Case Studies

Wylde Homes is a property development company that recently separated itself from its subsidiary Turney Wylde Construction and now concentrates on small select developments throughout the North East of England. An example of their most recent achievements are building a mixed development of apartments and townhouses at Beamish Rise in Stanley and 15 houses and barn conversions at East Brunton Farm, Gosforth.

The issue for Wylde Homes arose at the point of separation from its subsidiary, which had up to that point provided all accounting and administration services to the parent company. As Wylde Homes now operates largely as a virtual company, employing subcontractors rather than directly employed staff, it was a natural fit for REACT to produce management accounts, carry out VAT registration, submission of VAT returns and administer payroll and the PAYE year end for the newly separated company.

This new streamlined operation and close relationship with REACT is sure to see the company thrive in their niche industry to see many years of successful trading ahead.

Mr Henderson had recently been appointed Deputy for his elderly mother who had been taken into care and he therefore had the duty of submitting an annual return, covering all movements in and out of her bank accounts.

As seen all too often, the Return Form is not easy to complete or understand and having tried to complete it on his own without success, Mr Henderson had been advised to seek professional help.

Mr Henderson approached REACT to review the bank statements and to fully reconcile all movements in a format acceptable to the Deputy Office.

This seemingly small but highly important project was turned around very quickly allowing Mr Henderson to submit the form and satisfy his obligations as Deputy.

Mr Henderson expressed his gratitude for us having “got him out of a hole” and it was a great pleasure to assist him with his personal accountancy concerns.

Glen recently established himself as an Independent Financial Adviser and was concerned that he should be organised and prepared for tax as a newly self employed individual.

He called upon REACT to help him with his accounting and tax obligations. We were able to help predict his first year’s annual profits and therefore how much would be required to set aside for tax purposes.

We have also advised Glen as to the correct tax treatment of cars and other assets used in the business, to ensure that he pays just the right amount of tax and definitely no more!

Now six months into his new self employed role, Glen’s client list is growing and he’s stress free, knowing that his accounts are all in order and his tax is provided for.

The Play Station is a soft play area and sensory room based in Gosforth which also provides hot and cold meals and a licensed bar. The business started trading in 2011 and had been badly advised as to which elements of the business would attract VAT. Local competition is stiff and the market is therefore price sensitive, leaving the Play Station in a less than favourable situation.

REACT were asked to provide advice with particular emphasis on the impact of VAT on the various elements of their business on an ad hoc basis. Overcoming such badly given advice is difficult however The Play Station placed their trust in REACT knowing our background knowledge of VAT.

First VAT returns have now been submitted and the business has a sound base on which to build and the owners are planning for a successful future.

All initial consultations with REACT accountancy are free and The Play Station benefited hugely from this service.

Due to the nature of the work involved in this case we cannot disclose either the business name or their industry. However, we can reveal that the business has been running for a number of years and is very successful both in terms of profitability and cash generation.

REACT were called upon to assist the business at short notice when it became apparent that their business had been defrauded by a self-employed bookkeeper.

The business is very successful and turns over approximately £400,000 each year. The fraud identified prior to our involvement amounted to approximately £30,000 and we subsequently discovered that the full extent of the fraud amounted to in excess of £80,000, covering a period of 18 months.

Since the initial discovery we have worked hard with the business owners to explore various avenues that may be open to them to recover the monies lost; as well as giving advice on how to reduce their exposure to risk in the future. By introducing the business to other professional advisors and providing interim bookkeeping services REACT are able to keep their business on track in difficult circumstances.

The success of the business means that they will not only survive this scandalous breach of trust but will thrive for years to come with new advisers on board and improved financial and management information.