A “massively underhand cash grab” was how one supplier was reported in The Times as describing the approach by the DIY giant B&Q demanding contributions to an “investment-for-growth” programme. B&Q is facing claims that it threatened its suppliers by demanding they pay hundreds of thousands of pounds to stay on its books. This follows The […]
According to a poll of 500 businesses, conducted by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), UK businesses are hit by £10bn a year in extra tax costs, with the majority falling on SMEs. The AAT found that SMEs spend approximately £9.9bn each year on tax compliance compared to just £100m that larger firms are paying. […]
Brendan Flattery, CEO Sage UK and Ireland calls for all FTSE companies to publicly commit to move towards 30 day payment terms for SME suppliers. In his blog, he points out that the health and vitality of the UK’s SME sector, with a combined turnover of £1.6 trillion is crucial to the economic future of […]
This article by Andrew Sheehy, Chief Analyst at industry research firm Generator Research, paints a picture where the result of connecting AIs might be a network that looks like the internet, except where routers are replaced with artificial intelligences of different species. That could be good, or bad. According to Sheehy, when viewed at a […]
Three quarters of the British public agree that the next Government should take action on big business ethics. This includes the government committing to penalising corporates that act unfairly towards small businesses in areas such as supply chain contracts and late payment. The majority of the British public believes that policy to promote ethical practices […]
For the first time the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) assembled an influential cross-party group of MPs to identify possible solutions to the deterioration of payment practises in the UK. Hosted by Debbie Abrahams MP, who has previously convened her own cross-party inquiry into the issue, she said: “Late payment is something that CEOs and […]
