FILING COMPANY ACCOUNTS

FILING COMPANY ACCOUNTS

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CAN ANYONE PREPARE AND SUBMIT SMALL COMPANY ACCOUNTS FOR FILING

Replies (41)

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By johngroganjga
28th Aug 2014 12:26

Yes I can.

But perhaps you mean are there are any rules restricting who can.  No there aren't.

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Locutus of Borg
By Locutus
28th Aug 2014 12:28

Yes

But the trick is knowing how to prepare the accounts accurately in the first place.

Some companies are quite straightforward, others are not.

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By mrme89
28th Aug 2014 12:31

THERE IS A BUTTON ON YOUR KEYBOARD CALLED CAPS LOCK - TURN IT OFF.

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Replying to tonycourt:
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By ANGELA FEORE
29th Aug 2014 10:37

caps on / off

apologies had no idea capitals were rude online

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By The Innkeeper
28th Aug 2014 12:32

PLEASE

turn the caps off. No need to SHOUT

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Replying to DJKL:
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By ANGELA FEORE
29th Aug 2014 10:36

caps on / off

apologies had no idea it was rude

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Stepurhan
By stepurhan
28th Aug 2014 12:34

Can and should

Can anyone do it. Yes. Does that mean that anyone should have a go at it.. No

[***] it up can have major consequences. Best to get it done by someone who knows what they are doing.

All caps is considered shouting online. It is generally considered rude to shout at people.

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Replying to tonycourt:
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By ANGELA FEORE
29th Aug 2014 10:34

capital usage

ok thanks will remember in future

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Replying to bernard michael:
Stepurhan
By stepurhan
29th Aug 2014 10:48

Just type normally

ANGELA FEORE wrote:
ok thanks will remember in future
All capitals is not only considered shouting, it is actually harder to read. The same goes for no caps or punctuation, which is what you seem to have switched to.

Just type normally. This is a professional forum, and posts are better received if they have a professional look. The purpose is clear communication, and the same sort of typing you would use for a business letter is the best way to achieve that.

So can you expand on the reason for your question? As things stand, there is a wide variety in interpretation. A bit more detail is needed if you want a meaningful answer.

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Replying to Accountanttp:
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By ANGELA FEORE
29th Aug 2014 11:10

more detail!

Apologies. I am not a regular online user.

I am considering stopping paying my subscription to my Institute in January but want to be 100% sure I can  file the one tiny set of company accounts that I still do. When you work alone you have no one to bounce ideas off and it is not always possible to be as up to date on everything as you would like. I am about to retire and am down sizing. My annual subscription is now over £700.

I find it really funny that others are querying my use of this forum when they are using false names, no doubt to prevent colleagues identifying their 'stupid questions'!

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By johngroganjga
28th Aug 2014 13:23

If the OP is who her screen name suggests, a quick google search reveals that she is a practising chartered accountant with many years' experience.  She is therefore almost certainly "someone who knows what they are doing".

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RLI
By lionofludesch
28th Aug 2014 13:40

In that case ....

In that case, I would've thought she wouldn't've needed to ask for help on an internet forum.

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By The Innkeeper
28th Aug 2014 13:55

@johnoganja

This is more worrying than some of the people seeking 'freebie' advice or even the qbe's.who post questions

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Replying to GHarr497688:
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By ANGELA FEORE
29th Aug 2014 10:40

weirdo

this is from someone not using their real name

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By ShirleyM
28th Aug 2014 14:03

An imposter?

Or maybe just coincidence in having the same name?

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Replying to Wanderer:
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By duncanedwards
28th Aug 2014 19:30

Or not?

ShirleyM wrote:

Or maybe just coincidence in having the same name?

 

Maybe but the website is a bit shouty too:

 

"My name is ANGELA FEORE. I am FEORE & CO."

 

"Services include:

START UP ADVICEADVICE ON RECORD KEEPINGBOOK-KEEPING - MANUAL AND SAGEVALUE ADDED TAXCOMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVICESINLAND REVENUE INVESTIGATIONS [note: remember them? Before HMRC were invented?]ACCOUNTS PREPARATION AND TAX RETURNS for SELF-EMPLOYED, PARTNERSHIPS AND SMALL LIMITED COMPANIESSUBCONTRACTORS RETURNS, ACCOUNTS AND TAXPERSONAL TAX RETURNS including INVESTMENT INCOME and INCOME FROM PROPERTY"

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By The Innkeeper
28th Aug 2014 14:08

Identity theft

possibly

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
28th Aug 2014 20:57

OMG

per The Innkeeper "This is more worrying than some of the people seeking 'freebie' advice or even the qbe's.who post questions" 

I've asked about 150 questions asking for "freebie" advice and am a qbe and a qbp (paper) what should I do?

