Venture Life Share Discussion Threads

[redartbmud] 05/3/2017 17:31

tlatsatt

1. Look at the Institute of Chartered Accountants website. The regional branch will be full of them!
2. Ask around other people in business, that you know, for the ones that they use and try to get a feel for their scale of charges. Small independents. There may be a local business forum at the Chamber of Commerce, but don't join unless you want to, it costs.
3. The local estate agents may know, as they deal with BTL.
4. A long shot, ask the Citizens Advice Bureau if they know a good accountant.
5. Try to assess recommendations.

Remember:
1. Decide exactly what services you want them to perform - the more that you do yourself the cheaper it will be. Tax computations is probably the main item. They should provide terms of reference and a quote.
2. You are interviewing them not vice versa.
3. Make sure that you have everything ready for them by the due date.
4. Agree a completion date in writing before they start.
5. They are heavily regulated and some of the cost is to fund their compliance mechanisms, so fees recognize this.
6. You get what you pay for and cheap may not be the best solution. Make sure that you know what documents they are going to give you and that you get them.
eg. accounts, tax comps, correspondence with HMRC.

As suggested, an accounting package may help. After the purchase cost, allowable against the business, the maintenance cost is minimal.
Once you set up the chart of accounts, data entry is simple and accurate.
If you only have one property, it can be done on a spreadsheet, but that means more work and reconciliation.
As you have run your own business before, you must understand the ramifications of allowable/disallowable business expenses.

£1200+Vat sounds a lot for a simple business with relatively few transactions, but expect around £900+Vat from what I know to be local rates in the West Midlands.
Don't accept the first one you meet, trawl round a few and decide on one that you feel comfortable with. He/she will probably be right for you.
Check out their credentials anyway to make sure that their registration is up to date.
(Many years ago, when in a large practice, I was assigned act for a seller of a small business, and was a bit uncomfortable with an accountant working for the buyer. I checked him out and found he had been struck off for falsifying stock records in accounts).

Just a few observations.

Back to the darkened room.

red

[apad] 05/3/2017 16:51

Another interesting ABC number

Total staff costs

43,654 (2016)

33,884 (2015)

apad

[apad] 05/3/2017 16:29

tlst
I was thinking Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato :-)
apad

[discodave4] 05/3/2017 16:14

tltttsTry the free trial for freeagents accounting for small business software:https://www.freeagent.com/DD

[essentialinvestor] 05/3/2017 15:46

The used car market, in particular, is increasingly important for motor
retailers. Used cars coupled after sales usually comprise the bulk of profits.

Would agree some demand in new cars has been brought forward.



red, the motor retailers are in general selling nowhere near their peak in share price terms,
while some caution is warranted, the gloom may be slightly overdone imv.

LOOK is my favoured UK sector holding, reserve the right to change my mind following the Weds results ).

The sector remains fragmented, but is beginning to consolidate with higher standards
demanded by OEM's that often require significant investment.

[che7win] 05/3/2017 15:40

Red, Thanks for your feedback on the banks.SHAW takeover approach is from the investors that floated it a couple of years ago, they want it back.Incidentally, PCF is a small cap that has recently been granted a banking licence, it's a steady company.I do think OSB and ALD will be stand out performers and have been overlooked. Sadly, they have to pay the government 8% banking surcharge.On the car market, the thing that makes me most nervous is the tax changes kicking in for new cars 1st April.

[doodlebug4] 05/3/2017 15:36

Why not prepare and submit your own accounts if the business isn't too complicated? Some accountancy fees are a rip-off.

[thelongandtheshortandthetall] 05/3/2017 15:28

APAD. BTL - property parlance for Buy To Let. :)


Question for the thread

Ive been quoted 1200+ vat for an accountant to prepare a year end report for my potential ltd co. Does this sound about right. Seems a fair bit to me as i'll only have one property for quite a while.


Can anyone suggest what i can expect him to do.
Does no include any booking keeping.
Thanks for any help

[essentialinvestor] 05/3/2017 15:11

Strategy can be determined, as can individual perceptions of value,
by what your aims are.

Dividend income consideration is far more important to me than it was 20 or
even 10 years ago, back in my 20's yield was not something I even looked at.

[apad] 05/3/2017 13:43

Ta red,
Much of what you write at the beginning I try to do.
I haven't tried your links - will do.
Remember that you are much more familiar with the terminology than wot I am.

