Self-assessment has been with us now for seven years, and it's not going to go away. So why is it that every January sees a huge percentage of the accountancy profession - particularly in smaller practices - up to their eyeballs in Revenue forms and working into the wee small hours every night as they desperately try to beat the 31 January deadline? Some confusion in the beginning as we all got used to the new regime would be understandable, but for firms to find themselves in this position after so many years is unacceptable. A feature of any well-run practice - and something to which all firms aspire - should be the manner in which work is planned, organised and completed.The benefits are plain to see: staff utilisation is good, jobs are processed efficiently, work-in-progress is billed and cash is collected - a virtuous circle of accountancy business. So why is it that the recurring and major exception to this rule arrives without fail in January each year?
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