@ANGELA why do you ask?

 

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By The Innkeeper
29th Aug 2014 11:04

@Paulscholes

I was not having a dig at you rather those individuals who set up in business (either as a sole trader, partnership or ltd co) and want free advice on accounting and tax latters

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
29th Aug 2014 11:59

Bingo ANGELA

Made me chuckle.  

I am in the same boat, I'm handing my certificate back in December after 37 years, but dare not tell anyone here in case I'm not deemed suitable to ask what they consider sub-standard questions.

@The Innkeeper

Thanks, I know it wasn't a dig at me, I was making the point, so often made here, that this part of the site is called "ANY Answers" Tin & what it does?

There is clearly a core of contributors who, rather than waste e-space, should ask the AW editors whether they can have their own page:

Any Answers, only for people who know about accountancy & tax, preferably qualified and certainly no riff raff

Do you honestly only answer questions if the person asking is an accountant or bookkeeper, qbp, qbe, has a Dad who's one of these?  And if so, how on earth do you know?

Maybe you just sit in judgment, which is again, why I keep making these comments.

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Replying to Grovely:
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By jaybee661
29th Aug 2014 14:03

@Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes wrote:

There is clearly a core of contributors who, rather than waste e-space, should ask the AW editors whether they can have their own page:

Any Answers, only for people who know about accountancy & tax, preferably qualified and certainly no riff raff

Do you honestly only answer questions if the person asking is an accountant or bookkeeper, qbp, qbe, has a Dad who's one of these?  And if so, how on earth do you know?

Maybe you just sit in judgment, which is again, why I keep making these comments.

I have to agree with you Paul, you're spot on - to be honest I don't post an awful lot on here but, as demonstrated in my last post, if you don't agree with certain individuals then you're immediately shot down in flames!

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Replying to Duggimon:
Stepurhan
By stepurhan
29th Aug 2014 14:26

It's in the site description

Paul Scholes wrote:

There is clearly a core of contributors who, rather than waste e-space, should ask the AW editors whether they can have their own page:

Any Answers, only for people who know about accountancy & tax, preferably qualified and certainly no riff raff

Do you honestly only answer questions if the person asking is an accountant or bookkeeper, qbp, qbe, has a Dad who's one of these?  And if so, how on earth do you know?

Maybe you just sit in judgment, which is again, why I keep making these comments.

So you are saying I have misread the About page then (my emboldening)

AccountingWeb About Page wrote:
AccountingWEB.co.uk is the largest independent online community for accounting and finance professionals in the UK
This site's express purpose is as a community for professionals. As far as I'm concerned, professionals is a wide-ranging definition. What it doesn't encompass is ordinary business people trying to do their own thing.

My reasons for this are two-fold. The first, I will admit, is a selfish one. If the advice would normally be chargeable, then giving it away for free cheapens it. If detailed accountancy advice is devalued, that harms all our businesses. When dealing with other professionals, there is the possibility of them "paying" for your advice by reciprocating with some of their own in future. An ordinary business person has nothing to give back.

But, less selfishly, you're not doing the business-people any favours either. By answering the one question they thought to ask, you give them the impression that dealing with their accounts and tax is easy. There may be a dozen other questions, or aspects of the one they asked, that, without accounting knowledge would never occur to them. How many get into serious avoidable trouble down the road as a result? As Alexander Pope said, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing".

jaybee661 wrote:

I have to agree with you Paul, you're spot on - to be honest I don't post an awful lot on here but, as demonstrated in my last post, if you don't agree with certain individuals then you're immediately shot down in flames!

Since your last post was directed at me personally, I am assuming that it is my points about transactional billing you are referring to. I was just concerned and wanted to be sure you had really thought this through properly. If you really think you can come up with a sensible average price per transaction, considering the points I raised about how variable processing a transaction can be, then I hope it works out for you. I didn't mean to be seen as shooting you down in flames, and I apologise for using a phrasing that came across that way.
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By Democratus
29th Aug 2014 12:34

Interesting point here...

Is AWEB Any Answers a forum where accountants/bookkeepers, of whatever type or degree of qualification talk to each other or is it evolving into a first stopping point for the general public (or potential clients if you are in that field) to go to for a free consultation?

