Achieve Your Goals and Ambitions: Music, Media and...Whether you’re a musician, promoter or record...

Your Business Our Passion

Achieve Your Goals and Ambitions: Music, Media and Entertainment Specialists

http://www.raffingers.co.uk

ContentsHow we can support you… 04

Your team 19

Partners 19

Senior Support Team 22

The creative sector today

About us

What you can expect

Fees

Our promises to you

Your sevices

05

07

11

12

14

09

How we can support you…Whatever your goals and ambitions, we’ll help you achieve them. With access to bespoke services, tailored to you, along with a passionate team willing to share with their knowledge, business growth ideas and tax planning strategies, Raffingers will help you get the most out of your creativity, your business and your personal finances.

Whether you’re a musician, promoter or record label, TV or film director, publishing house or design studio, creative success is built on having the time and freedom to do what you do best: create. Turning this into financial success needs the support of accountants and financial advisers that fully understand the creative process.

So, if you’re a band looking for an experienced music accountant, or a production house needing help with film business finance, Raffingers can help you keep on top of day-to-day management and cashflow, stay ahead of the latest rules and grow your business by making the most of forecasting, tax benefits and funding.

MUSIC, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT SPECIALISTS 4

“Pragmatic financial and business advice from specialists that

understand your industry is vital, no matter where you are on your creative

journey.”

The Creative Sector Today Creative industries are now responsible for supporting much of the UK’s economy. Whether it’s music, publishing, broadcasting or digital and design, you are part of a thriving sector that is only set for future growth. In fact, according to government figures*, employment in the UK creative industries is growing four times faster than the UK workforce as a whole, with more than 16% of all UK jobs coming from the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sectors. That’s a whopping, 5.2 million employees.

While the fastest-growing creative industry employer since 2011 has been Music, Performing and Visual Arts; the IT, software and computer service sectors are not far behind. And, as contributors to the economy, the film industry has certainly done its fair share: in 2016-17 alone 175 films, which claimed Film Tax Relief were completed in the UK, with £1.0billion spent on their production across the nation.

All of these are impressive numbers but, like every other industry, the Music, Media and Entertainment sector is facing its challenges. The uncertainty over Brexit; sourcing funding for R&D; the impact of streaming and downloading of physical music sales; the threat of ‘over-touring’ in an effort to maximise income from the booming live scene.

It’s the reason why pragmatic financial and business advice from specialists that understand your industry is vital, no matter where you are on your creative journey. Creativity shouldn’t be stifled by the day-to-day pressures of earning an income or running a business.

*Source: Gov.uk, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)

MUSIC, MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT SPECIALISTS5

“I am always delighted with the service I receive from Raffingers. I know I can contact Paul and Sally at any time and always receive a swift, personal and straightforward response to my enquiry. I wouldn’t cope without you!” – John Balsom, Photographer, John Balsam Photography Ltd


About UsThe origins of Raffingers stem from a sole practitioner with a handful of employees. Today, we’re an award-winning, nine partner firm with more than 70 employees.

Despite our growth, our aim is the same as it has always been since our humble beginnings – to change our client’s lives – whether through making your life easier with our business services, or assisting you in reducing your tax bill.

Not only will you have access to high-quality tax, corporate finance and advisory services, but our team are experts in the Music, Media and Entertainment sector, committed to your success and always ready to assist you.

If you’re just starting out in Music, Media or Entertainment, or are working as a freelance, we can help to answer the key questions, including:

• Is it more tax efficient to be freelance or set up a business?

• What type of business best suits our work?

• How can I manage my finances effectively between jobs?

• What expenses can be offset against income?

• Should we be VAT registered and, if so, what’s involved?

• How do I monitor/collect royalties and am I being paid the right amount?

• What are the tax implications of working abroad?

• What insurance cover do we need?


If you’re already a veteran with plenty of tours under your belt or a thriving agency with established clients, you may still want to know:

• How can we be certain we are receiving everything owed by our artists?

• How can we maximise our profits?

• Where can we find the best loan to help our cashflow or grow our business?

• What is the most business-efficient way to purchase or lease equipment?

• What financial details should be included in any contract?

• Are there tax allowances specific to our creative work?

• Why should we use specialist accountants?

• When and why should our accountant be liaising with our promoter, manager, agent, publisher or lawyer?

• Our tour/festival budget is agreed, but how do we ensure our finances are on track?

• How can we accurately report our actual profit or loss against budget?

• What is the best way to manage cashflow during and after a music or book tour?

• Who will handle income and expenditure including ancillary and commission costs?

• How can we reclaim or reduce withholding taxes from overseas touring?


