2. 2
Your guide to us
Contents
About us
Our services
Smith Cooper companies
What our clients say
Get in touch
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Your guide to us
Smith Cooper will change
the way you think about an
accountancy practice.
It’s our offer of bespoke and specialist services, highly
experienced staff and in-depth market knowledge that
have led us to become one of the most progressive
firms of accountants and business advisors across the
Midlands.
Working as an extended part of your team, we offer a
range of accountancy and business advisory services
tailored to your individual needs, offering solutions that
make a real difference.
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Your guide to us
Over the last 30 years, Smith Cooper has become one
of the largest independently owned and preferred
accountancy and business advisory firms for owner
managed businesses across the Midlands.
Our firm has offices in seven localities where our clients
need us the most…and we are still growing! Over the past
year, we have appointed new knowledgeable, experienced
and talented recruits for a number of service lines.
We specialise in providing bespoke advisory services
to both corporate and individual clients wanting a long
term relationship and our team is made up of highly
experienced and well-trained experts, many of which have
big 4 backgrounds. These dedicated experts are able to
offer you solutions and services designed specifically for
your organisation to make a real difference.
We also boast numerous accreditations including being
part of the Alliott group, Microsoft Gold and Sage
partners and ACQ Award Winners.
Our main aim is to add true value to your business and to
achieve this; we offer unlimited support from an expert
partner and highly skilled team. Our close working
relationship with clients and ease of access to partners,
directors and managers, enables the delivery of fast,
quality advice and implementation assistance.
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Your guide to us
Accounting & Compliance
VATTransaction Support
Audit & Assurance Business Advisory
Business Recovery &
Insolvency
Corporate Finance Employment Services
Funding Solutions HR Payroll
Restructuring Rescue &
Corporate Recovery
Tax Tax Investigation Service
Transaction Support VAT
At Smith Cooper, our specialist services have been designed with one main aim in
mind - support for our clients through each stage of the business life cycle.
Our highly experienced team help you tackle the complexities of modern business,
offering you solutions and services tailored to your exact requirements.
We can help with:
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Your guide to us
ACCOUNTING &
COMPLIANCE
Accurate accounting is key to making sure your business
is compliant and your obligations are fulfilled. But at
Smith Cooper, we think effective accounting should
extend far beyond compliance alone.
We pride ourselves on combining sharp professionalism
with friendliness and efficiency and our aim is simple –
provide a service that supports you and your business to
grow and become more profitable.
Our team is experienced in:
Management accounts
Preparing and submitting accounts, VAT and tax
returns
Taxation advice and help with tax credits
Business plans and forecasting
Payroll services and HR support
Help for business start-ups
Company secretarial services
Whether you are a new start-up or an established
business, our team not only determine the health and
efficiency of your business through our accounting and
compliance services, but go one step further taking the
time to recommend what can be done to help you improve
profitability – and we do it all for a price you can afford.
Our experts take the time to truly understand your
business, working alongside you as part of your team.
This close working relationship means we always have
your goals in mind and that we can offer a joined up
service to identify other potential areas of specialist
advice, such as tax planning, which may be required.
Meet our Accounting & Compliance experts here
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Your guide to us
For Smith Cooper, an audit is an opportunity for us to
understand your business in its entirety. Whilst checking
and verification are an integral part, for us – an audit is
much more than just a compliance exercise. We don’t just
look at your books – we look at your whole business.
Our Partner led audit team take the time to work
alongside you and your business to pre-empt any
potential issues and ensure that they are addressed early.
Our highly qualified team will arrive fully briefed with a
good insight into the sector in which you operate, using
this knowledge to bring value to the audit process.
Our team is experienced in:
Statutory audits, aligned with your business goals
Compliance with special regulations:
Charities
Schools and academies
Pension schemes
Solicitors’ accounts rules
FCA accounts
Limited liability partnerships
Audit and reporting for academies and other
educational establishments
Due diligence and forensic accounting
We are committed to audits of high quality, delivered by
teams with high technical standards who take the time to
listen, analyse your business, discuss your specific needs
and tailor our approach accordingly.