I have decided that I need to be able to take some numbers from the rns and plug them in (between 07:00 and 08:00. By handling the numbers I will start to understand some more about finance.

Here's what I am recording:
ABC
Price
Fiscal Year Ends
Shares Issued
Dividend
Net Operating Cash Flow
Tax
Investing Cash Flow
Free Cash Flow to the Firm
Free Cash Flow per share (p)
Free Cash Flow Yield
Net Cash

All the ratios can come later.

See how it goes on Monday :-)

Thanks again,
apad

[pet lover] 05/3/2017 12:52

My philosophy:

Small companies that have the ability to grow very fast have high margins and recurring revenues.

That rules out most companies.

Try to get onboard in the early days, long before the institutions or after the institutions have departed from a stock that has failed to deliver over a number of years.

Finding them is not easy, if you come across one a year your doing well.

It took me two years to find 7dig a company I hope will grow very fast in the next 18 months.

Often no broker research is available so your on your own and that means all the research sites will draw a blank.

The recurring revenue is you back up if anything ever goes horribly wrong,so long as it's high margin. You might take a hit,but you should not be cleaned out.

The risky period is the first few months after buying waiting for news / action after the stock has moved up by the first 50% its far more relaxing.

Trading is an absolute waste of time the odd 20% is not worth a w--k.
Tremendous profits come in the form of really successful stocks held for 3-5 years with normal ups and downs.

What I have learnt is everyone has a different approach but I also know a hell of a lot of PI 'S consistently look in the wrong place for value.

[redartbmud] 05/3/2017 12:49

Need a lie down in a darkened room.

Knackered from Keighley.

red

[redartbmud] 05/3/2017 12:47

che7

Getting and holding a banking license is time consuming and costly.
The big boys were lazy, bloated, inefficient and stupid and paid for their indiscretions via the economic downturn in 2008 and ongoing penalties fro regulators, and the 'good ole y'oodles'.
Many have cleaned up their act but have branches. Oops, what a big ongoing cost.
The newer, nimbler internet based competitors are an interesting proposition that the government has been keen to promote.
It will be interesting to see consolidation taking place, and groups such as the one sniffing around Shaw trying to enter the market. In the latter case, they need to prove that they are 'fit and proper' businesses to maintain that coveted license.
You may be spot on with your thinking that the sector is 'in play' and that there are opportunities to be had there.

red

[redartbmud] 05/3/2017 12:35

EI

Look:
I wonder about the car market. Honda are currently bombarding me, via my local dealership, to change my car at 'cost price'. It has been going on for several weeks. I am now a low mileage user, my car isn't that old and as a brand I have found it very reliable. This is my third car of that make. It will go on for several more years, hopefully, only requiring the usual service consumables and a set to new tyres.
Many new cars are sold on finance deals and are never owned by the 'purchaser'. On that basis, they are changed at the end of each deal. Has this created a bubble that may be about to end, as the percentage of new cars on the roads has reached saturation point? If the economy nosedives, post Brexit, turnover may come to a halt very quickly. At best, people will trade down from the flashy jobbies they are driving now (Porsche to Ford is all that they can afford).
The used car market is flooded as a result of these cars being recycled into it. That affects prices - supply and demand. The diesel debate is going to be a factor going forward. Companies that hold large stocks of used cars may see their balance sheets hit by downward revaluations of excess stock.
Parts dealing is brutally cut throat. OEM's make a lot from after sales parts, but buying third party is a lot cheaper. There are dozens of suppliers, and garages ring around for the best prices, trading one off against the other.

Just wondering if/when the story is about to peak.

Negative from Nottingham.

red

[redartbmud] 05/3/2017 12:06

APAD

Immediate comparative financial data, is it that simple?
When I know that a company that I hold is due to report, I use Investegate to access the RNS that is issued. I am therefore able to review the statement, as written and any comparative figures.
I try to focus on the tone and content of the commentary to give me a flavour of what I am reading and how I perceive it, although it is loaded with positive spin.
The hour between 7.00am and 8.00am doesn't give a lot of time to find and fully analyze and digest all of the statistics provided, for the full year, if I am making major decisions about my holding, such as sell the lot double up etc. Most of the time it isn't necessarily appropriate to do so anyway.
In any case the opening price will have been adjusted by the market to reflect it's opinion and any opening auction that might happen The price can alter considerably in the first hour of trading once Bots and day traders get going!
Where I hold historic data on a specific stock, it isn't easy to add the full year result to the table within that hour and be ready for the market open at 8.00am.