What you can expect…Our reliable and passionate team are dedicated to ensuring that you are aware and up-to-date with any information that is relevant to you and your business, which is why you can expect:

• A partner or specialist team member to always be at the end of the phone to support and advise you

• Access to our in-house tax, payroll, audit and cloud accounting experts

• Monthly newsletters, providing the latest sector news and advice

• Events and webinars with leading industry figures. Topics include forecasting and business growth, tax planning and Making Tax Digital

• Introduction to key contacts. We have close ties with a number of professions that can help your business: UK banks

and alternative funders, solicitors, marketing and content specialists, professional services overseas

“A partner or specialist team member will

always be at the end of the phone to support and

advise you”


“We recently did a successful R&D Tax Credits claim with the help of Raffingers. After discussing our situation, Neill was able to advise us of the content we needed, and really helped by ensuring the details would meet the criteria. Just a few weeks later we received a cheque for the previous year, as well as a reduction of tax in our current year.” – Ray Calder, Creative Director, Acumen Design


Fees The days of hourly rates have been confined to history. Instead, all of our fees are fixed and agreed with you in advance. They are also fully inclusive of unlimited access to our entire team for advice on ad-hoc matters.

This means you can call on us at any time knowing that you’ll never be charged for our time or advice. Of course, if the issues raised during any of these consultations (or anywhere else) require research or analysis beyond the free consultation itself, we will give you a fixed price quotation before any additional work is started.

Only if you sign an “Extra Work Order” (or EWO) to confirm you are happy to pay for extra work – on mutually acceptable terms set out in the EWO – will we do anything over and above the work specifically listed in our main agreement. This means that you will never receive an unexpected bill.


Our promises to youThese promises layout the very minimum service you can expect to receive as a client of Raffingers:

Reply to every phone call within three working hours

You will never have to wait around for a response. Whether you need advice, help or simply a question answered, we will respond to you promptly and you will not be left frustrated at delays.

Keep you up-to-date of changes relevant to you

You should be confident that whatever business or tax related changes the future holds, you will never have to worry about complying with the law or taking advantage of opportunities that arise. You will receive regular newsletters containing all of the

latest changes and updates relevant to you, and you will be contacted individually should the need ever arise.

Deliver work on time, every time

Whatever it is that you need us to do; you will always be given a clear expectation of when the work will be completed, be kept up-to-date and be confident that the agreed deadline will be met.

Be easy to reach, easy to understand and easy to speak to

You can call our switchboard anytime between 9am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, and know that someone will be available to take your call. Alternatively you can speak to a partner from 8am to 7pm on their mobile phone or direct dial number.

Have complete clarity on fees

You will never be left wondering what our work will cost, precisely what you are being charged for or whether you are receiving value for money. You will, wherever possible, receive fixed fee quotations for all work we carry out on your behalf and will never be charged a penny more than agreed.

Reply to every email within one business day

If you send an email to anyone at Raffingers, you can be confident that it is being dealt with and that you will receive a swift response.


Be here to help

You can talk to us about anything and should treat us like your lead adviser; if we cannot help you then we will always endeavour to find someone that can.

Communicate, communicate, communicate

As well as you being able to contact us at any time, we endeavour to meet you regularly throughout the year to ensure you are on track to meet your business and personal goals, and offer solutions and advice where necessary.


Your servicesTake your business to the next level with our core services. These are provided in addition to our high quality compliance services, including accounts, tax returns, payroll and audit.

Profit Improvement with Cloud TechnologyCloud accounting has completely revolutionised the way businesses and individuals manage their finances. We have an in-house small business team that can help you migrate over to the software, provide full training and always be available to you should you need any help or support. Getting to grips with this software is even more essential now with Making Tax Digital on the horizon, which will affect all businesses and their reporting requirements.

Our team are trained and ready to support you on all cloud accounting platforms.

However, the one we recommend is Xero, which will give you access to real-time financial information about your business. Through access to this data you can track your KPIs, budget accordingly and forecast accurately; all on a daily basis.

System Improvement ReviewsAs businesses grow they often become overburdened and inefficient processes begin to creep in. To ensure you are running the most efficient business possible we will review all of your processes and suggest improvements to make them more effective.

The review will aim to gauge an understanding of how your processes are currently performed, as well as the technology and staff that are used to support the process. From this we will be able to see any problems and recommend changes that can be implemented, helping to reduce wasted effort and giving you and your team back time to focus on more important areas of the business.

“To ensure you are running the most efficient

business possible we will review all of your

processes and suggest improvements to make

them more effective.”


“I am always thankful for the invaluable support and advice which I have received over the past 20 years both personally and professionally.” – Bryan Elsley, Director, Stormdog Limited


Business Improvement ReviewsTechnology has advanced so much that there are many more insights into your organisation than a simple Profit & Loss (P&L) Report. So it’s important to make the most of them.

We’ll will work with you to establish how you are tracking your business’ performance and see if this can be improved through management accounts. These are essential for business owners and directors to make timely and effective decisions based on the financial position of their company. Just some of the reports we can help you with are:

• Operational Forecasts: Where do you see yourself in two, five or ten years’ time? Accurate and up-to-date forecasts enable you not only to visualise your business’s future, but will show you what is attainable and will help you to develop operational and staffing plans geared towards your future goals.

• Three Way Forecasting: In order to avoid business failure you need to understand the relationship between your P&L, balance sheet and cash (not just a P&L

report). Visualising these metrics gives you advanced insights, such as whether your receipts exceed your payments and single out costs that are eating up your profit.