AUDIT &
ASSURANCE
Meet our Audit & Assurance experts here
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Your guide to us
Today the business world faces more challenges than
ever before. To succeed, business owners need to rely on
exceptional thinkers; those who see the big picture, find
innovative solutions and work with you to reach both
your personal and corporate goals.
Our specialists are dedicated in helping you tackle the
complexities of modern business offering you advice, not
just options.
The Smith Cooper Business Advisory Services team is
made up of individuals with professional backgrounds
ranging from banking and corporate finance to recovery
and insolvency, which means whether your business
is experiencing sunshine or showers, there’s rarely a
situation outside of our knowledge and, after dealing
with us we’re confident that you’ll consider us a trusted
advisor.
Some of the things we could help you with:
Profit improvement & tax mitigation
Strategic business support
Creation, implementation and fusion of business and
financial strategy
Restructuring
Representation at board meetings
Growth and succession planning
Management team mentoring services
Commercial disputes & negotiations
Advice in relation to banking & debt structuring
Fundraising
No matter where you are in the business life cycle, we can
help.
BUSINESS
ADVISORY
Meet our Business Advisory experts here
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Your guide to us
You don’t start out in business or your working life
anticipating financial difficulties but unfortunately, it is
an ever common risk. If it does happen to you, you will
need advice from experienced insolvency practitioners
who are not only able to help navigate through a complex
problem by providing candid, proactive commercial
advice on your options but who also understand the
emotional difficulties you are facing too.
Financial pressures present themselves in many ways:
a statutory demand, a winding-up petition, inability to
pay amounts due to suppliers including the Crown, a bad
debt, or personal guarantees being called upon. Whatever
your situation, our expert team understand that time is of
the essence with debt matters.
We pride ourselves on getting in to advise early, so the
sooner we are able to understand the problems you
face, the more likely we are to be able to provide options
and acceptable solutions for all parties, including main
stakeholders and your creditors.
We appreciate that at times like these, the demands on
your finances are high and cash is not readily available.
For that reason, your initial meeting with one of our
insolvency specialists will take place free of charge. At
this point, we will determine your financial position and
discuss the best strategic options for you to adopt at this
most sensitive and pressured time.
BUSINESS
RECOVERY &
INSOLVENCY
Meet our Business Recovery & Insolvency experts
here
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Your guide to us
Finding the right corporate finance advisor who has the
enthusiasm, experience, knowledge and commitment to
help you fulfil your needs and aspirations is a difficult
task.
At Smith Cooper Corporate Finance, our ethos is simple –
we work with our clients to ensure they are successful.
To do this, we start by thoroughly understanding your
objectives and business issues, building a trusting
relationship before formulating highly flexible, innovative
solutions that fit your needs.
Our team specialises in high-intensity project
management of deals typically in the £2m to £35m value
range. This service is partner-led and supported by
senior corporate finance staff qualified in accountancy,
corporate finance and banking. We select the right people
to provide you with the service you need.
Key services include:
Acquisitions
Disposals
Succession planning
Management Buy-Outs and Buy-Ins
Acquisition search
Fundraising
Fees are largely success-based, proof of our confidence in
our ability to deliver results, time and time again.
CORPORATE
FINANCE
Meet our Corporate Finance experts here
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Your guide to us
At Smith Cooper, we can help you wade through the
complex and ever changing employment regulation and
taxation landscape. Whether you need us to provide
simple support, help design and implement valuable
improvements, or take the burden of compliance off your
hands so you can concentrate on running your business,
our experts are on hand to help.
We understand that being an employer is difficult, and
with the introduction of schemes such as PAYE and RTI
coupled with HMRC’s aggressive targeting campaigns, the
need for pragmatic and experienced advisors is growing.
Our Employment Services team don’t just focus on
compliance; we also take a wider look at your business
with the aim of transforming your employee offering and
identifying possible savings from the cost of employment.
We can help with:
Payroll
Outsourced HR
Employment legislation
Performance-management of employees and
recruitment
Reward strategies for employees
Employment taxation
EMPLOYMENT
SERVICES
Meet our Employment Services experts here
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Your guide to us
At Smith Cooper, we share your vision for growth. We
know that finding the resources needed to run projects
and invest in your business is a constant challenge, we
understand that sometimes, a little help goes a long way
and can make a huge difference and, most importantly,
we are dedicated in helping you achieve your personal
and business goals.
