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We are very proud of the whole team at KLM UK Engineering, but wanted to celebrate our women with a few images!

Briar Chemicals firefighters paid a special visit to Mile Cross Primary School to help pupils learn about fire safety as part oftheir Great Fire of London project.

The eager youngsters were thrilled to meet Fire Safety Officer, Sam Fisher, to learn about fire safety in the home. As part of the fire safety educationfor children in local primary schools, Briar Chemicals use their training and expertise to deliver key messages, in a reassuring way, to make sure children understand the importance of fire safety.

Year 2 pupils have been learning about the Great Fire of London, which swept through the central parts of London in September 1666. The children made a model village, including the bakery in Pudding Lane where the fire started, which Samused to show the children the dangers of how quickly fire can spread.

Stuart Allen, Head Teacher said: “It’s great for our children to receive a visitfrom a Fire Officerat Briar Chemicals. From barbecues to bonfires, outdoor events happen all year round and for a lot of people, lighting a fire is a great addition to the atmosphere and the event itself. However, just as fire safety is important indoors, it is also crucial that we take all relevant precautions for outdoor fires, too.”

“Having the opportunity to listen to a Fire Officer and fire safety messages, as well as having a go in a Fire Engine, is something that will have a lasting impression on the children and hopefully help them to stay safe around fire.”

120 pupils, aged 5-6 year old, at Mile Cross Primary were treated to an up-close look at a real fire engine and all the equipment. The children pretended to be part of the fire crew and sat inside the fire engine whilst firefighter Sam turned on the sirens. They also had the opportunity toaim the water hose andknock a ball off a cone in the playground.

Briar Chemicals’ Fire Safety Officer, Sam Fisher, said: “We work with local schools to educate young people about fire safety; helping them to identify potentials hazards and learn how to stay safe from fire. These visits are an effective way of delivering an important message, in a fun and memorable way.”

Fire safety advice is available on the Norfolk Fire Service website; www.norfolkfireservice.gov.uk

Are you ready for the coming revolution?Russel Winder

UK school curriculum underwent a revolution as of 2014-09: ITC was replaced with programming (aka computer science). Whilst the change itself was campaigned for, and widely wanted, the way government handled the change left a lot to be desired. Some, but not all, universities and colleges have joined in realising the change and preparing for the consequent revolution in university computer science curriculum, c.2018 onward. Are businesses ready for the knock-on change?

This presentation will delve into some of the most important and/or obvious issues surrounding this world leading experiment in child education.

Ex-academic, Analyst & consultant Russel talks about the important issues surrounding the government’s push for programming in UK schools, and how the way it’s been handled has left a lot to be desired.

From 2015 ICT in UK schools is to be replaced with programming, but the way the government handled the change left a lot to be desired. Russel talks about some of the most important and obvious issues surrounding this world leading experiment in child education.

About Russel Ex-theoretical physicist, ex-UNIX system programmer, ex-academic. Now an independent consultant, analyst, author, expert witness and trainer. Also doing startups. Interested in all things parallel and concurrent. And build.

Actively involved with Groovy, GPars, GroovyFX, SCons, Me TV, and GStreamer. Also Gradle, Ceylon, Kotlin, D, Go, and bit of Rust. And lots of Python, especially Python-CSP.

Full agenda: https://www.nordevcon.com/agenda-2017/

RSVP: https://www.nordevcon.com

Briar Chemicalsattended the Chemical Industries Association annual business conference, which this year was focussed on “Brexit” and the UK Chemical Industry’s future strategy.

The event provided an excellent forum for senior management of UK chemical manufacturing companies, alongside UK Government Ministers and other stakeholders, to come together and define policy and opportunities.

There is no question that following the “Brexit” vote on23rd June 2016 there is uncertainty in the business environment and that this has resulted in a great deal of lively dialogue in our industry and in the media as a whole.

Susan Brench,Head of Commercial at Briar Chemicals,said: “Whilstwe understand our stakeholders’ concerns, I would like to offer the following perspective; Briar Chemicals believes that the current economic and political climate has also resulted in several opportunities presenting themselves:

• Sterling devaluation makes our selling prices more attractive
• There is the potential for reduced regulatory burden
• Government action can make the UK an even more attractive investment location

From a recent survey, the UK chemical industry, being a long-established, highly export-orientated manufacturing sector, maintains a positive outlook to business prospects; Briar Chemicalsis no exception and we are certainly still Open for Business.

Briar Chemicals continues to focus on operational excellence to drive down costs and deliver shared benefits for all stakeholders, investing in its employees and manufacturing assets (capex and maintenance spend will be maintained at a rate above the European industry norm).

Susan added “We believe that Briar Chemicals will remain an efficient and cost effective partner regardless of any challenges presented during the “Brexit” process.”

Read more from the Chemical Industries Association press release in which UK Chemical and Pharmaceutical companiessay exports can drive growth.

Roger Bowen, Robert Littlefield and Andrew Thornton all celebrated 15 years of practice ownership in January 2020.

Back in January 2005, three ambitious accountants launched their own practices after joining the TaxAssist Accountants network, which this year marks its own special landmark 25th anniversary.

