A
We have extensive experience in a wide range of sectors which include retail, manufacturing, leisure, construction, e-commerce, not-for-profit organisations and property management companies.
In addition we provide audit reports for both solicitors obliged to submit financial information to the Law Society under the Solicitors’ Accounts Regulations and for auctioneers and other property service providers, regulated by the PSRA. We pride ourselves on a timely and reliable delivery of service.
B
Key features of our services in this area
– Management accounts at a frequency that suits you (monthly, quarterly)
– Assistance in planning and managing your cashflow
– Cost management
– Tax compliance e.g. preparing VAT, PAYE,RCT returns
– Payroll processing
– We use Quickbooks as our in-house accounting software and can train you and your staff to use it too.
Benefits our clients see from this
– Up-to-date financial information
– Proactive advice on key financial issues
– Improved cashflow management
– Non-performing areas highlighted
– Reduced cost of your accounting function
– Dealing with your bank and with Revenue
– Management of your business
– How to get grants and other funding where applicable
– Potential problems that need to be highlighted on a timely basis
– Planning for the future
Our client base ranges from family businesses to owner managed companies to not-for-profit organisations
Our services include:
– management support for directors
– management advice to entrepreneurs
– accounting software and information system assessments
– assisting in applying for funding
– company structures to meet commercial objectives
We focus on areas of your business most affected by the current economic conditions
– working capital and cashflow management
– debt/bank management
– financial management
– risk management
New businesses need to be correctly structured. Our tax consultants have the knowledge and experience to assist start-ups and SMEs in setting up:
– Suitable trading structures
– Tax efficient methods of financing a business
– Appropriate shareholding structures
C
Careful planning for CAT has become particularly important for the following reasons;
– Possible future increases in the rate of CAT
– Recent increases in CAT e.g. the increases in the CAT rate from 20% to 33% along with the recent reduction in CAT tax free thresholds
– Tax saving opportunities presented by current low property values
CAT planning can be a critical issue when preparing a will because future CAT costs arising from inheritance may be very high. Indeed CAT liabilities may even require that assets be sold to provide adequate cash to pay the relevant tax liabilities.
We work closely with you and your solicitor to mitigate such future tax liabilities.
Making decisions when preparing a will can be difficult for many other reasons. We assist you in making those decisions which should, to the maximum extent possible, ensure that your wishes are achieved and that the related tax consequences are mitigated.
Planning business succession
We have significant experience and expertise in advising on the strategic, taxation and other commercial aspects of a succession plan – from formulation to successful implementation.
Our consultants advise on the key tax mitigation issues associated with succession planning and also on the specific commercial issues involved in each individual case.
Careful thought and consideration in advance of retirement can significantly reduce your tax liabilities. Besides passing the business onto others, owners will also want to ensure that there will be a continuous and adequate income stream for their own retirement.
Unfortunately, experience shows that many businesses do not survive through a second generation. So planning on behalf of the successor is critical to maximising the chances of future success for the business.
– Sale of a business (or part of a business)
– Changing direction of a business
– Closure of certain parts of the business
– New equity investment
– Acquisition
– Debt restructuring
– Segregating business activities for various reasons, such as succession planning, financing or simply to minimise overall tax costs
– Appropriate strategies for dormant companies, such as wind-up, strike off or restoration
We focus on the strategic priorities of these transactions and ensure efficient post-transaction structuring. Where a reconstruction or reorganisation needs to take place, our experience and commercial focus can ensure tax-efficient outcomes.
Your business structure can be complex, whether you are an SME or a much larger organisation, and we can also provide specialists with in-depth experience in complex structures and related issues, including due diligence.
At Kelly Murray, we help companies and directors to be fully compliant with their filing obligations under the Companies Acts.
We offer a wide range of services to individual clients, group clients and professional intermediaries such as solicitors and accountants.
These services include:
– Reminders on annual statutory compliance obligations
– Attendance at board meetings
– Company incorporations
– Company searches
– Company strike-off applications
– General compliance
– Registered office address facilities
We ensure that your company meets its annual statutory compliance requirements. Besides providing regular reminders as due filing dates approach, our annual statutory compliance package includes preparation of the annual return and drafting of the AGM documentation to approve the accounts.
Kelly Murray professionals can also attend, take minutes and perform general company secretarial duties at board meetings. These can be held either at our premises or elsewhere.
The accurate recording of business decisions is an important aspect of a developing business. Under the Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 in Ireland, the Director of Corporate Enforcement may now inspect a company’s minute book.
