In the midst of Covid-19, as experienced Business Advisers and Chartered Accountants we can help owner managers with:
SME Strategies
Imagine having a strong reliable relationship with a friendly qualified finance professional who really listens to you.
Someone who has been there before and who takes a deep interest in your business and success.
They will be able to help you resolve the challenges using a methodical step by step approach.
100+ years of experience across 500+ enterprises in all 22 industry sectors
Some testimonials from our clients
Business projects
Project management
David was the contractor ‘Project lead’ for the Cellarium Project at Westminster Abbey. He was involved in all aspects of the Project and was integral in the successful delivery of the Cellarium. His calm manner and patience helped the Project run smoothly. David’s management of his team ensured that the construction team responded quickly and effectively to any problems that arose. David was extremely good to work with due to his team player attitude and keenness to get the best out of the Project. – Katie Innes, Project manager on the Cellarium Project.
Tax advice & penalty appeals
David’s ability to sort out our tax affairs, which were admittedly in a serious mess and included undeclared rental income and unsubmitted tax returns going back years, was fantastic. I can’t thank him enough for getting us out of big trouble and successfully appealing against draconian penalties from HMRC. I even got a tax rebate – amazing! David is a magician! Director, Berkshire.
Finance director & non-exec roles
Finance director
Dispute litigation
Family business
Fundraising
Business planning & innovation
Tax advice & negligence claim
Huge thanks to you David for helping us with a sensitive and tricky matter surrounding our rental properties on which we had previously received incorrect tax advice. This required our personal and business tax returns to be corrected and large amounts of additional tax to be paid to HMRC to correct the mistakes. This has resulted in a dispute with former advisers. Your knowledge, diligence, patience and tenacity is appreciated beyond words. – Business owner, Essex.
Finance director
Sean really impressed me. He was the FD for my business during a year of rapid growth. During this time he brought our finance function in-house from a third party accountancy and put in place strong controls and processes allowing our team to get a better understanding of the business and make more informed decisions. Sean was responsible for a range of areas including tax, corporate finance, and bookkeeping/accounting. One of the things I like most about working with Sean is that he always has a positive and proactive attitude to any challenge put in front of him and adapts quickly to the needs of the business. I can strongly recommend Sean to anyone looking for reliable, professional, and smart support on any aspect of finance. – Managing Director, London.
Mentoring
SME Strategies is a group of partner-only Business Advisers and Chartered Accountants. ‘Who you see’ is ‘who you get’.
We work with SMEs in London, East Anglia, the Thames Corridor & the Midlands.
Our clients use our financial perspective to solve their business challenges, and for tax and accountancy services.
We specialise in the construction, property, retail, healthcare, automotive and professional services sectors.
A new approach to business
We focus on the Enterprise (consultancy), People (empowerment) and Finances (accountancy). Each is key to success. We work on the inter-relationship between these to make maximum impact for our clients.
We work with the critical issues and opportunities of the business owners and identify the key levers to enable their goals to be realised. We get to know our clients well. This allows us to tailor our work to each client so we can deliver superior results.
Where do you want to be?
To thrive in our changing and complex business world, the modern SME must clearly know where it wants to be in its marketplace, It then needs to acquire, and use wisely, the right human, financial and other resources to get there. At SME Strategies we help our clients do just this.
Our reputation is built on the results and change we bring about. We use our insights, our experience as chartered accountants and of running our own businesses and the range of services we offer. A key to our success is the trusting relationship we forge with our clients.
If you would like our skills to get your business growing please contact us for a complimentary meeting (or Skype call).
Consultancy
We start from a simple premise – “You” and then “Where you want to go?” David takes the lead on consultancy. We work at the human level with hopes and fears of our clients and then quickly broaden that to the organisation to identify with clients what needs to be achieved for the enterprise.
We work collaboratively with our clients to identify strategies that deliver results. Can every staff member articulate your strategy and are they empowered to execute on it?
Some specific consulting services we provide include:
Empowerment
We unashamedly include a business-wide people focus. This specifically includes director and senior management development. We believe tremendous value lies in getting the people right. It is not always easy but it makes both for individual wellbeing and also for bottom line impact which can be transformational.
