We are pleased to confirm we will be running our two Management Accountants Conferences in 2019. The first will be held in London on the 3rd October and the second in Leeds on the 8th October. The conferences will once again be packed full of a variety of plenaries and breakouts.  Please keep the date in your diary and look out for further details soon. For any queries, please contact Rachel.

In case you missed it, last week we sent out the second edition of our new, fortnightly(ish) Tax and Payroll newsletter. It covered all sorts of news relating to Brexit, VAT, business rates, employment taxes, payroll, global mobility, and a load of BUFDG events.

The newsletter is sent out to all members with a primary or secondary interest in Tax. If you want to receive it in future on the day it comes out, you’ll need to head to the My BUFDG page of our website and update your primary/secondary interests (about half way down the page), and click ‘Save’.

This year’s Audit Survey report is available for members to download from the website. We had a very healthy 135 submissions this year – a 73% response rate from BUFDG member institutions. It follows the usual format, but we swapped out the question on US GAAP for one on the use of sector procurement frameworks.

If you have any questions about the report, drop Matt an email.

HMRC has introduced Transitional Simplified Procedures (TSP) for customs to make importing easier for an initial period of one year, should we leave the EU without a deal, to allow businesses time to prepare for usual import processes.

Businesses must register for TSP in order to use it, and must have an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number in order to register for TSP. Once registered for TSP, goods can be transported from the EU into the UK without having to make a full customs declaration at the border, and paying any import duties will be postponed.

HMRC has written to 145,000 VAT-registered businesses trading with the EU about these new arrangements - the letter sent by HMRC to business trading with the EU is available on their website.

More information on the new TSP arrangements, as well as changes to VIES, MOSS and the EU VAT refund system, is available on our website.

A huge thank you to the 89 English institutions who submitted their data for this year's Procurement Value Survey. The survey is now closed and a report is already being written. This will be shared with Heads of Procurement before the end of February.

If you have any questions please get in touch with Emma.

The regional Payroll and Expenses Group meetings provide an opportunity to hear updates on employment related tax issues, share your concerns and challenges, and network with your peers in other universities in your region. Everyone is very welcome to attend any of the regional meetings irrespective of the location of your university and you may attend more than one region. Some of the items that past meetings have covered include National Minimum Wage, Employment status and IR35, Internationally mobile employees, Termination payments, and New payslip requirements.

Meeting dates for the next round of regional PEGs have been finalised you can book onto the meetings using the following links:

• Scotland PEG meeting – KPMG Edinburgh                       Regional Chair – Jim Ross
• Northern PEG meeting – KPMG Manchester                     Regional Chair - vacant                     
• Midlands PEG meeting – KPMG Birmingham                     Regional Chairs – David Robinson and Richard Montgomery
• London 1 PEG meeting – KPMG London                           Regional Chair – Michael Stevenson
• London PEG meeting – KPMG London                              Regional Chair – Charles Morgan
• South PEG meeting – KPMG Southampton                       Regional Chair – Jon Gorman
• Wales PEG meeting – KPMG Cardiff                                 Regional Chair – Sian Williams

If you have any suggestions for agenda items please contact your regional chair or Caroline.

Just a few places remain on our upcoming Developing as a Finance Business Partner in Higher Education courses. This course allows delegates to understand the role, realities, and competencies required of a HE Finance Business Partner, using real university examples. It will help you work more strategically, identify and practise ways to communicate with stakeholders and develop better relationships. Delegates will also work with a set of tools to develop and prioritise your activities, and will leave the session with a personal action plan to put into place on your return. Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of the role of finance business partner within a Higher Education institution, illustrated with HE examples.
• Explore the role and realities of the finance business partner, mapping current activities and competencies.
• Identify ways to operate more strategically.
• Identify strategies and behaviours for working and communicating with non-finance professionals across a large organisation.
• Identify what it means to add value as a finance business partner and how to demonstrate value.
• Work with a set of tools to plan and prioritise activity as a finance business partner.
• Practise some key partnering skills including communicating the role confidently.

The course costs £350 plus VAT.  Book your place on either 1st March in London or 14th May in Leeds. For any queries, please contact Rachel.

The Government has published its response to the consultation on protecting defined benefit pension schemes. The document sought views on proposals to improve the existing notifiable events framework by including a broader range of employer-related events. It also sought views on the removal of the existing notifiable event in respect of wrongful trading of the sponsoring employer, and an extension of the current ‘breach of banking covenant’ event.

The Government intends to change the penalty regime and will continue to engage with stakeholders regarding the level of fixed and escalating penalties. The other key take-aways are:

• TPR’s ability to monitor relevant corporate events or transactions and take action as necessary will be improved;
• TPR’s powers will be strengthened to deter and punish wilful or reckless behaviours that might have negative impacts on pension schemes;
• TPR’s information gathering powers are to be updated, so that their investigations can be more efficient and effective; and
• TPR’s anti-avoidance powers will be simplified and improved so that the industry has more clarity on what is required of them and so TPR can take quicker action.

The Government has stated that legislation will be brought forward as soon as Parliamentary time allows. In the meantime, it will continue to engage with stakeholders on the detail.

The Spring meeting for the South West tax group has now been arranged and can be booked using the link below. 

The regional tax group meetings provide an opportunity to hear updates on tax issues, share your concerns and challenges, and network with your peers in other universities in your region. Everyone is very welcome to attend any of the regional meetings irrespective of the location of your university and you may attend more than one region. You can book onto the meetings using the following links:

• Northern tax group meeting – Principal York Hotel – 5 March (if you have any suggestions for agenda items please contact the Chair, Carol Varns)
• London/SE tax group meeting – Imperial – 7 March (if you have any suggestions for agenda items please contact the Chair, Rebecca Young)
• Midlands tax group meeting - University of Leicester - 27 March (if you have any suggestions for agenda items please contact the Chair, Andrea Marshall)
• South West tax group meeting - PwC, Bristol - 4 April (if you have any suggestions for agenda items please contact the Chair, Sally McKinlay)

Details of other regions will follow shortly.

This week’s job is for a Senior Category Manager to join the team at Swansea University. The post holder will “be embedded within College / Professional Services Unit and be responsible for leading and advising colleagues in all procurement and contract management activity, ensuring outcomes are aligned to the University’s strategic aims".

“They will play a key role in the planning, implementation and management of the main contracts with suppliers both pertinent to the College / Professional Services Unit and within own category area of responsibility. This will involve ensuring the efficient and effective delivery of robust contract management”.

You can find other job vacancies listed on the BUFDG jobs page.