We provide a fast, efficient and complete company incorporation service. We can arrange the formation of the appropriate form of company (private, limited, unlimited, single member, guarantee etc.). Our tax department advisers are also available to review your specific requirements and recommend a tax efficient structure.
We can assist with the preparation of documentation to effect changes in company structure, including:
– Appointment and/or resignation of directors and secretary
– Share allotments and share transfers
– Increase of authorised share capital
– Changes to your company’s memorandum and articles of association
– Change of company name or change of objects
We ensure that your statutory company registers are kept fully up to date. We can prepare draft minutes to register changes in advance of statutory company meetings and can also arrange for the signed minutes to be safely retained at our offices.
We have considerable experience with other off-the-shelf software packages such as SAGE, Big Red Book and TAS Books.
We utilise the internet as much as possible to allow time efficient file transfers to and from clients.
We can extract information from accounting software into Excel in order to better present information for clients’ specific needs where the in-built software reports may be insufficient.
We assist companies in the identification, appraisal, structuring and negotiation of deals and transactions, giving assistance and advice on the complexities and risks involved along the way.
As a result, they often choose to seek professional help from experts to ensure that their organisation has sound corporate governance procedures and risk management policies.
Our professional staff at Kelly Murray can review the adequacy of controls and systems in your organisation and make recommendations in respect of control weaknesses and any failures in compliance with relevant regulatory requirements.
In particular, we assist directors and others responsible for corporate governance to ensure compliance with:
– Directors’ Compliance Statement (required by public limited companies and some larger private limited companies)
– International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
– Director’s statement on internal controls
– Mullarkey Report (Republic of Ireland), Cadbury Report (UK)
Corporate governance reviews are particularly important for directors of large companies. They are also relevant to other companies and organisations with:
– Boards that contain non executive directors
– Responsibilities to account for the use of public funds
– Public interest obligations
– Third-party investors such as grant agencies and venture capital
– Various stakeholders ranging from banks to staff and shareholders
Governance issues may include some of the following; board structure, board composition, internal control procedures, safeguarding of assets, risk management, composition of audit committees, and the implications of “shadow” directors. Other issues include:
– The structure and role of the management team and its interaction with the board
– The reporting structure in a company or organisation
– Structures and roles of board sub-committees
– Responsibilities of key individuals including the chairman, chief executive officer, the company secretary, the senior independent director, executive and non-executive directors
– Policies on remuneration, risk mitigation and fraud
– Interaction between the board and internal and external audit functions
– Communications with stakeholders
D
At Kelly Murray, we have extensive experience in the disposal process, with a proven track record in maximising value for clients and closing deals successfully.
Our team assists clients to sell their businesses and can manage all stages of the process, including:
– Reviewing the business and valuation
– Identifying potential buyers
– Preparing sales memorandum
– Soliciting and evaluating offers
– Providing advice on the sale, including the best after-tax position
– Negotiating heads of agreement
– Closing the deal
At Kelly Murray, we have extensive experience and expertise in conducting financial, commercial and taxation due diligence reviews for investors, banks and other parties, including legal professional teams involved in processing M&A deals.
These reviews are carried out by our team of experienced partners and senior specialists in assurance and transaction services, and reduce the risk of any surprises after a proposed transaction is completed.
Our experts assess the risks and opportunities of the transaction, providing factual, quality reporting and reassurance.
We can also call upon our in-house experts in taxation, property, restructuring and insolvency to make valuable inputs into the due diligence process. Where necessary, we also collaborate with external experts in providing a fully comprehensive due diligence service.
F
Our experts have been involved in a wide range of investigations, from corporate and private disputes to issues emerging in acquisitions, and the restructuring of groups or companies.
Examples of areas where we have considerable experience include:
• Commercial disputes
• Valuation disputes
• Shareholder disputes
• Asset tracing and identification of undisclosed assets
• Issues arising in receiverships and other formal insolvency procedures
• Bankruptcy
• Insurance including loss of profits
• Fraud
• Marital disputes
In the current climate, our expertise has become highly relevant in restructuring and insolvency cases and we often bring significant value to our client in this regard. Examples include asset tracing and asset reviews for banks and for the disposal of bank assets by the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA).
G
• IDA Ireland
• Enterprise Ireland
• FÁS
• County and City Enterprise Boards
• Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport
• Leader funding
• Fáilte Ireland
• Údarás na Gaeltachta
Grant types include feasibility, employment, capital expenditure, R&D, and Research Technology and Innovation (RTI).