Should Sift be taking on board this evolutionary trend and perhaps there should be a split between accountant to accountant on one board, lets call it Any Answers (as i am noted for my originality), and another board called "Ask an Accountant"?

I dunno...

 

 

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Replying to SXGuy:
By mrme89
29th Aug 2014 13:40

Haha

Democratus wrote:

 

Should Sift be taking on board this evolutionary trend and perhaps there should be a split between accountant to accountant on one board, lets call it Any Answers (as i am noted for my originality), and another board called "Ask an Accountant"?

I dunno...

 

 

 

Take a visit to the marketing discussion group - a lot of people already struggle to find any answers!

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By Briar
29th Aug 2014 16:22

I Love Any Answers!

It gives me the opportunity to test my knowledge against others who are often more expert or more specialised than me or the answers help me in areas in which I have a general but not specialised knowledge (Thank you, David Winch!) . I treat it as 30 minutes of PQE every day (in addition to Mercia courses once per month).

I do worry when other qualified practising accountants ask very stupid questions or ones which display a serious lack of basic knowledge. Should the accountancy bodies not be doing something about them as they are a danger to the profession's reputation? Aren't the practice quality inspections supposed to find these people out? Being a sole practitioner (I am one) is no excuse for not developing contacts to bounce ideas off or ask for second opinions (including AWeb).

Occasionally we get questions from non-accountants wanting free advice. Some of them get answered. As long as there are not too many, the questions and answers can be quite amusing and can liven up my afternoon (like listening to Money Box Live on the radio where the questions can be hilarious and the answers sometimes wrong (or certainly too simplistic!)).

The poor spelling (practicing!) of some respondents also shocks me.    

 

 

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Replying to pauld:
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By duncanedwards
29th Aug 2014 17:32

Agree with Briar

Briar wrote:
I do worry when other qualified practising accountants ask very stupid questions or ones which display a serious lack of basic knowledge. Should the accountancy bodies not be doing something about them as they are a danger to the profession's reputation? Aren't the practice quality inspections supposed to find these people out? 

 

I agree entirely.  It's mind-boggling how basic are some of the questions that get asked.  Whether the posters are qualified or not they are surely in no sense competent.

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By Briar
29th Aug 2014 18:43

Why we use pseudonyms

The OP accuses us of using false names. The reason is quite simple. Sometimes we ask questions which might be challenging to HMRC technical position. Or we comment on our dealings (usually unfavourably!) with HMRC. As we know that HMRC monitors this site (wish that they would take more action as a result), as do the accountancy bodies and other regulators, it is often better to be anonymous so that comments and questions don't come back to bite you. This is not to say that I don't belive in what I say or comment on. It's just better from a confidentiality viewpoint. 

If the OP had used a pseudonym, we would not now have looked at her website and made (or thought of) embarassing comments on her services!

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
Euan's picture
By Euan MacLennan
31st Aug 2014 11:28

You big wuss!

Briar wrote:

The OP accuses us of using false names. The reason is quite simple. Sometimes we ask questions which might be challenging to HMRC technical position. Or we comment on our dealings (usually unfavourably!) with HMRC. As we know that HMRC monitors this site (wish that they would take more action as a result), as do the accountancy bodies and other regulators, it is often better to be anonymous so that comments and questions don't come back to bite you. This is not to say that I don't belive in what I say or comment on. It's just better from a confidentiality viewpoint. 

If the OP had used a pseudonym, we would not now have looked at her website and made (or thought of) embarassing comments on her services!

I obviously use my real name (but not a photograph of me - the young Claudia Schiffer is so much more attractive!).  I would be quite pleased if someone at HMRC would ever take notice that I do not agree with their policy position.  In several years of posting under my real name, I have never had any comeback from HMRC or ICAEW.  Indeed, I think it is slightly hypocritical if you do not accept authorship of the advice you give.

That is not to say that I think that the backbiting comments about the OP on this thread are justified.

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David Winch
By David Winch
30th Aug 2014 10:32

Users

I can see the sense in having an "accountants only" site (without wishing to get involved in the issue of 'What is an accountant?' - I am using it to mean someone who does accountancy work for payment from clients).

There is a danger in answering a question such as 'Is depreciation allowable for tax?' from a non-accountant.  (The short answer of course is 'No' - but there is a bit more to it . . . )

I have seen good answers to those types of questions along the lines of 'You need to find an accountant because you clearly don't understand some of the fundamentals'.

I also take the point that giving away advice to the public is not in the interests of practitioners.

