Well, there we have it another year done. We’ve almost made
it to the end of 2021, and what another weird, wonderful, and super busy year
it’s been.
Despite all the challenges, rural business has persevered
and thrived, and there’s been much to celebrate. We’ve helped dozens of our
clients organise their finances, take advantage of government grants and get
the plans in place they need to grow successfully.
We look back at some of 2021’s highlights here.
A growing accountancy firm
We’ve been extremely fortunate to go from strength to
strength as our small rural accountancy practise got a little bigger!
We recruited again in 2021 and will be looking to do the
same in 2022.
September saw us needing more space for our growing team and
we moved office. If you didn’t know already, you’ll now find us at 11 Mallard
Court, Mallard Way, Crewe, Cheshire, CW1 6ZQ.
Planning remains as important as ever
Unsurprisingly, one of the key themes we saw in 2021 was the
importance of a plan! A good financial plan
can mean the difference between success and failure, and it’s essential to help
manage your cash flows, identify opportunities, and reduce risks.
That was one of the key pieces of advice Suzanne gave to
aspiring food and drink producers in a report, published by Hillsgreen,
entitled “Recipes for Success: Insights from
the Rising Stars of UK Food & Drink.”
And it will be one of the subjects the team will be
discussing with delegates at Cultivate 2022, the rural business conference that
we’re sponsoring in January.
Some of the other key trends we spoke about in 2021
included:
- Diversification, which remains a big, important focus for rural businesses year after year.
A year for big tax changes
Despite the uncertain economic picture, Chancellor Rishi
Sunak decided 2021 was as good a year as any to make some big tax changes for
business.
Many haven’t come into force yet, and as always, we keep all
our clients up to date on what might affect them, but some of those changes to
highlight include:
- A big shake up to corporation tax over the coming years
- A rise in dividend tax rate by 1.25% from April 2022
- Super deduction benefits for machinery and equipment
- An end to the VAT rate cut for hospitality and holiday accommodation (now up to 12% and back to 20% in April)
- Rule changes to tax-free employee accommodation
We certainly saw lots of change compared with 2020, with lots to be really positive about, but we all share the feeling that we’re not quite back to where we want to be yet, with COVID still hanging over us as we head into 2022.
Phew, what a busy year
We certainly saw lots of change compared with 2020, with lots to be really positive about, but we all share the feeling that we’re not quite back to where we want to be yet, with COVID still hanging over us as we head into 2022.
But despite the pandemic there’s still so much to celebrate in the world of rural business and much to look forward to next year.
We’d like to take this moment to thank all our clients, friends and family for their continued support and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a happy, healthy 2022.
We’ll be closed from 1pm Christmas Eve until the 4th January, but we are looking forward to getting back to work all rejuvenated and ready to work with you and your businesses.