TaxAssist Accountants Mission Statement

Transcription

1 UK Prospectus

2 TaxAssist Accountants Mission Statement To deliver an unrivalled Accountancy & Tax service to small business operators across the UK. By establishing and reinforcing the TaxAssist Accountants core values we aim to become the leading business service of its kind, representing a visible and recognisable brand; known for the cornerstones of value-for-money and service. Through the national network, TaxAssist Accountants is to become the first point of contact for professional business services to the small business sector. Disclaimer This prospectus is for information purposes only. We make every effort to ensure that the information is accurate and up-to-date, however all figures, quantities, amounts given as examples are approximate and for demonstration purposes only. The success of the franchise depends on the activity of the franchisee. Follow UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 1 OF 53

3 Who Are TaxAssist Accountants? TaxAssist Accountants (formerly TaxAssist Direct) was founded in 1995 by a group of dedicated professionals and based on a concept that was, and still is, fundamentally simple: to bring first class professional services to the small business owner. Our aim is to continue to expand in a controlled manner to become a UK wide network of people all working hard to succeed in both financial and personal terms. Through franchising we knew we could maximise growth potential to the mutual advantage of both TaxAssist Accountants and our Franchisees. Franchising helps to minimise the risks and pitfalls usually associated with business start-ups, by providing specific guidance for franchisees newly into business. Since recruiting our first franchisee in 1996 our philosophy has naturally evolved. In 2011 our commitment to training led to the founding of the TaxAssist Accountants Training Academy. This is made up of our in house team of qualified accountants and specialist trainers, who design and deliver our initial and ongoing face to face and online, and Continuing Professional Development programmes. This partnership ensures that materials are up to date, directly relevant to our network and of the highest quality. In 2004, we launched across the network an integrated software suite that incorporates among other things, single client data entry and practice management and powerful tax return software. After extensive research we chose the integrated system offered by CCH, which is part of the Wolters Kluwer business group. A large percentage of our network operate from shop-style premises. Our strategy is to continue to recruit new franchisees who share in our vision, and to facilitate the move of remaining franchisees into similar shop-style premises. Our intention, through the growth of our brand across the country, is to further establish ourselves as the natural choice for small businesses. In 2009 we awarded our Master Franchise Rights to an established firm of Accountants in the Republic of Ireland. As at December 2014 they have grown to 26 franchisees and a fee bank of 5 million. Our International expansion continued in 2014 when the Master Franchise Rights were awarded for the Greater Toronto area of Canada and this year we have awarded the Master Franchise Rights in Queensland, Australia. Further expansion is planned for Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand. With 20 years experience, TaxAssist are the UK s leading Accountancy Franchise UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 2 OF 53

4 TaxAssist Accountants: Our Concept We have developed a robust business model that allows us to focus on a particular market of potential clients. Our operation has evolved since 1995, but the principles remain the same. The model is fundamentally simple; to focus on the supply of professional accounting, taxation and associated services to small businesses. A small business is defined as a trading entity with a turnover of up to 2Million. This includes Self Employed, Sole Traders, Partnerships and smaller Limited Companies. Our shop front strategy is based on making our services more accessible to the client base and to aid in the development of brand awareness. The small business sector has traditionally been ignored by larger accountants, and poorly serviced by smaller practices. Establishing a unique network that focuses solely on smaller businesses, we are targeting a market that has a need for our services. Operating from shop-style premises locations makes us more accessible. With over 200 franchised areas operating from over 230 shops and offices, TaxAssist Accountants is the UK s largest network of Accountants specifically servicing the small business sector. With over 55,000 clients and gross recurring annual fees in excess of 37 million we are recognised by Accountancy Age as the 24 th largest network of Accountants in the UK. This along with the numerous awards that we have received (please see page 19 for a full list) demonstrates that we are highly regarded in both, as a network of and as one of the UK s leading franchisors. We have been proud members of the British Franchise Association (bfa) since 2003 and adhere to their code of ethical conduct. As further commitment to ethical standards in Franchising, Karl Sandall (Group CEO) and David Paulson (Senior Manager, UK & International Franchise Development) are both Qualified Franchise Professionals (QFP) having gone through a period of learning and an accreditation process. Karl Sandall is also a Trustee of the bfa trust helping disadvantaged individuals to benefit from opportunities in franchising. As a company we are 100% a franchisor; with no company owned outlets or clients of our own. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 3 OF 53