Roger Bowen’s practice based in Llanelli, South Wales, has grown to a team of seven and has been operating from a shop since 2009.

“The best decision I ever made was joining TaxAssist,” said Roger. “It has provided me with an opportunity to choose a good work/life balance, make my own work decisions and be in charge of my own destiny. I can work from home when I choose, see clients when I choose or play golf when I choose. All this and a great income to boot. My success has proved it works.”

Kent-based Robert Littlefield concurs: “Time flies when you are enjoying yourself. Aside from asking my wife to marry me, taking on a TaxAssist franchise has to be the best decision I have made in my life.  From working all the hours for an employer, I changed to working the hours I choose for myself. As a result, I have ended up considerably wealthier, and more importantly spent so much more time with my family, (I’ve never missed a sports day or parents evening since!) I would like to thank the TaxAssist support team for helping to make this all possible, as I could not have achieved what I have done without them.”

Andrew Thornton, who opened his shop in Otley, West Yorkshire, in 2005 said: “15 years! Wow! Where did that go?

“I wish that I had had the opportunity to join 15 years prior to when I did. I achieved my ambition to work for myself and build my own small team but with the added benefits of having the support of a larger, friendly organisation with some really nice people. I have absolutely no regrets!”

Karl Sandall, Chief Executive Director of The TaxAssist Group, was quick to congratulate the trio. “It has been an absolute pleasure to support Roger, Robert and Andrew over the last 15 years, and to watch as they have built up substantial accountancy practices.

“I take great pride in offering first class support to our network of franchisees and we never forget that our success as a franchisor is dependent on the success of our franchisees. I wish them many years of continued success.”  

Tree planting begins at Colby Playing Field this weekend as part of Colby & Banningham Parish Council’s support for North Norfolk District Council’s (NNDC) ambition to plant 110,000 trees – one for every person in North Norfolk – over the next four years.

A total of 500 trees are being planted at the playing field on Bridge Road, Colby. The parish council, which maintains the land, has taken the opportunity to get involved in NNDC’s new initiative, to help make the playing field more attractive for residents to enjoy. The planting follows on from work by local wildlife group, Wild About Colby, who developed a small copse at one end of the field in recent years.

The new trees are a mix of native species chosen to suit the soil conditions in the area, including oak, rowan, gorse, broom, silver birch, hazel, field maple, goat willow and dog rose. Advice has been sought from Dr Colin Studholme, an expert in environmental science who has worked on similar schemes elsewhere, to help choose the best possible trees for biodiversity, to improve the parish landscape and contribute to NNDC’s climate change initiative.

The Colby tree planting events, which are open to all to attend, are taking place from 11am on Saturday 15 and Saturday 22 February. For more details, see the Colby & Banningham Parish Council website or Facebook and Twitter pages.

Mo Anderson-Dungar, parish clerk at Colby and Banningham Parish Council, said: “We are pleased to be holding these two tree planting events which will enable us to further improve the playing field site for the benefit of all local residents. At the same time, we’re delighted to be supporting NNDC’s initiative by planting one tree for everyone living here in our parish.”

Councillor Nigel Lloyd, NNDC’s Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “We are delighted to see Colby and Banningham getting involved with our scheme and using it as an opportunity to complement their existing work on the playing field. These 500 trees all count towards our ambitious goal to plant 110,000. We welcome all support and ideas and would love to hear from other villages and groups who are interested in taking part, whether it’s to plant one tree, 500 or more.”

To support its four-year tree planting ambition, NNDC is partnering with the Woodland Trust as its main supplier of trees. It is encouraging individuals, as well as local schools, groups and businesses, to get involved with the campaign which is part of its journey to becoming a carbon neutral council by 2030. For more information and details of how to get involved, visit: https://www.north-norfolk.gov.uk/trees

During uncertain times it’s essential that business owners can keep track of their business’s financial performance in order to instil stability and minimise disruption.

Over the coming weeks, we’re expecting many offices to close and work patterns to be adjusted due to Covid-19. This is likely to include most professional firms. Fortunately, MHA Larking Gowen has a robust business continuity plan and all our teams can work remotely with no interruption to their day to day working. This means our teams can support our clients regardless of location.

As business owners, I’m sure that you will be requiring frequent contact and advice from your trusted advisor over the coming months. However, the challenge is – how can you provide them with access to your up-to-date business records if restrictions are in place?

Cloud Accounting

MHA Larking Gowen has Platinum Partner status for cloud accounting platforms Xero and QuickBooks.

If you haven’t heard of Xero and QuickBooks before, these are online cloud accounting software packages designed to make life easier for small and medium sized business owners. Most importantly, these are cloud based so can be accessed by both you and your trusted advisor anywhere, if you have access to the internet.

Not only can these be accessed anywhere, they also both provide essential efficiencies which will relieve you of mundane bookkeeping tasks and allow you to concentrate on minimising any disruption within your business.

Integrated features

Both Xero and QuickBooks have amazing integrated features to help with everyday bookkeeping tasks.

