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9am Lowdown
AccountingWEB

9am Lowdown: Brexit begins, & automation fear

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29th Mar 2017
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Good morning and welcome to this Wednesday’s Lowdown.

* * *

Brexit begins

Theresa May has formally began the UK's departure from the European Union.

According to the BBC, the Prime Minister gave official notice under Article 50 and the signed letter will be delivered to European Council president Donald Tusk later today.

May will make a statement to MPs where she is expected to promise to "represent every person in the whole United Kingdom" during the negotiations - including EU nationals, whose status after Brexit has yet to be settled.

"It is my fierce determination to get the right deal for every single person in this country," she will say.

"For, as we face the opportunities ahead of us on this momentous journey, our shared values, interests and ambitions can - and must - bring us together."

* * *

Accountants fear rise of the machines

A third of accountants fear their job will be taken by a robot, a recent survey by FreeAgent found.

In a recent webinar, 31.4% of the survey respondents expressed concern about what the future holds for the jobs. But Ed Molyneux, founder and CEO of FreeAgent, explained how automation will actually increase accountants’ value.

Molyneux also laid out the steps accountants should follow to successfully transition into the digital era. You can find out more about the webinar on FreeAgent’s brand profile.

* * *

Community: MTD pilot

With days before the official MTD pilot, a conversion on Any Answers tried to find out exactly how tax agents can get involved?

AccountingWEB member SM80 asked this very question after an HMRC talking points webinar advised agents to speak with their software providers. “This cannot be right for general taxpayers as it would skew the pilot towards digitally enabled persons,” the AccountingWEB member said. Spreadsheet User updated the curious member that the pilot is only for unrepresented taxpayers.

As posted by Chesire, HMRC’s official response on the matter is: “As a Tax Agent you have a dual role. You will have to join the Agents Service. This will then enable you to subscribe your client to the Making Tax Digital Service.

“We are inviting a small number of Agents to join, through what we are describing as a controlled go live. We would suggest that you speak first with your Software Provider to check when your package will be MTD enabled and let them know your interest in joining the pilot. Once the pilot is fully running then Agents and Businesses will be able to join, further communications will make it clear when this is available.”

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