In a different, but parallel, sphere (Can you have parallel spheres? Answers please on a postcard!) I am a member of Criminal Solicitor Dot Net which is a forum website for legal practitioners (although they also welcome expert witnesses).  They have a very strict policy of not providing any advice to members of the public (who are normally defendants wanting advice when acting in person or wanting a second opinion about what their solicitor is doing).  I can understand why, in relation to criminal proceedings, they are strict about that.

But I think AWEB Any Answers normally gets things about right.  99% of the responses on here are sensible & responsible.  Long may the generosity of those responders continue!

David

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
30th Aug 2014 17:07

ANY Answers

I can't deny that this is a site for accountants, again the title gives it away, which is presumably why ANY Answers attracts people to ask accountancy questions and not how to drain their central heating system.  

In all the years I've been asking questions and providing answers it honestly has never occurred to me to question whether the person asking is another accountant or someone who just needs some help to solve an accounting or tax problem.  

If you want to play with semantics, I don't agree that this is not about defining an "accountant" or "bookkeeper".  Much as it may go against the grain for some, every time a common person writes up their books, submits their VAT return or accounts or prepares their own tax return they are acting as one or both of these.

So, for those of you with a protectionist bent, how does it make you feel to read all those articles that have appeared on AW about preparing accounts or dealing with key tax matters, very few of which are written in terms that only a technician can understand?  Do you email AW telling them to pull them because commoners might read them?  Also, does it not occur to you that when you answer a question asked by someone you presume to be in the biz, a commoner may do a search in a week's time on exactly the same topic and will read, learn & leave, having ripped you off?

Scan through all the sections of this and loads of other sites, including HMRC, Companies House and the Cloud Accounting community sites; the world has changed, the stuff you used to see as only your preserve is now public knowledge, commoners can gain the basic knowledge they need and can access to resources to put it into practice and cut you out the picture.

Democratus asks if acting altruistically is an evolutionary change and that, maybe, there should be a closed community (presumably with a funny handshake?).  For me Any Answers is still the same as it was when I joined it, maybe for others evolution means just smelling the coffee?

I would suggest that sharing your knowledge openly and without prejudice on here will provide the common people with the impression that we are human and reasonable and will help dispel the myth that we are all up ourselves.

Or, for those of you who need a commercial reason to pretend not to be, there are still hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of commoners out there who may do, or have a go at their own stuff, without an accountant or bookkeeper and by gritting your teeth and sharing your knowledge openly and without snide comments you may, one day, get a call or PM from one of them who has read your posts and believes that you are the person they now need because their tax and accountancy affairs have grown beyond their capabilities.

In the past two years I have gained three clients from my posts on Any Answers and Cloud Community sites. It's not why I do it but they do taste extra sweet.

 

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Replying to systema56:
By mrme89
30th Aug 2014 18:35

.

Paul Scholes wrote:

  Much as it may go against the grain for some, every time a common person writes up their books, submits their VAT return or accounts or prepares their own tax return they are acting as one or both of these.

 

I don't agree with this statement.

 

They are a business people conducting duties that would normally be done by a bookkeeper or accountant.

 

They may be doing it properly, then again they might not be.

 

What they aren't are bookkeepers or accountants. They don't charge the public for bookkeeping or accountancy work. I am capable of changing the tyre on my car, that doesn't make me a mechanic.

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By jaybee661
30th Aug 2014 19:49

@Paul Scholes

... brilliantly put Paul, and I have to say you for one have given an awful amount of advice, particularly when it comes to cloud accounting, on this forum for which I for one am extremely grateful to you.

... by the way, yes @stepurhan my comment was directed at you and yes, I have thought it through - personally I believe that billing by time is a crazy way of doing things but if you're happy with it that's perfectly OK - however I am allowed my opinion just like you're allowed yours!

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Replying to bettybobbymeggie:
Stepurhan
By stepurhan
04th Sep 2014 22:09

Turnabout is fair play

jaybee661 wrote:
... by the way, yes @stepurhan my comment was directed at you and yes, I have thought it through - personally I believe that billing by time is a crazy way of doing things but if you're happy with it that's perfectly OK - however I am allowed my opinion just like you're allowed yours!

So let me see if I understand correctly. You specifically ASKED for opinions on the subject of transactional billing but you now dismiss the opinions of others because you've decided to do it anyway. Why then did you bother to ask? Simply so you could complain about those who expressed strong reservations against? I also cannot help noticing that, despite objecting to how I raised my points about transactional billing, you think it perfectly reasonable to describe billing by time as "a crazy way of doing things". I have apologised for my phrasing. Will you do the same for yours?