One way you can make big changes to your business is by
obtaining funding. From bank lending to grants and asset
finance, there are numerous options available to you and
your business.
The prospect of having extra resources available to you
is undeniably an exciting one however, it is important
to remember the task of securing such investments is a
notoriously perplexing and often very difficult process.
In today’s economic climate this has become even more
challenging and whilst the organisation providing the
funding can provide some guidance, a trusted advisor who
can help you put your case forward is a huge advantage.
Whilst there are numerous sources of funding available,
it is important to know where to look and how best to
approach the funders. Our dedicated specialists are
constantly kept in the know about funding opportunities
and so, are able to advise you on the best funding
solutions available to you as well as help you with
the application process, giving you a better chance of
obtaining the funding needed.
In short, Smith Cooper are a one stop shop for all of your
business and personal finance needs including:
Commercial and Investment Mortgages
Raising finance for cash flow
Accessing grants and soft loans
Short Term Loans
Development Finance
Asset Finance
Writing of business plans and forecasting financials
FUNDING
SOLUTIONS
Meet our Funding Solutions experts here
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Your guide to us
For time-pressed business managers, staying on top
of the ever-changing HR legislation can be a highly
demanding and seemingly impossible task. Following any
policy or procedure that has become out of date could
immediately put you in breach of the law.
Smith Cooper HR provides professional, practical and
cost-effective HR advice to all business sectors. Working
largely with clients who have HR needs, but cannot
justify the expense of a full or part time resource, our
service allows you access to the knowledge and expertise
of senior HR professionals at a fraction of the cost of
employing your own HR manager on a retained or ad hoc
basis.
We believe in pragmatic HR – offering real world
solutions, not textbook ones, based on our professionals’
many years of experience working in industry. We guide
clients through the increasingly complex and potentially
costly minefield of employment legislation, assisting in
difficult employee meetings or advising by phone.
Our HR services extend beyond employment
legislation. We work on a project basis helping clients to
performance-manage their employees, delivering focused
reward strategies, or recruiting the right people for the
right roles.
Our clients return for our advice due to our direct,
straight-forward approach and our ability to respond
quickly with flexible solutions that really work for them.
Our range of employer services includes:
Payroll
Outsourced HR
Employment legislation
Performance-management of employees and
recruitment
Reward strategies for employees
Employment taxation
HR
FREE HR REVIEW
Our dedicated HR team offer all
businesses a free visit and HR
review.
For further information, call Viv
Tolley on 01332 332 021
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Your guide to us
Regular changes to payroll legislation can be very difficult
to keep up with, so it makes sense to use our highly
experienced team to deal with all of these on your behalf.
Our payroll bureau provides a cost effective service to
businesses of any size, in any sector. We build our service
around your needs, however complex your salaries,
enabling you and your staff to concentrate on what
matters most – doing business.
For many businesses the burden of complicated payroll
legislation has become very difficult to cope with. Payroll
now includes much more than accounting for tax and NI
and there has been a dramatic rise in penalties for non-
compliance.
Advantages of using our payroll services include:
Staff are freed-up to do other work
No need to buy and learn expensive payroll software
Reduced risk of exposing confidential payroll
information to unauthorised staff
The worry of completing monthly payroll on time is
removed – even during holidays and illness
Completion of all HMRC reports is included
We provide full disaster recovery
Our range of employer services includes:
Payroll
Outsourced HR
Employment legislation
Performance-management of employees and
recruitment
Reward strategies for employees
Employment taxation
PAYROLL
Meet our Payroll experts here
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Your guide to us
Smith Cooper provides directors of distressed and under-
performing businesses positive practical and proactive
commercial advice allowing them to retain control of their
business.
If your business is struggling and time, new ideas and
working capital are in short supply, it can be difficult
for you as an owner-manager to formulate an action
plan that addresses the problems you’re experiencing.
Left unaddressed, decline will typically end in a failing
business and it’s our job to prevent that from happening.
Using our hands-on Corporate Recovery experience,
Smith Cooper can help formulate, communicate and
implement a strategic restructuring and turnaround plan
that works for the business and its main stakeholders.
Our specialists can also help you handle some of the
tough decisions and negotiations.