5 Meet the TaxAssist Board of Directors Karl Sandall QFP, FCIB (Group Chief Executive) Karl spent 26 years at a senior level with a major clearing bank before joining TaxAssist Accountants on 1 st January 2000 as Operations Director taking on the role of Chief Executive in A 'fellow' of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, a member of the Financial Industry Group and of the Committee of the IFS School of Finance for the East of England and Chairman of a charity Respect Yourself, Karl oversees the running of the company and the whole network on a day to day basis and ensures the company continues to expand rapidly. Sarah Robertson MSc, Dip M, Chartered Marketer, FCIM FIDM (Group Business Development Director) Sarah founded a successful Brand Agency The Point in 1994 with three other Directors. The Point became one of the foremost marketing communications agencies in the Eastern region with billings in excess of 4.5m. Sarah has a total of 25 years experience in the marketing and advertising industry, working with a broad range of national and regional brands such as the British Red Cross, Norwich Union, Oracle, Del Monte, the Imperial Cancer Research Fund and Swinton Insurance. She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Fellow of the Institute of Direct Marketing. Sarah joined the TaxAssist Accountants Board on 1 st September Sarah is responsible for marketing strategy, brand development, shop fronts, practice management and business development strategies for franchisees. Phil Sullivan BSc (Hons), ACIB (Group Operations Director) Following a 26 year career with HSBC Bank plc, Phil established his own business in 2006 providing corporate and commercial advisory services to selected business clients. He specialised in assisting with the creation of strategies for large transactions, including business sales,mbos/mbis,flotation s,raising unquoted equity and exit/succession. During his career with HSBC Phil achieved Executive Management status and undertook roles covering a wide range of disciplines. These included branch banking, corporate banking, credit control, strategic planning, human resources and training. Prior to leaving HSBC, Phil was Area Director for Leicestershire, a role with responsibility for all aspects of the bank's branch banking & commercial business in the county and corporate banking activities in East Midlands. He was responsible for 400 staff operating from 36 offices and a cost budget of 11m. His main business interests lie in corporate finance and management/leadership theory and practice. Phil was appointed as an Adviser to the Board with effect from 1 st May 2007 and became an Executive Director on the 1 st October Phil's main responsibilities include technical support, competency, compliance and training for the network, internal financial control and a major input into strategic and operational planning. In addition he will have a remit to develop our relationships with the banks in order to enhance the services available to our business overall. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 4 OF 53

6 Meet our Non-Executive Directors John Chambers LL.B (Non Executive Director) John has specialised in franchising for over 20 years. He thinks of himself as a business man first and a solicitor second. His "no nonsense, practical, commercial approach" is appreciated by clients as much as is his unrivalled knowledge of the franchising sector. He read law at University College London and worked in the City of London for Mitsui, a Japanese trading company, and in the Middle East for Turner & Newall Plc. John then worked in sales and contract management roles in the oil industry, first in the UK and then abroad before deciding that he could provide more commercially focused and practical advice than he was receiving from lawyers. He re-trained as a solicitor and worked for two leading international law firms prior to setting up Chambers & Co in After establishing himself as one of the UK s leading franchise lawyers and acting for 20% of the franchisors in the UK, Ashton KCJ acquired the practice in early John is a former member of the now disbanded British Franchise Association Legal Committee, and regularly speaks on franchising law both at home and abroad. Mark Fordham BA (Hons), ACIB, CMIIA (Non Executive Director, Franchisee Representative) Mark s career has been spent entirely in the Financial Services industry. He spent the early part working for NatWest Bank in Retail, Corporate and Investment Banking including spells in Corporate Lending and the Training department where he taught Financial Analysis (Balance sheets, cashflow forecasts, profit and loss accounts and bookkeeping). He also taught Investment Management including personal tax at degree level for 14 years. The latter part of his banking career was spent qualifying as an auditor and then planning and managing a team of 150 auditors to run audits across the Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Mark was awarded his TaxAssist Accountants franchise is 2003 and built up a client base in St Albans and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. He won the TaxAssist Fastest Growth Award 3 years in a row as well as Accountant of the Year and the British Franchise Association Bronze award in In 2012, 9 years after starting his franchise, he sold the business with 900 clients to an incoming franchisee. Mark joined the board in January UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 5 OF 53