Because I cannot help noticing that at lot of this discussion appears to be about how I'm NOT entitled to my opinion. It appears my objecting to lay-people using this site as an alternative to paid advice is not a valid one. For that matter, when I express my opinion that those who are clearly out of their depth should seek paid advice, it is I that gets shot down in flames. By expressing that opinion, I am not preventing anyone else from answering the question. Why not just do that rather than attacking me for my opinion?

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Replying to Tim Vane:
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By jaybee661
04th Sep 2014 22:27

@stepurhan

stepurhan wrote:

jaybee661 wrote:
... by the way, yes @stepurhan my comment was directed at you and yes, I have thought it through - personally I believe that billing by time is a crazy way of doing things but if you're happy with it that's perfectly OK - however I am allowed my opinion just like you're allowed yours!

So let me see if I understand correctly. You specifically ASKED for opinions on the subject of transactional billing but you now dismiss the opinions of others because you've decided to do it anyway. Why then did you bother to ask? Simply so you could complain about those who expressed strong reservations against? I also cannot help noticing that, despite objecting to how I raised my points about transactional billing, you think it perfectly reasonable to describe billing by time as "a crazy way of doing things". I have apologised for my phrasing. Will you do the same for yours?

Because I cannot help noticing that at lot of this discussion appears to be about how I'm NOT entitled to my opinion. It appears my objecting to lay-people using this site as an alternative to paid advice is not a valid one. For that matter, when I express my opinion that those who are clearly out of their depth should seek paid advice, it is I that gets shot down in flames. By expressing that opinion, I am not preventing anyone else from answering the question. Why not just do that rather than attacking me for my opinion?

... yes I asked for opinions but if you recall you shot it down immediately - to me that's not really an opinion, but if that's the way you think good luck to you!

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Replying to paul.benny:
By mrme89
05th Sep 2014 09:07

.

jaybee661 wrote:
stepurhan wrote:

jaybee661 wrote:
... by the way, yes @stepurhan my comment was directed at you and yes, I have thought it through - personally I believe that billing by time is a crazy way of doing things but if you're happy with it that's perfectly OK - however I am allowed my opinion just like you're allowed yours!

So let me see if I understand correctly. You specifically ASKED for opinions on the subject of transactional billing but you now dismiss the opinions of others because you've decided to do it anyway. Why then did you bother to ask? Simply so you could complain about those who expressed strong reservations against? I also cannot help noticing that, despite objecting to how I raised my points about transactional billing, you think it perfectly reasonable to describe billing by time as "a crazy way of doing things". I have apologised for my phrasing. Will you do the same for yours?

Because I cannot help noticing that at lot of this discussion appears to be about how I'm NOT entitled to my opinion. It appears my objecting to lay-people using this site as an alternative to paid advice is not a valid one. For that matter, when I express my opinion that those who are clearly out of their depth should seek paid advice, it is I that gets shot down in flames. By expressing that opinion, I am not preventing anyone else from answering the question. Why not just do that rather than attacking me for my opinion?

... yes I asked for opinions but if you recall you shot it down immediately - to me that's not really an opinion, but if that's the way you think good luck to you!

 

I've read the thread regarding transactional pricing. I can only come to the conclusion from your comments in this thread that you are rather sensitive. 

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Teignmouth
By Paul Scholes
30th Aug 2014 22:45

mrme89

You are going to make this a very long debate if you just pick 3 lines out of >30 to comment on, what about the rest?

Just to expand on my 3 lines, I was illustrating that there are common people out there who are perfectly capable of doing "accountancy" stuff themselves but, like me, they will, from time to time need a helping hand and this site is a logical place to get it.

Just to put this into perspective, there are many non-accountants who answer questions on here and I picked up a non-accountant client from the FreeAgent community site recently who found significant errors in P11Ds and in the accounts prepared by his "qualified" accountants from his near-perfect books. I could have offered him a job.

If members don't like this situation then they can just ignore the questions and if they really object then they can complain to AW, the people who have the authority to say who can and can't ask questions.

 

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By mrme89
31st Aug 2014 08:58

Paul, for your piece of mind...

 

 

"I can't deny that this is a site for accountants, again the title gives it away, which is presumably why ANY Answers attracts people to ask accountancy questions and not how to drain their central heating system."

I agree.

 

"In all the years I've been asking questions and providing answers it honestly has never occurred to me to question whether the person asking is another accountant or someone who just needs some help to solve an accounting or tax problem."