The main ‘time saving’ feature is the live bank feeds. Bank feeds automatically import transactions from your bank, directly into Xero and QuickBooks. Therefore, eliminating the need to enter bank transactions manually into your cloud accounting software.

We make sure all our cloud accounting clients are set up with Receipt Bank https://embed.vidyard.com/watch/x5coA6aEWFUK5wB8pW7nPe This third party application allows you to take photos of your sales and purchase invoices using an app on your phone or tablet. It then extracts data from these invoices before they are published through to Xero or QuickBooks, avoiding any manual data entry of sales or purchases.

Real Time Information

As business owners, I’m sure many of you will be required to make some vital business decisions in the coming months but how will you be able to do this if you don’t fully understand where your business’s finances are at, right now?

Technology can be used to provide Real Time Information, to help business owners understand exactly where they stand.

It is essential that business owners have all the tools in place to enable them to provide their trusted advisor with information instantly. In return, bookkeeping can be updated on a daily basis, providing business owners with Real Time Information. This gives business owners the detail they need to make informed business decisions.

Cashflow is going to be key in the coming months and third party applications such as Futrli (https://www.futrli.com/) can be used to further help business owners with decision making.

Futrli integrates with Xero and QuickBooks and enables you to create budgets and forecasts based upon multiple scenarios. This is essential to enable business owners to gain a real insight as to what the future of their business will look like and so they can ensure they are on track to achieving their objectives.

In this current climate, it is essential that business owners have the resources required to utilise technology to their advantage.

Click here to read our client testimonial

If you’re worried about the impact Coronavirus will have on your business performance and would like to know more about your business’s current financial position, please call Jessica Rafferty-Smith on 01603 624181.

MHA Larking Gowen Corporate Finance Partner, and business coach James Lay discusses how to ‘keep things in perspective’ amidst current uncertainties.

There’s no doubt about it, the COVID-19 pandemic is deeply concerning for everyone. And it is everyone!

Other than World Wars, it’s difficult to think of anything which has or ever will affect so many of us across the world simultaneously. Although a glib comparison, even when global sporting events take place, there are huge swathes of the global population who pay absolutely no attention. But this is clearly different and hugely important. For those who aren’t affected by the virus directly, there’s little way of avoiding the restrictions being put in place across all of our societies. 

Who could have possibly seen this coming? Well, anyone who has seen Bill Gates’ TED talk from 2015 will see his alarmingly accurate warnings. Clever chap that Bill! But there’s little point looking back with hindsight at the ‘if onlys’. We must all pull together and support those who are directly affected by the virus. And for everyone else, we must take responsibility for how we choose to respond to the 24/7 rolling media coverage which is creating understandable anxiety across the globe. 

The American Psychological Association (APA) has put out some tips to manage this anxiety which are more grounded in reality, compared to much of what we are reading in the general media.

The five tips are:

Keep things in perspective. Most people should not get seriously unwell; even those over 70 can take steps to minimise the likelihood of getting the virus. As more data becomes available the analysis suggests the death rate is relatively low.

Get the facts. Avoid getting caught up with sensationalised media coverage and focus on reports from the relevant authorities.

Communicate more. Share qualified data with others. If we remain calm, it builds confidence and reduces anxiety in others.

Keep connected. Maintain a sense of normality with all your personal and business connections ‘electronically’ using face-to-face technologies like Zoom, Skype and Facetime. Use texts, emails and social media if you must, but they don’t create the same level of connection. Of course, there’s always the phone and hand-written letters too!

Seek help. We’re all in this together. No one is alone. Let’s look after ourselves and proactively support other people. In working relationships this should be true both up and down the chain of command. Leaders should be supporting their team members but, just as importantly, team members should be looking out for their leaders. And, if anyone is feeling an overwhelming nervousness, sadness, or other reaction, then they really ought to consult a mental health professional to manage their stress. 

In terms of businesses, of course, they are all currently dealing with a short-term heightened level of disruptive change associated with potential working from home changes, new policies, home pressures and concerns, disrupted customers and new technologies that need to be implemented quickly. What we are seeing is that around one third of businesses are now exceptionally busy (and doing OK), for the next third it is roughly business as usual, and the final third are experiencing significant trouble. Of the final category, maybe half of those businesses may prove difficult to save. So, as you can see, the impact of COVID-19 is maybe not quite how it is being portrayed in the media, and in truth every business will need help and support in differing ways. 

Watch out for a series of further posts and videos over the coming days with practical business tools and advice to support people and businesses. We are also available through Skype to provide business coaching to businesses – please just get in touch – james.lay@larking-gowen.co.uk.

Stay safe. 

James Lay

Partner

Please note that Trading Standards have received details of Coronavirus (COVID19) related community scams. We are continuing to issue our alerts and post messages via social media of any scams or information we receive. For more information about the current scams or rogue trading in Norfolk sign up to Trading Standards Consumer or Business Alerts at: www.norfolk.gov.uk/scams or follow us on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/norfolktradingstandards Twitter: twitter.com/NorfolkCCTS You can report scams to us via our partners, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 or via their online reporting form