7 Running a TaxAssist Franchise You may be thinking one of two things at this point this franchise opportunity is incredibly simple, or that there are hidden requirements that may hinder the chance of success. The fact is that the business model is simple and the commercial blueprint is well established and very robust. For those aspects of the setup that may seem unfathomable at the moment, our total support function is there for you. Your list of grey areas may include queries over financing, premises, staffing and HR, best practice, Franchisor influence, exit strategies and protecting your asset in the event of Death in Service. You may have queries over operational techniques and being able to provide service to your clients whilst you are building your business. As a mature Franchisor, TaxAssist Accountants has solutions to cover these areas. Our Market Every small business needs to have an annual set of accounts prepared in one form or another, for taxation and other purposes. Very few business people have the knowledge or inclination to prepare their own accounts, hence the ever-increasing demand for accountancy services. In addition there are people who need to complete their own Self-Assessment who will usually need some help and will turn to a professional for assistance. With initial and ongoing training and support, you can provide that help and build your own business and financial independence. The small business proprietor who is seeking to establish and grow their business will also need a wide range of services from different places. For example, a visit to the Bank or a Finance House to borrow some money, to a Factoring Provider for help with debts to IT Consultants the list goes on. We have brought access to all of these services under one roof for our clients, by creating and continuing to develop a range of Additional Services. Franchising remains almost the sole business mechanism that enables small businesses to compete effectively against larger businesses. Our concept is accountancy but how different are we from all the other accountancy practices across the UK? We are the largest UK-wide network to provide a full accountancy and tax service specifically for small businesses. We identified back in 1995 that small businesses were often not being looked after very well and we consider that it is still the same today. The proprietors of these businesses were not always proactively supported in looking for ways to reduce their tax liabilities and in helping them develop their businesses. By pushing ourselves forward we have become the leading accountancy network in the UK aimed specifically at small business. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 6 OF 53

8 Who We Look For We look for professional people who have strong commercial and/or financial backgrounds We look for people who are capable of setting themselves up in business but see the value in the brand, training, support and systems that investing in a franchise with TaxAssist Accountants brings. Most franchisees join us with a recognised accountancy qualification, typically, ACA, ACCA, CTA, AAT, ATT or CIMA and have a mix of industry and practice backgrounds, but you don t have to be an accountant to join us. We are very selective on who we award a franchise to. Non-qualified accountants will come from senior management positions with reporting responsibilities and on ability to show financial acumen, who have the drive and enthusiasm to grow an accountancy practice. A new Franchisee will need to demonstrate high levels of: Commercial awareness Business acumen Energy Motivation Communication skills Like running your own business, running a franchise requires hard work and commitment. We provide the systems, the business model and the experience to run the business well but the model also relies on you to make it work by introducing your own personality, energy and initiative. All Franchisees if not a UK citizen will need to provide evidence that they have the right to work in the UK, for further information please visit or contact the Recruitment department for more clarification. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 7 OF 53

9 Join a franchise Owned by its Franchisees In late August, we completed the first franchisee-assisted MBO in the UK, Franchising our National network which see ours franchisees owning 32% of the business. Our Group Chief Executive Karl Sandall answers a few questions below with regards to our ground breaking deal and its implications for the future. How did the MBO come about? Our founder John Westgarth, was keen to cash in and retire. Who better to invest in purchasing the franchise then the Executive Management Team and the hardworking brand building franchisees? Together we all believe in the model and have committed plans for continued future growth. As a network we have deep mutual respect between franchisor and franchisee. Our franchisees breathe the brand so who better to own a share of it. What benefits can you foresee in having franchisees holding a substantial share of the franchisor business? The franchisees who have invested will now see growth on their investment as we all work together and continue to make the business even more successful. The investment will also help with our international growth as all too often the franchisor grows outside the UK and the UK Franchisees do not get any of the action. Our MBO allows all investing franchisees to share in the benefits of International growth. Do you(or did you) have any concerns about changing the relationship between franchisees and franchisor; or do you believe it will only be advantageous to have the brands guardian represented at board level? The latter is the main point. Our franchisees have agreed the relationship stays as it is- they are franchisees and we are the franchisors. Because we have always had a close relationship with our franchisees and we always listen to them, we know they value strong leadership and that will continue. The status of franchisees and shareholders will be very distinct- all franchisees will be treated equally as a group and the same will apply to all shareholders. Will there be the need to changes to the business or franchising model? No, we ve no intention of changing our model, business strategy or growth plans. Nothing is broken so we have nothing to fix. We will invest to continually develop the existing business model so things will only improve. Will franchisees that have not already invested as part of the MBO have the opportunity to do so at some point in the future? What about new franchisees coming into the network? We are creating an internal market so that franchisees can buy or sell as they wish, subject to market forces. New franchisees and masters will have the opportunity to let the market know they are keen to buy and will have the opportunity to do so. What happens when a franchisee with a stake decides to sell their business and leave the network? We have very specific leaver clauses which provide a number of options to ensure franchisees selling or retiring can cash in or retain their investment depending on circumstances. We have tried to accommodate all scenarios in our investor agreement and documentation. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 8 OF 53

