuming and expensive – three good reasons for settling quickly (or better still putting in safeguards to prevent disputes arising in the first place). But unless you are clearly at fault, or fail to follow the court procedures correctly, the odds are in your favour.

Guide to... directors' responsibilities

Company directors must act honestly and promote the success of the business and benefit its shareholders

Guide to... international trade logistics

Effective logistics can give you a competitive edge

Guide to... fulfillling your business's environmental obligations

Every business has an impact on the environment - and legal obligations that it must fulfil

Guide to... going green and benefiting your business

Complying with environmental laws and doing your bit to help the planet delivers direct business benefits

Guide to... introducing an environmental management system

An environmental management system (EMS) allows you to monitor and control the effect your business has on the environment.

Guide to... marketing and selling overseas

Marketing and selling overseas is a demanding undertaking so you need to plan your overseas marketing strategy, including deciding whether to sell directly or involve local partners

Checklist: valuing your business

If you’re valuing the business in order to sell it, you need to arrive at a fair value

Checklist: managing your stress

Read our hints on how to manage overwork and the associated health problems

Checklist: writing a business plan

Your business plan should be the roadmap for how you run your business – and it’s vital if you want to attract finance

Checklist: managing projects

If you don't project manage properly, you risk missing deadlines, compromising quality and disappointing clients.

Checklist: sprucing up your premises

Follow our tips to give your premises – and your staff – a new lease of life.

Checklist: staying within the law when using social media

The public nature of social media profiles and the speed at which online messages can go viral can also pose a serious threat to the reputation of a business

Checklist: setting up an office

When you move into your new office, there’s a lot to think about before you’re ready to start day-to-day work

Checklist: preventing business fraud

Research released in autumn 2019 revealed that 84% of UK firms had suffered a data breach in the previous 12 months. Cyber criminals are growing more sophisticated in their attacks, stealing data and financial information. Small businesses can no longer afford to ignore the threat from cybercrime

Checklist: planning to export

When planning to export your goods or services, thoroughly research the market and potential problems beforehand

Checklist: preparing for ISO 9000

The ISO 9000 family of standards helps businesses put quality management processes in place

Checklist: preparing your premises for winter

Don’t let your business be stopped in its tracks by burst pipes, boiler breakdowns or huge heating bills

Checklist: managing your time

This checklist will help you get on top of your schedule

Checklist: moving premises

Moving premises can be highly disruptive, so it's important to plan the move so you can resume work with a minimum of fuss and time lost

Checklist: using performance indicators

Key performance indicators, or KPIs, can help you measure how your business is performing in particular areas, so you can track and improve this over time.

Checklist: growing your business

Unless you’re quite happy just ticking over, it is likely that you will be looking for ways to develop and grow your business. The steps in our checklist can set you off in the right direction.

Checklist: getting more from your board members

The members of your board are responsible for major decisions on how your business is run - and could be responsible for its failure if they don’t carry out their responsibilities effectively.

Checklist: making your business more green

Every business has an environmental impact. This checklist helps you assess the impact you have and the changes you can make to minimise that damage.

Checklist: forming a business

When forming a business, make sure you get it right from the start. Check the key considerations and legal requirements to prevent expensive mistakes.

Checklist: dealing with an accident

There are a number of simple measures you can take to help minimise the chances of an accident happening – and the implications in the event that one does.

Checklist: delegating effectively

It’s not possible to do everything yourself – and it isn’t good for employee satisfaction, either. Use our checklist to learn how to delegate tasks successfully.

Checklist: benchmarking

Benchmarking provides a useful way to measure how effective your processes are, compared to competitors

Checklist: managing change

Any change in the workplace can make people nervous – but if handled well it can bring huge benefits. This checklist shows you how to implement change.

Checklist: choosing premises

The type of business premises you choose can have a big effect on your productivity, your employees’ happiness – and your business overheads

Checklist: carrying out a SWOT analysis

A SWOT analysis means looking at your business’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, so that you can capitalise on what you do well and understand where you might be at a disadvantage.

Alternative dispute resolution guidance

Understanding the process can help your clients and add value to your practice

Proposed Revisions to the Code to Promote the Role and Mindset Expected of Professional Accountants

ACCA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the proposals to revise the Code to promote the role and mindset expected of professional accountants.

Limiting liability to non-audit clients

Including limitations or exclusions of liability in engagement letters is good risk management practice – as long as it is done carefully and effectively.

Professional indemnity hard market

A look at what's happening and the implications for members and their clients

Digitalisation, SDGs and the future of work: addressing tomorrow's skills and jobs challenges

ACCA, PwC, BSA | The Software Alliance and European Movement International welcome you to a thought-provoking discussion addressing tomorrow's skills and job challenges. This is a side event related to Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Recovering the costs of OPBAS: Feedback on CP19/13 and consultation on fee-rate for 2019/20

ACCA welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on FCA's proposed fee-rate for OPBAS 2019/20. In the absence of any clarity or assurance on OPBAS’s strategic plan and costs for 2019/20, ACCA is unable to form a clear opinion on the reasonableness of the proposed variable fee-rate. To read in full, please download the consultation response.

Call for Evidence: Regulation of insolvency practitioners - review of current regulatory landscape

ACCA response to call for evidence on the review of the current regulatory framework for insolvency practitioners (IPs) in the UK in order to inform any future changes to the framework.

PSAB consultation on reviewing approach to IPSAS

ACCA welcomes the opportunity to comment on the consultation paper issued by PSAB on Reviewing PSAB’s Approach to International Public Sector Accounting Standards. The ACCA Public Sector Global Forum, staff experts and broader ACCA stakeholders have considered the matters raised and their views are represented in the following. The Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) has clearly undertaken a thorough review of the role of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). To read in full, please download the consultation response.

FRC Post Implementation Review of the 2016 Auditing and Ethical Standards

ACCA response to The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) consultation proposing important changes to the UK’s Ethical and Auditing Standards. The FRC proposes to set more stringent ethical rules for auditors, in response to findings from recent audit enforcement cases and from audit inspections. In response to feedback from investors, the FRC also proposes to enhance the quality and content of auditor’s reports in order to improve transparency about what is found in the course of an audit.

Statutory audit services: initial consultation on the Competition and Markets Authority recommendations

ACCA response to BEIS consultation on the CMA’s recommendations to improve audit quality, competition and resilience in the statutory audit services market. These recommentions can be found on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) final report published on 18 April 2019.

Charities: improving accounts and reporting

New Charity Commission guidance on benchmarking is now in place

Trustees: how to prepare for the independent examination

Trustees need to understand what an independent examination involves

Technical factsheet: FRS 102 – small company reporting

This technical factsheet has been updated to incorporate the results of the triennial review carried out by the Financial Reporting Council in 2017, which impacts small entities

Technical factsheet: FRS 102 – reporting for medium-sized and large entities

This technical factsheet has been updated to incorporate the results of the triennial review carried out by the Financial Reporting Council in 2017, which impact entities for accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 2019

MTD sign-up issues

An update on errors and issues, and what you need to do

Ethics today in the financial markets in the decade post crisis:

The CFA Institute and ACCA invite you to their joint breakfast event at the European Parliament to celebrate Global Ethics Day and discuss trust, ethics and professionalism in today's and tomorrow's financial markets.