The very make up of our team of business advisory
experts demonstrates our commitment to turning your
business around. Our involvement adds credibility
with all main stakeholders, particularly HM Revenue &
Customs, and demonstrates that your business is working
proactively to address its current difficulties.
RESTRUCTURING
RESCUE &
CORPORATE
RECOVERY
Meet our Restructuring Rescue & Corporate
Recovery experts here
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Your guide to us
Tax regulations and rules change so often that strategies
which could have reduced your taxes yesterday may not
work today.
Successful companies consider tax implications before
they make business decisions, so they do not pay more
than their legal obligation. This makes tax compliance
and structuring a crucial element in your business
strategy.
Whether your tax needs are immediate or longer-term,
we’ll deploy specialist tax, financial services and business
planning expertise to gain a thorough insight into your
circumstances, objectives and risk preference.
Some of the things we can help you with include:
Personal tax planning: income tax, capital gains tax
and inheritance tax
Corporation tax: completing annual tax returns
including capital allowance and R&D claims
Tax implications of acquisitions and disposals
VAT
Trust taxes
Property taxes
Remuneration planning, employee benefits and share
incentive schemes
HM Revenue and Customs enquiries/investigations
Employment tax
HMRC investigations, disputes and appeals
TAX Did you know...
We were voted Midlands Based
Tax Planning Firm of the Year
2014!
Meet our Tax experts here
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Your guide to us
In these times of austerity the government is pursuing
tax revenue. HMRC are targeting both businesses and
individuals who they believe have underpaid their tax.
They do not need a reason to investigate you.
Unfortunately innocent businesses and individuals
get caught up in the process and are under threat of
investigation. This is a difficult time for many businesses
and individuals, you may feel that the last thing you need
is the inconvenience and expense of a tax investigation.
There doesn’t need to be a reason for HMRC to trigger an
investigation. Every tax payer who submits a tax return is
at risk. No-one is immune.
Win or lose, you always have to pay the cost of handling
the investigation, which is usually over and above your
advisors normal fees so the costs involved could be
substantial.
Disruptive, intrusive and expensive; when HMRC
investigate you or your business it can drag on for a year
or more saddling you with spiralling costs and rocketing
stress levels.
The Fee Protection service will pay for our professional
fees that result from most types of HMRC enquiry or
investigation (details are listed in the service Summary).
We will be free to work on your case for as long as it takes
to resolve the situation up to the policy limit. It’s one less
thing for you to worry about during this difficult time.
This service is backed by an insurance policy that we hold
with Professional Fee Protection Limited (PfP®).
TAX
INVESTIGATION
SERVICE
Learn more about our Tax Investigation Service
here
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Your guide to us
We understand that any lending or investment decision
must be given the fullest consideration and so, the role of
our Transaction Support team is to help you maximise the
return on your deal.
Our team of experts provide clients with an external,
objective investigation into the current state of the
business (or target), its prospects, vulnerabilities and
opportunities. Whilst it is not our place to tell you
whether to make an investment or not, we can help you
by critically assessing, in a clear and unambiguous report,
the information which you use to decide whether, or on
what terms, to make that investment.
Where we distinguish ourselves is in the level of business
insight and in the clarity of the reports we provide you
with – we aim to add value to the investment process, not
merely be an insurance policy for the investor.
Some of the things we can help with include:
Due Diligence
Pre-lending reviews
TRANSACTION
SUPPORT
Meet our Transaction Support experts here
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Your guide to us
Value Added Tax is one of the most complex and
onerous tax regimes imposed on business – so
complex that many businesses inadvertently overpay
or underpay VAT. Our VAT team has a wealth of
experience including that gained from working in
HMRC. We understand how HMRC operate and how
to work with them to deliver the best results for your
business.
Our experts have the practical knowledge to steer you
through your VAT problems. We are ideally placed to
provide VAT advice ranging from compliance issues to
more complex commercial transactions.
We can help with:
VAT registration and deregistration
Land and property transactions
Partial exemption and capital goods scheme issues
Cross border and international supplies of goods
and services
HMRC investigations
Disputes and appeals
VAT inspections
Challenging penalties and demands for security
Planning and structuring VAT transactions
VAT
Meet our VAT experts here
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Your guide to us
AboutKnowing every detail of your IT System is great
technically but we go to great lengths to understand
what your IT does for you. Which applications are
critical? Which services if unavailable will cost your
business the most? These are questions we help you
answer, we then try and help you plan on how best to
maintain these applications and services, within your
budget, to give you a real plan in the event of a disaster.