10 TaxAssist Franchise Fee What you get for your initial investment of 36,950 (excluding VAT) Licence Fee. Exclusive Territory. Initial Marketing Campaign including 25 free leads. Technical helpline for you and your staff. First years Membership to a Networking group of your choice. Telephone answering service for the first year. Starter pack of personalised business stationery including letter heads, envelopes, business cards and a pull up stand. Starter pack of promotional material including personalised corporate brochures and marketing materials. Competitor Analysis report. Your own personalised TaxAssist Accountants website and address. Support in finding suitable premises and branding premises. Ongoing support and advice. Business accelerator and nurture program. IT Equipment and Maintenance Package (6 months unlimited support per user), including laptop, docking station, widescreen monitor, 3 year accidental damage cover and Microsoft Professional and Microsoft Office. Training Package including an initial 6 week intensive training course (43 days training in the first year) and follow up training at months 2, 3 and 6. First year free for the TaxAssist Training Academy. Employmentor service providing you with HR advice. Operations Manuals. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 9 OF 53

11 5 year Franchise Agreement with the right to renew. Highly informative Support Site access. Payroll software for the first year. 3 months free usage of CCH Accounting Software. 12 month free fee protecting with CCH. First years FTA Student membership, with first sitting of the exam (if needed). Direct Debit system set up. First years Membership to AMLCC (Anti- Money Laundering service). Award winning support and training for you and your staff. Access to a network of preferred suppliers. Selection of relevant course materials and books. First year s attendance at the Annual Conference. Whillans Tax Table. All accommodation and food for your Initial training course and follow up training at months 2, 3 and 6. Lasting Power of Attorney UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 10 OF 53

12 The Franchise Package - What s included? Support The benefits of franchising are that you are a self-employed individual benefiting from an established support infrastructure and a committed brand development strategy. The extent of the support you will receive from TaxAssist Accountants is comprehensive and comprises of training, marketing and technical help desk for accounting, tax, software and Human Resources. In addition to this, you will benefit from field visits from our Franchisee Development Managers, Directors and our Technical and Training Teams, as well as ongoing training to accommodate Continuing Professional Development requirements from the accounting institutes. The concept of network development and best practice is very important to us and we have a number of arenas where the focus is on the franchisor/franchisee relationship. These include Innovation Groups, Master Classes, Regional Meetings and an Annual Conference. These activities allow franchisees to express themselves and make operational recommendations, and the franchisor has opportunities to cement relationships with the network. Unlike some of our competitors, we have no other business interests or our own accountancy practice to support meaning we can concentrate 100% of our time on you our franchisee and your growth. Compare our competitors offerings closely to our own, both on an initial basis and ongoing, because we feel we have a fully comprehensive offering. Licence fee The licence fee grants the right to trade under the corporate identity of TaxAssist Accountants for the duration of the Franchise Agreement. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 11 OF 53

