Reply to: Recommendations for accounts please

[Dactylion]

I aim to please!

Not exactly a marksman though!

[northernladuk]

I was waitng for that response from you

I aim to please!

[Jeremiah@RHJAccountants]

FTFY....

I was waitng for that response from you

[Jeremiah@RHJAccountants]

Don't forget his trainset and his mistress

Ah yes the mistress she got a brand new Mercedes out of it too

[Clare@InTouch]

FTFY....

Meh

[northernladuk]

He did know the consequences and did not care it was about living his extravagant lifestyle six top of the range cars and three big house to impress women.

As i said earlier his actions should not tarnish all the honest and hardworking accountants.

FTFY....

[Clare@InTouch]

He did know the consequences and did not care it was about living his extravagant lifestyle six top of the range cars and three big house to impress women.

As i said earlier his actions should not tarnish all the honest and hardworking accountants.

Don't forget his trainset and his mistress

[Clare@InTouch]

Well Mr Upton used his agent status to get refunds processed into his own bank account behind his clients backs so I'd say the power as an agent has goes a little more than viewing and talking and filing. Yet as far as HMRC are concerned it's the Ltds fault if this happens. I would have thought they should be responsible for the security of thier own bank accounts not the taxpayer. Call it a Loophole, but I bet dishonest agents can still request/fabricate refunds and specify where they should be paid. Once it's gone HMRC will wash thier hands of any liability, so by time the Ltd finds out it's too late, even if checking daily.
IIRC Mr Upton bought more time by blaming it on HMRC mistakes, which is credible. This back door needs sorting out.

Upton committed fraud, pure and simple. But that can happen in a thousand situations each day - I went to school with a guy who got caught nicking from the bank he worked for, but it didn't make me close all my bank accounts and stuff the money under my mattress on the grounds that all bank staff must therefore by thieving from their employers. Equally not all priests are child molesters, not all people called West will kill you, and not all dogs will bite children. You're taking the worst case and extrapolating to an entire class of people, which is never going to be true.

[Jeremiah@RHJAccountants]

Reading this, I'm amazed that Upton thought he could get away with what he was doing. I mean, he must have known full well the consequences of what he did.

He did know the consequences and did not care it was about living his extravagant lifestyle six top of the range cars and three big house to impress women.

As i said earlier his actions should not tarnish all the honest and hardworking accountants.

[Fred Bloggs]

Reading this, I'm amazed that Upton thought he could get away with what he was doing. I mean, he must have known full well the consequences of what he did.

[ZARDOZ]

I think Mr Upton's back door has probably been well and truly sorted out by now....

I doubt he had it rough. He'll probably be back in business soon. All he needs to do is get Google to delete his history and/or find someone to hide behind.



Not saying accountants should not be trusted by any means. Just that HMRC makes it easy for dishonest ones. Probably best to go meet any potential accountant and suss them out.

[northernladuk]

This back door needs sorting out.

I think Mr Upton's back door has probably been well and truly sorted out by now....

[ZARDOZ]

You're not signing over power when an accountant acts for you, you're allowing them to view your records, talk to HMRC and file things on your behalf. That doesn't mean the ultimate responsibility moves away from you though, so you should still know what's going on. !

Well Mr Upton used his agent status to get refunds processed into his own bank account behind his clients backs so I'd say the power as an agent has goes a little more than viewing and talking and filing. Yet as far as HMRC are concerned it's the Ltds fault if this happens. I would have thought they should be responsible for the security of thier own bank accounts not the taxpayer. Call it a Loophole, but I bet dishonest agents can still request/fabricate refunds and specify where they should be paid. Once it's gone HMRC will wash thier hands of any liability, so by time the Ltd finds out it's too late, even if checking daily.
IIRC Mr Upton bought more time by blaming it on HMRC mistakes, which is credible. This back door needs sorting out.

[Clare@InTouch]

That would not have helped much as he defrauded some of his clients without touching their bank accounts or clients sending any money to his. Money was extracted in some cases from HMRC after liabilities were paid and diverted to his account via bogus refunds, yet the clients had to pay it back to HMRC.

All centered around him having the ability to act 'on behalf of his client' as an agent. HMRC consider that once you have signed over this power it's your fault. The advise based on that would be don't let an accountant act as your agent for Corportion Tax. But then again 99% of accountants probably do.

I'm sure you are very honest. But the opportunity is still there for some. Don't think this type of fraud was possible when it was all paper.

Exactly, which is why having access to HMRC Online and checking things yourself can either prevent it happening, or at least alert you that something is wrong. You'd see a refund, or you'd see tax still outstanding that you'd paid.

You're not signing over power when an accountant acts for you, you're allowing them to view your records, talk to HMRC and file things on your behalf. That doesn't mean the ultimate responsibility moves away from you though, so you should still know what's going on. CT is actually the easiest one to keep track of, and the easiest to understand as a layman. Try viewing our self assessment statements and it can be nightmare!

[ZARDOZ]

It was good lesson for company owners though - don't let your accountant control your bank account, don't send tax payments to them, and make sure you understand what is due, when it's due, and check it yourself via HMRC Online. It's like any type of theft - don't make it easy for them.

That would not have helped much as he defrauded some of his clients without touching their bank accounts or clients sending any money to his. Money was extracted in some cases from HMRC after liabilities were paid and diverted to his account via bogus refunds, yet the clients had to pay it back to HMRC.

All centered around him having the ability to act 'on behalf of his client' as an agent. HMRC consider that once you have signed over this power it's your fault. The advise based on that would be don't let an accountant act as your agent for Corportion Tax. But then again 99% of accountants probably do.

I'm sure you are very honest. But the opportunity is still there for some. Don't think this type of fraud was possible when it was all paper. HMRC should inform the LTD by email when any changes are made IMHO would help close the loophole.