It’s no secret that Brexit is causing plenty of ripples in the finance world. The cascading changes will continue to impact tax and accounting requirements in the UK for years to come, causing headaches for organisations of all sizes.

Business leaders and finance professionals are scrambling to keep up with the latest changes and prepare for further change based on the best possible projections. If you’re a new entrepreneur, business owner, or manager of a small enterprise and carry primary responsibility for financial matters, then you’ll need to set aside some time and resources to learn about new and upcoming changes. Even if your business is large enough to have a dedicated finance department, agency or staff person, you’re not necessarily in the clear.

If you do have staff or outsourced finance support, then set aside time to assess and address their preparedness for new and upcoming tax changes as they might pertain to your business. Ask your contractor or agency what steps they’re taking to update their knowledge base and what recommendations they might have for your business.

Make a plan with in-house staff to set aside time or a budget for them to upgrade their skills and knowledge. The London School of Business and Finance offers ACCA courses in a variety of formats, including part-time and online, to help finance professionals at whatever stage of their career they find themselves in. If you’re personally responsible for finance in your organisation, then plan ahead to set aside time and bring your own knowledge up to date so that your business doesn’t end up in a tight spot.

Identifying the major areas that tax requirements could affect your business can help you assess the benefits of bringing finance awareness of tax and accounting changes up to date.

International trade

Whether importing from overseas suppliers or exporting to foreign buyers, international trade tariffs, fees and taxes are definitely in flux, and the changes will continue to shift as Brexit settles out. This is one to watch, as changes have already started and will continue for some time.

Audit-readiness

How would your business fare under an audit? Staying up to date with tax and accounting changes isn’t just a good idea and a way to access benefits, but it’s also critical in avoiding costly and embarrassing audit failures.

Small business savings

While no one wants to get caught underpaying or missing required taxes, or making other accounting mistakes, the case for understanding tax and accounting requirements cuts both ways. You may be missing out on opportunities to save money and get a better deal for your business if you’re operating on an out-of-date model.

Budgeting

Accurate understanding and forecasting of taxes and accounting requirements help you run your business better. Particularly if your margins are tight, you don’t want to be missing out on extra funds or not putting aside enough to cover taxes and getting into the red at tax time.

Keep current with changing tax requirements by checking in with your outside finance contractor or agency, or arranging for the time and budget line to catch up in-house skills to current and upcoming expectations.