13 Marketing To kick start your business we provide you with an initial marketing campaign and 25 free leads from our lead generation activities (Don't worry these won't all be delivered in your first month!) and we also pay up to the value of 500 for your first year subscription to a networking group of your choice. The TaxAssist website attracts thousands of unique visitors every month, over 410,000 visitors in the last year alone. Whilst we are proud of our website exposure it would be vanity to use this measurement solely to determine the strength of our website presence and effectiveness in generating business for our franchisees. Our key metric in determining the success of our marketing activity is to measure how many qualified leads the website generates and in turn how many of these qualified leads turn into business for our network. We speak to every potential client and qualify whether there is an opportunity of business before passing that lead to a franchisee, thus sifting out at the beginning those enquiries that will never progress. Without a qualification process, our franchisees would be inundated with lead enquiries wasting time that we believe would be better spent on producing fee charging work. Other franchisors claim high levels of sales leads from their marketing activity but only convert 1 in 20 of these leads into business. We don t want franchisees having to follow up 100 s of leads only to convert 5 into fee paying business. Our unique lead generation minimises the franchisee involvement and our franchisees currently report a high 1 in 2.3 conversion rate and this delivers significant business each and every year to our network. For every qualified lead provided to a franchisee there is a charge of 55 (though the first 25 leads are free as part of the franchise package). These leads are delivered year in year out through our unique offline and online marketing strategy. The lead charge is recycled into the Brand Awareness budget to provide further marketing benefits for the whole franchise network. The purchasing of leads is fairly common in the accountancy industry but generally attracts a much higher charge per lead and do not come close to converting at the same levels as our system making it a cost effective way for franchisees to gain new business. Our unique online and offline marketing strategy has been carefully crafted over many years and has won several industry awards. Effectiveness is shown by the network recording that 2 of the top 3 sources of new business come directly from this blended mix of activity. IT Equipment and Maintenance Package We supply high spec laptops which are suitable to run all applications. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 12 OF 53

14 Training Fees A six week intensive induction training course (including one week s home study) covers all aspects of the TaxAssist Accountants business model and prepares new franchisees for trading as a TaxAssist accountant. This training covers a wide range of accountancy, tax, software, sales and marketing topics. It is designed and delivered by our in house team of qualified accountants and trainers in conjunction with specialist training partners. Through this partnership we are able to ensure that materials are up to date, directly relevant for our network and of the highest quality. We pay for all meals and accommodation during the course and ensure you have the opportunity to meet all staff in the Support Centre. During the initial six month period further shorter training modules are delivered covering Limited Company issues, corporation tax, payroll, guidance on completing your own accounts, planning tools, human resources and staff recruitment and further software training. We have also introduced the TaxAssist Training Academy which allows us to provide new training modules covering a wide range of technical and general management skill topics. The TaxAssist Accountants Training Academy provides bespoke training courses to Franchisees and staff in Norwich and at regional centres around the UK. The Training Academy fee of 60 pcm per territory covers ongoing training resources, additional courses are charged at nominal rates. The detailed Manuals form the basis of your training reference material and are explained fully during the training programme. All the manuals are available online, on our support website, once the course has been completed. Business Acceleration and Nurture Program This is a holistic induction and monitoring package that is designed to help you set up parts of your operation prior to the training course. The programme also monitors your business development through the first six months and comprises further training at months two, three and six. The follow up training is a mix of technical, general management and business plan review to track the progress of your business. Employmentor HR and Employment Package We are pleased to offer all franchisees subscription to Employmentor. This service provides you with comprehensive HR support for all your employment needs and much more. Subsidy for Support and Helpline The franchise fee gives you access to all services provided by the Support Centre from day one. Support Site A wealth of useful information is contained on our easy to use intranet. The Support Site forms the Blueprint for managing and developing a successful TaxAssist Accountants practice. It offers advice and guidance, allows you to order stationery, adverts, and book into training sessions to name but a few features. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 13 OF 53