I
At Kelly Murray, our approach to effective income tax management involves working with and listening to our clients to understand their particular circumstances and requirements.
We analyse your objectives, then come up with suitable and workable tax-based solutions, tailored to your specific goals and expectations.
We pride ourselves on providing timely and relevant advice in all areas of income tax, which ensures our clients are compliant with tax rules and regulations.
With major changes in tax legislation for high-income earners, our team can advise how best to plan your tax by taking your overall circumstances into account.
Our tax planning services include:
• Enhancing shareholder and individual wealth
• Tax efficient remuneration
• Income and wealth protection
• Tax advice for not-for-profit sector, where key issues include VAT and tax relief for contributors
• Partnership taxes for professional service firms
• Management of Withholding Tax for professional service firms who have public sector clients
• Advice on R&D tax credits for the green technology and other sectors
• Efficient pension and retirement planning
That’s why many clients appoint Kelly Murray for internal control and system reviews. We provide independent assurance that the systems and controls of the organisation are adequate, effective and appropriate to the accounting and financial risks of their organisation.
Our experts check that everything is as it should be, with objective reviews that are independent of the executive management team. We assign audit and assurance experts to carry out internal control and system reviews, and our report can then be used as a basis for further improvements.
Our internal control and system reviews are particularly important for:
• Businesses or organisations which are based in multiple locations
• Situations when problems in financial reporting and internal controls have come to light
• When businesses or organisations are restructuring or merging
• Rapid growth organisations
L
M
These consequences are long-term and often irrevocable, so it is essential to carry out careful tax planning before you make any final financial decisions.
At Kelly Murray, we have considerable experience in the issues that arise during marital breakdown and divorce settlements or the break-up of civil partnerships.
Our tax consultancy services in this area cover issues such as:
• Payments between spouses or cohabitants
• Tax issues involving property
• Tax issues regarding succession planning
• Issues regarding inheritance tax
The rules applicable to informal separation, formal separation and divorce can also be complex. For example, these are just some of the issues that need consideration:
• Both spouses may be entitled to the Single Parent’s Tax Credit and an increased standard rate cut-off point
• Maintenance payments to children are usually exempt
• Payments to a spouse or civil partner may have tax consequences, depending on the circumstances
• The transfer of the family home should not give rise to tax problems if due care is taken
• Joint assessment may still be an option, even after formal separation has occurred
At Kelly Murray, we listen in an empathetic way and establish your wants and needs. We always aim to present complex information in an easy to understand manner, give calm analysis of the financial situations of both spouses, and liaise with the legal teams on your behalf.
The new Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 came into effect at the beginning of 2011. The Civil Partnership Act confers tax benefits on cohabiting couples and property rights on “qualifying cohabitants”.
This is a relatively new area in terms of tax, property and other legal issues. In short, a qualifying cohabitant now has the right to seek redress from the courts in a similar manner to that available for married couples.
N
It can be a stressful task. The work involved is very complex and often at the limits of the individual or company’s capabilities.
At Kelly Murray, we assist clients in preparing their business plans for NAMA, providing the best financial and property advice for their needs. We work closely with developers and their property and finance teams to produce comprehensive and realistic business plans ready for implementation.
We understand how viable businesses can emerge through challenging economic conditions. We immediately identify your business’s cash requirements, whether additional funding is required, and how this should be reflected within the plan.
We also understand the stress experienced by individuals entering the NAMA process, and the impact this process can have on family and business relationships due to the extensive information required around asset transfers and the Statement of Affairs.
P
The Universal Social Charge (USC) is just the latest of these changes which directly impacts on your employees. Understanding the financial impact of these changes has become an important part of the management of wages and salaries.
Many companies underestimate the extent of time and effort involved in the payroll cycle. Our payroll staff helps to relieve that burden and provides a fully outsourced service. Our experts can also advise on redundancy, short-time and part-time working issues. Income tax has a major impact on net pay and our payroll team works closely with our tax advisers and other relevant departments.
Our comprehensive payroll service includes:
• Complete preparation of weekly, fortnightly, monthly payrolls
• Calculation of PAYE/PRSI
• Calculation of pensions and share purchase plans
• Calculation of benefit in kind
• Preparation of salary payments direct to employee bank accounts by electronic fund transfers
• Salary payslips
• Management reports
• Issue and administration of P60s and P45s
• P30 & P35 revenue returns
• Facility to file and pay online via ROS
• Pensions and personal financial planning advice
Examples include individuals who have overstretched themselves in their personal property investments, or who are dealing with the financial fallout from a marital breakdown.
