Today’s Portfolio FD Breakfast Club was another energetic and informative gathering, bringing together finance leaders from across the region at RSM UK’s Leeds office. The event, led by Sue Moul, Head of Fractional CFO Services, saw a great turnout – including lots of new faces – and offered a valuable mix of market insight, technical updates and networking opportunities.
The event kicked off with an Headstar business update from Headstar’s Managing Director James Roach, followed by practical recruitment market insights from our Senior Consultant Alex Law.
We were then joined by top experts from RSM, who delivered three insightful presentations:
Insolvency Trends – Lee Lockwood
Lee Lockwood, Partner in Restructuring Advisory, took us through the latest insolvency trends. While headlines often paint a bleak picture, Lee offered a more nuanced and optimistic view, highlighting that we’re entering a period of relative stability across many sectors.
UK GAAP Changes – Anna Pickup
Anna Pickup, Associate Director in Finance Function Support, outlined the key upcoming amendments to FRS 102 under UK GAAP. Her session covered how changes to revenue and lease accounting could impact businesses, with practical advice for transitioning. For those wanting to explore further, RSM’s ‘Bridging the Gaap’ Technical Guidance Hub is a great resource: Bridging the Gaap Insights
Anna will also be running a follow-up webinar soon, where she’ll go into more depth on this topic – so stay tuned for more details on this.
Tax Update – Beth Barker
Wrapping up the presentations, Beth Barker, Director of Corporate Tax, reviewed the key takeaways from the October 2024 Budget. This included updates on National Insurance, the National Minimum Wage, and broader corporate tax changes. Beth also highlighted tax planning opportunities on the horizon, from succession planning and exit readiness to maximising reliefs.
The morning closed with roundtable discussion – a chance for our network of Portfolio Finance Directors to share experiences, challenges and opportunities.