I create my historic data record mostly using information provided on the London Stock Exchange website. Cash flow is the major missing element. That aside, it is, however, the most comprehensive and accurate site that I have found. Downloading data into my Excel spreadsheet it time consuming and difficult, because of the data format that needs considerable editing. This provides most of the statistics that I use to monitor my investments.
H-L, whom I use for trading, as a low cost operator, has limited statistical information held in one place. I do look at their broker forecasts page and play with their interactive charts, based on my limited knowledge of the subject, combined with my skepticism of the subject. They do provide a lot of data under various headings, and a quick link to the company website that I find useful.

I have a watch list on Live Charts UK that shows me trends, buy, sell or none, on stocks that I hold. it is a guide only to the way that the market is moving, for a particular stock.
I have a watch list on Money Am that I use for live prices and up to date trades. Click on the share price page and you get a statistical precis. I do not subscribe to the premium services.

I never got to grips with Stockopedia, for whatever reasons, and no longer use it.

It would be useful to know what you consider to be your key ratios or indicators, when assessing the performance of a stock within your portfolio. In addition, why and how you use them, and how they relate to different time frames.
Numbers are relative and subjective, and it isn't always easy to compare company performance, in the same sector, for many reasons - size, markets, product differentiation, management style and quality, and many more.

Sorry if I am rambling off script.

red

[apad] 05/3/2017 11:30

ABCAM
68 jobs 5 Jan.
93 jobs 5 Mar.

Looks like the Amazon of Antibodies is still spending heavily.

Spending (sorry investing) Cash Flow in 2015 was £19.6m, in 2016 £16.6m.

The half year in 2015 was over 4x the half year in 2014.

Tomorrow's numbers should be interesting.

apad

[cockerhoop] 05/3/2017 10:02

Sorry sharelockholmes!

[cockerhoop] 05/3/2017 10:01

Apad, Have you looked at Sharelockhomles? £58 per year, data goes back further the stockopedia. All the data on a single sheet. Not as well laid out as Stockopedia but may do the job for you.

[thelongandtheshortandthetall] 05/3/2017 10:00

Thanks for your BTL thoughts APAD.

Where i'm considering the hoyses are super cheap... for a reason. Supply out stripping demand. .

I do need to tred very csrefully... super illiquid and all that.

The threecmen whom scammed all should be strung up.. i'm serious. We've gone too far in making allowances for peoples behaviour. Stepping off soap box now. :)

[jaf111] 05/3/2017 09:51

Re motor dealers - am certainly looking forward to the next week or so....figures lat week from Vertu seemed pretty good...and as already mentioned FY figures from Lookers due Wednesday.

In addition I am expecting a trading update from Cambria this week, and for me perhaps the most interesting will be FY results out from Marshall Motors on Wednesday 15th.

Whole sector due a major re-rating IMO....but i have been saying this for some time....patience is a virtue i'm told!

[melton john] 05/3/2017 09:10

I recently started a 1 year subscription with Stockopedia paid for from profits from one of their recommended stocks. Takes a while to get familiar with but I feel much more in control. Someone on this thread asked about Looker and I was able to quickly get a side by side comparison of all their metrics with other similar companies. Looks good BTW but I've spent 9 months trading out of a losing position with CAMB because the sector went out of favour. Stockopedia less than £4 a week for 1year subscription.

[lauders] 05/3/2017 08:32

APAD - I quite like this for information, but I am not certain how accurate the financials are and the only way to be sure is on results day when the accounts are shared:

You have to click the various tabs just below the price and change row, i.e. the financials =

[hydrus] 05/3/2017 08:29

Your approach looks great but bit more time consuming hence not for me.

[hydrus] 05/3/2017 08:26

The one page stock reports are very good but I don't use their stock ranking at all. Therefore probably overpaying for it but I do want a one page summary of everything (past finances, various metrics, broker forecasts in chart format etc) and not sure where else would get it from at a lower cost. It's definitely improved my ability to appraise a stock quickly.