Our firm has a well established reputation for liaising between clients and the banks and other financial institutions in resolving these sensitive and problematic cases.
While the situation may seem desperate, our experts can usually find a negotiable solution. This is based on a pragmatic approach that involves an assessment of:
• All your existing assets and debts
• The potential for debt restructuring
• The willingness of creditors to negotiate settlements
• Avoidable personal spending
• Other lifestyle issues that need to be considered
Kelly Murray is authorised to carry out the work necessary to issue the accountant’s report to be included in the annual licence application.
We can also advise on the internal controls necessary to ensure that the accounting systems are in compliance with the regulations.
R
At Kelly Murray, we have vast experience of advising clients how to deal with tax audits, investigations and related enquiries.
Our expertise covers all areas of taxation, including:
• Income Tax
• Corporation Tax
• VAT
• PAYE & PRSI
• Relevant Contracts Tax
• Capital Gains Tax
• Capital Acquisitions Tax
S
At Kelly Murray, we have extensive experience and expertise in dealing with all financial reporting accounting standards including:
• GAAP Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) in Ireland
• FRS (Financial Reporting Standards)
• IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)
• Standards applying to smaller entities
Depending on your in-house expertise, we can either prepare statutory financial statements or assist you in complying with latest accounting standards. Our service includes advice on available disclosure exemptions, e.g. for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
We can also prepare abridged financial statements which are fully compliant with the requirements for filing in the Companies Registration Office (Republic of Ireland)
Group accounts
At Kelly Murray, we have experience in preparing of group accounts and we have the breadth and depth of knowledge and technical expertise to help. We can also help you with any technical queries which you may have in relation to the preparation of accounts for your group.
T
In all cases, our tax planning services are tailored to meet our clients’ particular circumstances.
Our tax advisers have extensive knowledge and experience, which are necessary due to the many complexities which face businesses today. We focus on providing solutions which will meet your specific business needs (both now and in the future) and which comply with local tax rules.
Working closely with our other experts in audit, corporate finance and advisory, our tax planning service deals with issues such as:
• Appropriate business ownership structures
• Tax efficient cash extraction for shareholders
• Changes in legislation
• Irish Revenue practices and procedures
• R&D
• Suitable financing arrangements
We ensure that our tax consultancy advice is not given in a vacuum: it takes account of the economic and business context of your organisation, your particular corporate or organisational objectives and – in the case of personal taxation – your specific personal circumstances.
Our tax consultants have the knowledge and expertise to advise businesses (including international and unincorporated entities (e.g. sole traders, partnerships, charities), public sector clients and individuals, on all areas of Irish taxation.
Learn more about our specific taxation-related services: Link to the below pages
Tax Planning for Companies
Income Tax Planning
Capital Acquisitions Tax
Business Start-ups
Company, Group Structures
Revenue Investigations & Audits
VAT
Marital Breakdown
V
They require not only strong technical accounting skills but also experience, commercial awareness and judgment. They need a broad knowledge of finance and business, expert application of recognised valuation methodologies, a professional approach and integrity.
Valuation is not a science, rather an art in which sound judgment, based on solid experience in the discipline, is of utmost importance.
At Kelly Murray, our consultants provide that experience and expertise in the valuation process, and assess all the key factors involved including:
• Future profitability and cashflow
• Current financial position and historic performance
• Management team
• Economic and business circumstances of the particular industry and markets
• Product life cycle and technology
• Legislation, regulations and accounting standards (domestic and international)
Each valuation is different, and we tailor our valuation service to meet your specific circumstances and requirements. These requirements will also determine the format and level of detail in our valuation report.
.
At Kelly Murray, we provide VAT planning services on a wide range of issues which include:
• VAT on property transactions including property leases
• VAT on imports/exports of goods or services
• Application of the correct rate of VAT
• Ensuring you maximise recovery of VAT on expenditure
• VAT legislation relating to specific sectors including financial services
VAT issues can be particularly complex in property transactions, and for not-for-profit organisations, charities, sporting bodies and clubs. Taking advice early will ensure that VAT is properly calculated and the scope for savings is identified.
Kelly Murray can also advise you on implementing strategic plans to fit in with the commercial aspects of your operations to ensure full VAT recovery and compliance. We can review your transactions to identify any non compliance issues and may also highlight opportunities, if available, to reduce VAT costs.