We facilitate strategic planning meetings so your team can have alignment around a clear vision, strategy and goals.
Our services to empower people include:
Accountancy
Finances are the life blood of businesses. We offer the full range of accountancy, reporting, financial director and corporate finances to our clients.
Many (although not all) of our clients have good in house book-keeping. Some though lack the expertise to prepare management information in the right way at the right time to allow the directors to make informed business decisions. This includes preparing quality budgets and forecasts which allow the business to be better controlled.
Our range of accountancy services include:
About SME Strategies
SME Strategies is made up of experienced professionals with specialisms in business consulting, start-ups, corporate finance, accounting and mentoring. It was co-founded by David Eaton who runs it with Sean Hackemann and John Eaton to bring to SMEs and individuals the same excellent hands-on support that large companies take for granted but in a cost effective way.
Using our skills as chartered accountants, finance directors, business owners & innovators we identify the issues facing dynamic SMEs and their owners and work with them to realise their vision.
Recent Blogs and News
How will 2022 end for you?
On New Year’s Day, I was listening to Lyse Doucet on BBC Radio 4 ask some of the BBC's top journalists to gaze into their crystal balls and predict what 2022 might have in store. It was a fascinating insight from some great journalists. What surprised me most though...
How can I bring innovation to my business?
With the right leadership culture, barriers to innovation can be overcome, innovation encouraged and tools can be learned.
What can Gareth Southgate teach us all?
The success of the England football team in beating Denmark 2:1 in the Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley was remarkable. Whatever the outcome of the final against Italy (a formidable team), England can be proud to have reached the final. So what can Gareth Southgate...
The Great Post Office Trial
In a nutshell what happened? When individuals are prosecuted for theft and some go to prison, it is not unreasonable for the public to assume that those individuals were corrupt and dishonest. Never in your wildest dreams would you think that the prosecuting authority...
The Ursula dividend – 9 tips for SMEs
“The Ursula dividend is a shot in the arm for the UK” so wrote Matthew Lane in the Sunday Telegraph on the 4 April 2021. “Ursula von der Leyen’s most significant achievement in her first year as President of the European Union has been the creation of a British...
Supporting Christian Aid Week – May 2021
One of our nine tips for SMEs in our recent blog is ‘Be generous’. In this Christian Aid Week, SME Strategies is very pleased to be supporting this fantastic charity that does so much good on the ground in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the world. Whilst...
Spring 2021 Budget at a glance
Key points of the Budget If you have specific questions on the Budget and how it will affect you, your family or business - contact us at david.eaton@smestrategies.co.uk. The freezing of inheritance tax thresholds and the pensions life time allowances will each have a...
“How much of our profits should be reinvested?”
Financial Director, the online business magazine recently interviewed David Eaton of SME Strategies. Shannon Moyer of Financial Director asked David for his thoughts on one of the conclusions in the recently produced report by Allicia Bank on the question for SME...
Why England rugby player Maro Itoje IS world class now
Malcolm Durham's view from the rugger touchline.... Just less than a year ago England lost a rugby match to the All Blacks and I wrote that Maro Itoje [wasn’t] world class, yet. So I’m delighted to join the throng of those hailing him as he has scaled those heights...
Case Studies
Mistakes in tax returns
The initial problem A taxpayer made some mistakes in his tax returns (filed under self-assessment) by omitting a P60 and some P11Ds and by being oblivious to the High Income Benefit Charge (HIBC). Although it is obviously always wrong to omit a P60 from a tax return,...
When tax advice goes wrong…
This is an updated version of a previous case study of September 2020. Mistaken tax advice given in innocence An individual approached us at SME Strategies in some despair. He and his wife had been given tax advice by a previous accountant to move rental properties...
HMRC enquiry into undeclared overseas income
A taxpayer approached us through a mutual contact after receiving a letter from HMRC saying they were opening an enquiry into personal undisclosed overseas income. The client’s own accountant was not familiar with HMRC enquiries into overseas income and suggested a...