At times it is quite clear that the person is not an accountant. Especially when a person is wanting an almost step by step guide on preparing their accounts and tax return. That is when the best advice is for them to go see an accountant.

 

"If you want to play with semantics, I don't agree that this is not about defining an "accountant" or "bookkeeper". Much as it may go against the grain for some, every time a common person writes up their books, submits their VAT return or accounts or prepares their own tax return they are acting as one or both of these."

See my last comment.

 

"So, for those of you with a protectionist bent, how does it make you feel to read all those articles that have appeared on AW about preparing accounts or dealing with key tax matters, very few of which are written in terms that only a technician can understand? Do you email AW telling them to pull them because commoners might read them? Also, does it not occur to you that when you answer a question asked by someone you presume to be in the biz, a commoner may do a search in a week's time on exactly the same topic and will read, learn & leave, having ripped you off?"

If a 'commoner' reads a previous post and has the ability to understand and apply it to their situation, then fair play. My intention would have been to help the original poster - any useage after that is surplus and forgotten about.

 

"Scan through all the sections of this and loads of other sites, including HMRC, Companies House and the Cloud Accounting community sites; the world has changed, the stuff you used to see as only your preserve is now public knowledge, commoners can gain the basic knowledge they need and can access to resources to put it into practice and cut you out the picture."

I disagree. They may have a basic knowledge, but this doesn't mean they can apply it correctly. How many questions / debates do we see from accountants on here where there are many interpretations of HMRC guidance? Me reading a Wiki page on brain surgery might give me a basic knowledge, I ceetainly wouldn't attempt to apply it to my Mrs if she had a headache.

 

"Democratus asks if acting altruistically is an evolutionary change and that, maybe, there should be a closed community (presumably with a funny handshake?). For me Any Answers is still the same as it was when I joined it, maybe for others evolution means just smelling the coffee?"

There's no snobbery involved with me, I just think some people shouldn't be encouraged to try and do a DIY job.

 

"I would suggest that sharing your knowledge openly and without prejudice on here will provide the common people with the impression that we are human and reasonable and will help dispel the myth that we are all up ourselves."

I think giving the correct advice is better than someone advice they want to hear.

 

"Or, for those of you who need a commercial reason to pretend not to be, there are still hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of commoners out there who may do, or have a go at their own stuff, without an accountant or bookkeeper and by gritting your teeth and sharing your knowledge openly and without snide comments you may, one day, get a call or PM from one of them who has read your posts and believes that you are the person they now need because their tax and accountancy affairs have grown beyond their capabilities."

I don't think telling someone that the best advice is to see an accountant is a snidey comment. I would think most AWeb member who regulalrly post don't do it on the off chance of gaining a client - they post to help fellow professionals.

 

"In the past two years I have gained three clients from my posts on Any Answers and Cloud Community sites. It's not why I do it but they do taste extra sweet."

Congratulations.

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By The Innkeeper
31st Aug 2014 11:33

@euan
Thank you for clarification on the picture . It has been bugging me for years!

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By andy.partridge
31st Aug 2014 15:23

Sift could sort this debate out. It's a long-running sore.

I imagine they want to encourage all-comers because it enhances advertising revenue but admitting it would upset valuable members who are needed to maintain the site's credibility. 

My own view is that they might think longer term and protect the brand. The way the AnyAnswers is evolving dilutes it. The vacuum it leaves will ultimately create a new opportunity for a competitor.

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By qad999
05th Sep 2014 00:35

oh no....remote servers again

on jeeez .. why do peeps insist on mentioning cloud sh*t at every  opportunity .. its not clever.. not new.. its an elitist thing ..a sales gimmick... like "apple-crapple is best"... its irrelevant to most people , unnecessary .. and you really need to question why... or should you... rely on a commercial organisation using remote servers that charges you an on-going perpetual fee for something that might disappear overnight in  a puff of smoke

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By paulwakefield1
05th Sep 2014 09:22

I'm no mechanic either

but it doesn't stop me going on relevant sites to see what the advice is on a particular problem with my motorbike, car, pushbike or whatever and then deciding whether it is within my (limited) capabilities or not. If so I do it at my own risk and, if not, it's off to the garage

I suspect many of the non-accountant questions fall into that category. By all means suggest that people should seek help because there may be complexities which can't be covered in a Q&A forum like this, nuances, other issues, etc. but there are ways and means of making that suggestion without demeaning an OP. If it is coupled with at least the basic answer and the major caveats so much the better.

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