We all know IT issues occur, but it is how we deal with
those issues that helps us stand out from other IT
Managed Service Providers. Rather than trying to react
and service issues as they arise we use our smart tools
that are installed on to your devices to fix issues in the
background, automatically and with little or no end user
input.
Paul Howard
Director
Danny Mills
Director
Get in touch:
01332 374 444
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Your guide to us
Richard Brewster
Director
Chris Smith
Director
Smith Cooper System Partners Ltd are a Sage
software business partner providing a wide
range of integrated software solutions to the UK
SME market. The key premise of our company
is being “Easy to deal with” whilst maintaining
high standards of professionalism, award winning
support and sharing our extensive knowledge &
experience with enthusiasm.
About
Call us now:
0844 669 9998
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Your guide to us
We partner with some of the leading, top network and telecoms providers
in the country to ensure we offer our customers not only the best
communications solutions available in the market, but a solution that meets
the exact needs of their business, with real-time management tools. We
ensure that these services are delivered with a premium, personal customer
service. Each of our customers benefits from a dedicated account manager,
with the additional support of our in-house admin and support team.
Customers also receive regular reviews on their account to ensure they remain
on the best service for their current usage and business needs.
Scott Harrhy
Director
Learn more. E-mail us on:
hello@centurym.co.uk
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Your guide to us
Richard Garside
Managing Director
At Smith Cooper Independent Financial Services Limited (SCIFS) we employ
specialist advisors with the highest qualifications, covering all areas of financial
planning from the simplest personal advice to the most technical and complex
corporate transactions.
We take deep knowledge, experience and expertise very seriously and strive to
always stay ahead. In doing so, we deliver the best independent advice, selecting
products to meet your specific needs from the whole of the financial services
market.
We never assume ‘one size fits all’, we tailor a bespoke service to fit both your
needs and your budget.
Independent Financial Solutions
About
Get in touch: 01455 614 500
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Your guide to us
“““
Smith Cooper are always timely,
thorough and efficient and the work
they do for us is second to none. The
staff and partners consistently provide
a high degree of insight and expertise
and we are very happy with their
work. Not only do they provide great
accounting services, but I know I can
count on them to give me sound and
reasoned business advice.
As an owner manager expected to
comprehend so many complicated
business issues, I have an absolute
need for critical, relevant support.
Smith Cooper provides me with the
quality support I need and I have found
their counsel and wisdom invaluable.
They are not afraid to tell the negative
as well as the positive side to a client if
it needs to be said, an attribute I both
admire and respect. I am very happy
to have Smith Cooper represent my
company both now and in the future.
Smith Cooper have been our auditors
and advisors for over five years and
during this time we have built up an
excellent working relationship, which
is invaluable during these challenging
times. They initially spent a lot of time
just getting to know our management
team and the business as a whole, this
way they were able to add value to the
business.
Julian Miller
Financial Director
Adshead Ratcliffe &
Co Ltd
Ross McManus
Managing Director
MP Bio Science Ltd
Mark Lee
Owner and Managing
Director
Keramikos Limited
Read more of our client testimonials here
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Your guide to us
Get in touch
Buxton
2a Grove Parade
Buxton
SK17 6AJ
01298 24536
buxton@smithcooper.co.uk
Birmingham
158 Edmund Street
Birmingham
B3 2HB
0121 236 6789
birmingham@smithcooper.co.uk
Ashbourne
54 St John Street
Ashbourne
DE6 1GH
01335 343 141
ashbourne@smithcooper.co.uk
Nottingham
2 Lace Market Squre
Nottingham
NG1 1PB
0115 945 4300
nottingham@smithcooper.co.uk
Telford
M54 Space Centre
Halesfield Business Park
Halesfield 8
Telford
TF7 4QN
01952 601 052
telford@smithcooper.co.uk
Derby
St Helen’s House
King Street
Derby
DE1 3EE
01332 332 021
derby@smithcooper.co.uk