15 Additional Initial Support In addition to dedicated internet support, the franchise fee covers the first year s payroll software, 12 months use of the online learning facility, 3 month s usage of CCH, first years Federation of Taxation Advisers student membership if required and launch assistance. Free Set Up on Direct Debit System It is a key part of the TaxAssist business model that your clients should pay you by regular monthly payments. This makes a very significant difference to your cash flow and also enhances client loyalty. Telephone Answering Service In the first year of your franchise you may be working on your own, or have few staff members. In order to ensure a professional and corporate response to clients and prospective clients, we are pleased to offer the services of a personal answering service for either a full year's service or 120 messages whichever comes first. Each TaxAssist Franchisee will be given the names of two or three PAs who will work for them and answer their calls and forward their messages either by , SMS or Fax. Business Stationery A starter pack of stationery is provided, including letterheads, envelopes and business cards, fully personalised with your details. A comprehensive initial starter pack will be provided, including personalised corporate brochures, marketing leaflets etc. Competitor Analysis Report Some thorough research into your competitors, their services and more importantly, how they look after their customers, will provide you with valuable information that will help your business become successful. A Competitor Analysis Report will highlight your competitors strengths and weaknesses. It will also tell you how to use the information to win more customers and keep the ones you ve got. Website & Address All new franchisees are set up with and their own website for you to personalise with information about you and your local contact details. We administer and maintain this for you. Anti Money Laundering Compliance We are pleased to provide as part of the franchise fee your first year s membership fee to AMLCC Ltd, who provide online Client Verification and The Complete Anti-Money Laundering Guide for Professionals. The Guide steers you through the process of client due diligence including electronic verification and automatically classifies the client s risk level. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 14 OF 53

16 Finances A Guide to estimated start-up costs and ongoing fee s: Franchise Fee Initial Sum (Excluding VAT) 36,950 Management Service Fees Band Rate First 145,000 9% Second 145,000 6% Third 145,000 3% All Further Sales 1% Brand Awareness & Client Acquisition fund:- 1,920 pa (calculated and payable on a monthly basis increasing by 60 per year) Our Management Service Fee is set so that as your turnover increases the rate payable to us decreases Training The TaxAssist Accountants Training Academy provides bespoke training courses to Franchisees and staff in Norwich and at regional centres around the UK, your first 12 months are included in your package 60 pcm per territory Commercial Premises Costs Commercial office lease (per calendar month) Shop front lease (per calendar month) 1,000 Shop front re-fit (depending on premises) 17,500-20,000 (Prices would vary between regions) UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 15 OF 53

17 Furniture & Equipment Office furniture 1,800 Black & white laser printer 400 Mobile phone (per calendar month) 40 Fax 120 Shop Telephone System (Approx Cost depending on requirements) Office Telephone System (per calendar month) (Approx Cost depending on requirements) 79 (Set Up Charge) + 65 pcm 25 (Set Up Charge) + 17 pcm per member of staff Software CCH Central (first three months free) 143 pcm (Up to 150 chargeable clients, monthly fee will rise as your number of clients increase) Moneysoft Payroll (first year s subscription Inc. in package) 200 p.a (approx) Microsoft Office 365 (first year s subscription inc. in package) 118 p.a Other start up costs Legal fees (optional) Professional Indemnity Insurance 600 (approx.) First 12 months general marketing (networking, advertising etc) Initial working capital (to be considered) will vary on an individual basis. 5,000 Leads Inbound qualified leads (First 25 leads included in Franchise Fee) 55 per lead Employment & HR package Employmentor (value 495 per year) Inc. in package UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 16 OF 53

18 (Please note that all fees are subject to VAT at the applicable rate) With 20 years as a Franchisor, we know what a successful model looks like Shop Refurbishment We have a preferred supplier for shop fitting and they have been fully briefed on our minimum requirements in terms of fittings and office equipment. The cost of a refurbishment or shop fitting is dependent on the size and condition of the premises. The cost of refurbishment at our flagship office in Norwich was 26,500 including IT hardware. Other shop-style offices across the country have been refurbished at nominal costs, so it is prudent to research this thoroughly. Property Sourcing Our support team have been specifically tasked to look after all aspects of sourcing and operating from office and shop-style premises. With many years experience, the support team are highly experienced in the TaxAssist Accountants franchise concept. We are in a position to offer advice and guidance on sourcing rented offices or shop fronts. Operating from a rented office can prove less capital-intensive and it also gives you an opportunity to develop your business before moving to a shop front operation. The quality and location of commercial offices are very important. Under these operating conditions Working Capital requirements will still be governed by local market trends, and you will still need to budget for rent, marketing and living costs until your revenue stream is established. Funding for your franchise can be arranged by means of a loan and overdraft combination, thus allowing for flexibility in terms of monthly expenditure. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 17 OF 53