• Scenario Planning: If you are looking to grow, what is the best way to do this? Should you take on a new employee? Should you increase the services you offer? Scenario planning lets you see into the future. Whatever ideas you have, you can see if they are worthwhile and achievable before you commit.

• What-If Scenarios: Tweak different variables of your business and see what happens. As with any business, there will come a time when you need to make a difficult decision; what-if scenarios can provide you with clarity on the options available to you and how your business will be impacted depending on which option you choose.

• Alerts: Alerts are essential for keeping you focussed and ensure that you do not miss any opportunities. On all reports

you can set alerts that notify you when something significant happens, for example if you are over trading and are not getting enough cash in. Something all businesses need to take more control of if they wish to succeed.

MBA – Masters in Business Advancement

For start-ups and high growth businesses we give you the opportunity to attend our MBA programme. A twelve month course, composed of monthly meetings, which guide you through all of the essential topics needed for business success, including marketing, finance and time management. Through case studies and guest speakers we will give you and your team the tools to run a highly successful and growing business


Tax All of our Tax Planning work is overseen by our Senior Tax Manager, Neill Staff. As a former senior investigator with HMRC, and someone who has dealt with all levels of HMRC enquiries since leaving the department some ten years ago, Neill’s knowledge is invaluable. Neill and our tax team will provide you with in-depth tax planning and advice to ensure you are never paying more than you have to. They will help you with:

• SEIS or EIS – Particularly effective in the creative sector, we can help your business prepare for securing investment through the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) or Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (Seed EIS or SEIS). We will advise you on the requirements of the scheme, check that your business meets all of the criteria and explain how you can enhance your business’ investment proposition. Our team of tax advisers will take away the headache of the set-up process, dealing with all paperwork and even getting advanced clearance from HMRC to ensure you qualify.

• Tax Planning and Protection – We can help you implement non-aggressive tax planning structures to help you keep your tax bills to a minimum. We also offer a Tax Investigation Service that can protect you from the fees involved in a tax investigation, should one occur.

• Research and Development (R&D) Review – Particularly for digital and tech companies, R&D is vital. Through regularly reviewing your business and its activities we’re are able to assess if you qualify for an R&D tax relief claim. During this process we also discuss your goals and future eligibility for the relief. We then take care of the preparation and submission of the R&D claim and will deal with any questions raised by HMRC.


Probate and Estate AdministrationProbate had traditionally been restricted to the legal profession… but not anymore. Through being licensed probate advisors, we can support your loved ones and beneficiaries during the difficult time of dealing with an estate. Furthermore, we deliver expert knowledge on Inheritance Tax (IHT) planning to ensure you are saving on your IHT liability and passing on as much wealth as possible onto your beneficiaries. By handling your will and probate reliably, confidentially and professionally you can be rest assured that your estate will be distributed as per your wishes and your family will not be required to pay any more tax than necessary.

Auto Enrolment and Payroll Our in-house payroll experts can support you with your payroll process; handling payrolls for businesses with 2 to 200 employees, as well as helping you develop and implement an auto enrolment scheme.

Wealth Management We deliver independent financial advice on any financial planning requirement, including:

• Business and Family Protection

• Investments

• Long Term Care

• Retirement and Inheritance Tax Planning

Obtaining Finance SolutionsRaising finance for any business is becoming more challenging, but vital for the advancement of even the greatest ideas to develop and grow. Therefore, a good understanding of the options is an essential starting point, and enables businesses to select the type of finance that is right for their circumstances, and plans. Our corporate finance team is here to support you, to discover finance providers that can add real value to your business – whether you are looking to raise finance for a particular project, thinking about growth through acquisition or even looking to sell.

“Our in-house payroll experts can support you

with your payroll process; handling payrolls for

businesses with 2 to 200 employees”


Your team – PartnersAll of our team are responsible for assisting their clients with all forms of tax planning, business development and strategic planning. With their vast experience, whatever your challenges or ambitions you can be sure that they will help you get to where you want to go; they will share with you their vast years of experience, be it from a tax point of view, business development or just someone to talk to, someone to help.

Gary InglisManaging Partner

T: 0208 418 2770 E: [email protected]

Lee ManningPartner

T: 0208 418 2662E: [email protected]

Ed NimanPartner

E: [email protected]

Roy ButcherPartner



Partners

Adam MoodyPartner


Andrew ConeyPartner


Paul DellPartner


Our team will share with you their vast years of experience, be it from a tax point of view, business development or just someone to talk to, someone to help.

Suda RatnamPartner



Partners

Neill StaffPartner



Barry SoraffPartner




Senior Support Team

Mehul ThakerAssociate Partner


Jebtha KapirialJackie Da CostaAssociate PartnerBusiness Manager

T: 0208 418 2676 E: [email protected]: [email protected]


Head office19-20 Bourne CourtWoodford GreenEssex IG8 8HD

London office1 Primrose Street London EC2A 2EX

t: 020 8551 7200

f: 020 8551 0912

e: [email protected]

www.raffingers.co.uk



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Achieve Your Goals and Ambitions: Music, Media and...Whether you’re a musician, promoter or record...

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Transcript of Achieve Your Goals and Ambitions: Music, Media and...Whether you’re a musician, promoter or record...