Moving things on

I am not being twee by using the screen name of Chobbers, instead of my real name of Chris Hobbs but I have been known as Chobbs, Chobber or Chobbers ever since I was at school (a few years ago) when I was "christened" this by our French Master, Twiggy Smith. It might sound like a private school but it wasn't.

My reason for choosing to use this name was to demonstrate that accountants don't have to live up to their reputation of being boring and stuffy. I am not saying, for one minute, that the use of a nickname prooves that we are different. It is all about doing different and better things.

As John says, there is always room for accountants who look after the compliance and this is a necessary evil but compliance is a cost generally imposed on taxpayers by others. At Crowther Beard we never lose sight of this but also realise the importance of looking after this well.

However, what really turns us on (if that is the right phrase) is to feel that our work has added value. The aim must always be for our advice to bring benefits greater than the cost of the advice, whether this be through tax savings, increasing profits or something else like helping to get the correct balance between work and home life.

But enough of the sermon, its time for proof. My expertise is in tax and proactive advice rather than reactive advice can result in very significant tax savings. I am not talking about complicated tax schemes, which have their place, but simple steps that can be taken to reduce tax bills. Starting from tomorrow, I will publish some ideas about what people should be doing.