July 30, 2009
I like to see myself as an optimist, and I truly believe that we have seen the worst in the recession and that moving forward we will start to see an upward trend. This is backed by news today from Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society stating that, there is a “reasonable chance” that house prices could end the year higher than they started.
“House prices have been remarkably resilient so far this year, despite a recessionary economic background with sharply rising unemployment,” said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s chief economist.
The government also announced on Monday that hundreds of housing developments which had been put on hold over the last 12 months will be restarted again with a £925m investment to kick start the industry.
Good news for home owners, bad news for first time buyers
July 29, 2009
The ease of credit and the high spirits of the good years have lead to a record amount of credit card debt said to be totaling over £1billion, the highest of any leading economy, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The Bank of England is due to release figures in the coming weeks which are predicted to show that lenders have had to write off approximately £1billion of credit card debt between the months of April 09 and June 09. This is the highest since 1993.
This is good news for Debt and IVA companies who charge a fee for helping and overseeing the write off of this debt. These companies can charge up to £6000 for an IVA and about 25% for administrating a debt management plan
July 28, 2009
The Land Registry has reported a 0.1% rise in house prices in June compared to May which is the first time since January 2008. This is since as more of a flattening of prices rather than a raise. Now this is good news for the economy and house owners but not so good for the first time buyers such as myself.
I know this might seem harsh, but I was hoping that prices would fall a bit more, making it easier for people such as myself to get on the property ladder. The price of a house is still over inflated from the boom years of 2001 – 2007 and with the restrictions on lending and the high deposit that banks are requesting from buyers, people such as myself are still finding it very difficult to get there foot in the door
July 23, 2009
There has been a lot of good news today regarding turning points in the recession. Story 1 – Banks approving more mortgages. Encouraging signs that lending has started again with 35,235 mortgages approved in June, 15 month high according to the British Bankers Association (BAA), although this has not been reflected in other types of lending such as remortgaging and borrowing. Story 2 – Increases in retail sale in June. The public are starting to spend again with sales up 1.2% in June. This is partly due to the good weather. Story 3 – Home sales in the US rise again. The US market is usually a good prediction to what is going to hit the UK 6 months down the line.
July 14, 2009
I have been asked this question many times over and each time I explain it, I think to myself, how did he get away with it for so long?
Madoff sold himself as an excellent investor, giving excellent return for clients, which then helped enlist further investors into his securities business. But what Madoff was actually doing was performing a very elaborate Ponzi scheme. This is where clients give an investor a large amount of money to invest for them and each month or year payout a percentage back to the client as their dividend as the investment matures. But this dividend is actually money gained from other clients investments. It is very similar to a pyramid scheme. This works for so long until the money dries up and clients wish to cash in their investments. This is what happened in Madoff’s case. When the credit crunch hit, clients wanted to cash in their investments, leaving the restriction of cash being unavailable to pay the dividend to clients.
It is estimated that the actual net fraud to be $10 – $17 Billion.
July 1, 2009
In any type of business it is important that the correct people get the correct information in the most concise format that is why it is vital for companies to introduce a Knowledge Processing System (KPS). This will enable strategic information to travel efficiently through the veins of the company without the onset of communication deflection (CD) occurring. CD could lead to unmanaged data being misinterpreted, clouding decision making, as always prevention is better and easier than cure.
The introduction of a good KPS starts at a centralized team sometimes referred to as the bridge team, whose responsibility is to oversee and manage all information to the business, in and out. This should be fully auditable to maintain a level of accountability and also improved security. Once this has been established a monthly review of all incoming and outgoing reports should be performed to streamline the KPS, making sure it doesn’t just become a dead cow left in the field.
June 27, 2009
Bookkeeping is the recording of business transactions.
Accounts Payable: Prioritize your bills and get them paid on time. Keeping your creditors paid and remaining in good standing with them is critical to success.
Accounts Receivable: Setting up an account receivable ledger so that you will always know how well your customers are paying what they owe you. Billing your clients and track the invoices that have not been paid. Collecting any money that is owed you and your company.
Bank Reconciliation: Balance your checkbook each month to assure accuracy of all accounts.
Credit Card Reconciliation: Make sure that all of your charges on your business credit cards are charged to the proper accounts and that all the information on the statement is accounted for. Find any problems that may arise in the use of your cards.
June 26, 2009
Accounting is the recording and reporting of financial transactions, including the origination of the transaction, its recognition, processing, and summarization in the financial statements.
Whether you are just starting a business or have been operating for a long time, here is a listing of accounting services that may hel you:
Chart of Accounts: If you don’t yet have a chart of accounts, set one up! The chart of accounts is the foundation on which you will build your accounting system. Account numbers are used as an easy account identification system. After the chart of accounts, you establish a general ledger system, which is the engine that actually runs your accounting system on a daily basis.
General Ledger: A general ledger reflects a summary of transactions during the accounting period. It is set up like your chart of accounts, although not every single entry is included in this ledger. Generally, your checkbook register is a great source to set up this ledger. An important component of the general ledger is source documents like sales receipts and billings. Source documents are critical in that they provide an audit trail in case you or someone else has to go back and study financial transactions made in your business. This is where the record of debits and credits are of your business. The debits and credits of your business are actually what is considered to be your accounting system.
Financial Reports: Prepare and explain your financial reports, such as your Profit/Loss Statement, Trial Balance, Balance Sheet, Statement of Cash Flow, etc.
Consulting: Sit down with you, either in person or by phone and discuss what is needed to keep accurate records for your business.
Budgeting & Planning: It is critical to plan ahead and it is also critical to set up a budget plan. Any business needs to know where they are today and where they want to be tomorrow. Get the plan and budgets in focus.
Software Conversions-Accounting Software: What TSL has found through working with clients is that the best software for keeping records is QuickBooks Online Edition. Do all the work from our office or just part of it. Having a secure connection online allows both companies to interact and maintain accurate business data. However, if you have other accounting software, that isn’t a problem.
Non-Profit Companies: It’s important to know how to approach the Board with your ideas. It’s critical to be in compliance with non-profit guidelines and it is mandatory to prepare for an audit. Make sure you have plans, budgets, and forecasts as well.
Management Reporting: We have a series of reports to help you manage your business. Reports are based on client need.