Tax administration and maintenance day: a Budget without a speech

Simplifying the tax system, tackling non-compliance and ensuring the tax system remains fit for the modern world. This framed the consultations, calls for evidence and next steps announced on TAM day. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty highlights the key points.

Meet HMRC’s horizon-gazing futurists

The UK tax authority’s Futures team monitors trends in the economy and society that could have an impact on government revenues and tax administration.

Potential audit implications of salary advance schemes in the NHS

The National Audit Office investigation into supply chain finance found that “free” salary advance schemes for NHS employees started to have a cost after the collapse of Greensill Capital. The report’s authors highlight there may be implications for the audits of NHS bodies.

Levelling up: accessible local public spending data is vital

ICAEW member Ed Humpherson, Director General for Regulation at the Office for Statistics Regulation – which provides independent regulation of all official statistics in the UK – says that economic and finance data must be concrete and comprehensible.

Deficit in line with expectations at £19bn but public debt jumps by £69bn

The monthly public sector deficit was flat at £18.8bn in October but a last-minute rush by banks to access cheap finance caused public sector net debt to jump by £68.7bn to £2,277.6bn.

Public finances post-crisis: rebuilding with balance

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the lasting scars of the financial crisis, have sapped the UK’s fiscal strength in a period of major transition. The Resolution Foundation has some recommendations for recovery.

Managing contingent liabilities at government level

Siobhan Duffy, a director at UK Government Investments, tells ICAEW Insights how her team contributes intelligence to policy development.

Prizing the public pound

With increasing pressure on public services and net-zero targets to be met, it’s critical that any public spending delivers value to the taxpayer. The Fabian Society outlines its vision in its recent pamphlet.

How should government manage its assets better?

Michael Sunderland is the Deputy Director Government Financial Reporting at HM Treasury. He talks to ICAEW Insights about government balance sheet management.

IPSAS vs IFRS

What is the most suitable accounting framework for the public sector?

How do you manage a single issue across all of government?

How to collaborate across departments has long been a conundrum for large organisations. But when that organisation is central government, there is a huge price to pay for failing to be coordinated across departments.

HMRC, Companies House and collaboration across government

Achieving efficiencies across government departments is to be applauded. Mark Chandler, Advisory Accountant at HMRC talks to ICAEW Insights about how collaboration is being achieved with Companies House and other UK Government departments.

HMRC’s priorities: Spending Review, COVID-19, Brexit

ICAEW Insights asks Justin Holliday, Chief Finance Officer at HMRC, about the tax authority’s priorities and strategy, given the turbulence and change of the past 18 months.

Getting the machinery of government to work

Former Downing Street policy chief Dan Corry believes the return of Public Service Agreements could help the government get more out of the hundreds of billions of public money it spends each year.

COVID: financial risk to taxpayers ‘will run for 20 years’

The Public Accounts Committee has published the final report from their COVID-19 Cost Tracker Update inquiry, finding substantial risk levied to taxpayer finances through government response.

Financial sustainability and assurance in the public sector

What are the prospects for our public services given the future challenges they face? Adrian Crompton, Auditor General for Wales, examines the question of financial sustainability in the public sector.

Network Rail on track to reduce the country’s carbon footprint

As the stewards of the nation’s railways, the impact of sustainability and climate is clear to see, writes Peter Leadbetter, Head of Accounting at Network Rail.

Carbon Crunch: Net zero a driver of economic change

Resolution Foundation and the LSE Centre for Economic Performance say speeding up emissions reduction will require changing behaviours in addition to the UK government’s Net Zero Strategy’s focus on technological innovation.

Mazars: tax system could be leveraged for sustainability

Clive Fathers, tax partner at Mazars, uses tax data collected in the ICAEW Tax Race over the last 50 years to foreshadow a more digital and sustainable tax landscape.

The crusade to achieve the SDGs and the role of accounting

Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals is no mean feat, but progress must be made. Josette Caruana talks us through the work she is doing with Giovanna Dabbicco on the Global Reporting Initiative, and its relevance for the achievement of SDGs.

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KPMG: pandemic an opportunity to level up tax system

Tim Sarson, head of tax policy at KPMG UK, assesses key drivers behind the top-performing tax policies over the last five decades using ICAEW’s Tax Race findings.

Addressing the climate emergency in the UK public sector

The UK has a lot of work to do and a dwindling amount of time in which to do it.

Chart of the week: US Infrastructure & Jobs Act

Our chart this week looks at the $550bn of incremental funding over five years allocated by the US Infrastructure & Jobs Act just passed by Congress.

Chart of the week: Spending Review 2021

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak found some extra money to supplement the Spending Review 2021, turning a very tough settlement for government departments into a moderately tough one.

Chart of the week: Pre-Spending Review departmental spending

Our chart this week looks at the core departmental resource budgets that are central to next Wednesday’s long-awaited Spending Review.

Chart of the week: UK public debt profile

Our chart this week shines a spotlight on the UK’s public debt, focusing on the Government’s debt strategy ahead of the fast approaching Spending Review.

Chart of the week: UK public sector employment

Our chart this week is on public sector employment, the cost of which is one of the largest components of the Spending Review in a few weeks’ time.

The ICAEW Tax Race: 54 years in the making

How has the government’s ‘take’ from different UK taxes changed over the last five decades? ICAEW looks at this question with an interactive ‘Tax Race’ graphic.

Chart of the week: capital investment before the Spending Review

Given that capital budgets are often the first to be cut when money is tight, will the planned growth in capital investment survive the Spending Review later this month?

Chart: COVID support schemes are ending, but what continues?

The furlough and self-employed support schemes come to an end today, as does the VAT reduction for hospitality and tourism to 5%, which is increased to 12.5% tomorrow. ICAEW has produced a timeline for the schemes that remain.

€100bn EU funds has not made farming more climate-friendly

Funding destined for climate action has not contributed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from farming, says the European Court of Auditors. We speak to Peter Welch, the Director of Sustainable Use of Natural Resources.

A balance sheet approach may be needed by the EU following COVID

The method of reporting deficits and debts by EU Member States may need to change following the disruption of COVID, say Giovanna Dabbicco and Josette Caruana, two researchers who have scrutinised public sector finances and the adequacy of existing reporting mechanisms.

Portugal’s new framework for Intergenerational Fairness

A new framework document aims to encourage more discussion of intergenerational fairness and provide policymakers with the tools to reshape policy design.

International approaches to reduce public sector deficit: Deloitte Cyprus

Pieris Markou, Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Cyprus, tells ICAEW Insights that tourism and tax will not be enough to fill the hole in public finances left by COVID - the island must continue to bring in foreign investment.