19 Raising Finance: The Banks TaxAssist Accountants has built some excellent relationships with the major banks in the UK. This means that we are nationally recognised by the banks that will support potential franchisees with their initial franchise fee subject to their normal lending criteria. We are more than happy to put you in touch with our contacts at the banks, who will be happy to answer any of your questions. Banks typically lend TaxAssist Franchisees a maximum of 70% of the investment required, you as the Franchisee will need to provide evidence to the bank that you can cover the other 30% once your Business Plan has been approved. Enterprise Finance Guarantee In certain situations some franchisees may benefit from the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme formerly the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme run by the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) - formerly the DTI and BERR. The EFG is a loan guarantee scheme to facilitate lending to viable businesses where there may be a lack of security available. Guarantees are taken from the individuals for 100% of the facility provided and whilst the government provides a guarantee to the lender for 75% of the loan, the borrower is liable for the full amount. There is no requirement for supporting security behind the guarantee. The EFG is a more expensive route as there is a 2% annual premium on the outstanding loan amount which the Government charges for providing the security, but if all other aspects of the application stacks up and the only issue is the lack of security, then the EFG is an attractive route which many franchisees have benefited from. Please contact us for more information. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 18 OF 53

20 Revenue Projections: What can you achieve? By following the business model and taking a proactive approach to marketing in your territory, you should be attracting clients at a considerable rate. Client acquisition will be facilitated by your shop front presence, marketing and networking activity will all contribute to help you grow your fee bank. The shop provides the business with a professional appearance where clients will walk in and gives you the opportunity to encourage referrals. The visibility of the shop combined with your passion for your business, enthusiasm for providing high quality service and hard work to drive the business forward will be the key to your success. Let s consider what can be achieved in reality. The top quartile of our franchisees who opened in the last 5 years have, at the end of their second years trading, an average of 213 clients and almost 158,000 fees. After five years, depending on your own ambitions, it is possible to aim for 400+ clients with a Turnover of 300k upwards. Full business planning support is provided to help you gain an understanding of what could be achievable for you. We do not pretend that these figures are easily achieved - it requires real effort, enthusiasm and the following of our business model - but we know that this level of success can be achieved and in some cases is exceeded. Please note the above figures are for illustration purposes only and are not a guarantee of earnings. Revenue and business growth is dependent on activity. Our business model involves certain activity requirements including marketing, networking and general business development. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 19 OF 53

21 Why You Should Join TaxAssist Accountants? Our Brand Name: We are the leading franchised accountancy organisation looking after small businesses, with 20 years experience of operating a substantial national network of branded shops and offices that is well recognised and respected. Our Training: We are confident that we are providing the best initial and ongoing training for you and your staff. As well as providing a comprehensive initial six week training course which includes food and accommodation, we also offer ongoing update days as well as bespoke training if needed in Norwich and regionally, as well as a Continuing Professional Development Programme. The tax and accounts training is provided by our own staff and specialist training partners, and we provide a nurture programme which lasts for six months after the initial course focusing on business development, HR, staff recruitment and client acquisition. We also provide courses on pricing and fee raising as well as social media training to keep our network abreast of business relevant developments. Support Centre: All of the Support Centre staff are 100% committed to supporting the Franchise network and have no other business interests to take their focus away from the importance of assisting the network. The three executive directors have a breadth of business experience which they bring to the franchise. Karl Sandall had 26 years working for a major clearing bank, and is an ex bank manager. Sarah Robertson is a Chartered Marketer who previously operated her own Marketing and PR company and Phil Sullivan spent 26 years with HSBC achieving Executive Management status before leaving to establish his own business in 2006 providing corporate and commercial advisory services. Shop Front Concept: We have a highly visible presence with over 177 shop fronts and growing around the country. The shop front brand is supplemented by the many branded cars driving around the country, national advertising, internet presence and marketing collateral. We constantly look to be at the forefront in terms of brand awareness, technical training and support for business growth. The shop front will allow you to build up a team of staff who you can delegate to, allowing you the free time to work on the business not in it. An Exclusive Territory: You gain the rights to operate and receive leads in an exclusive territory of postcode districts based on either one or adjacent postcode districts. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 20 OF 53

22 Lead Generation & Business Development Strategies: You will receive a number of free leads, currently 25, as part of your initial franchise package. These will be generated from a marketing campaign in your area and our ongoing inbound lead service. The Support Centre provides a social media presence, PR, national advertising, telemarketing and an unparalleled internet presence. These and other initiatives will generate inbound leads (business opportunities) for you. Access to Specialist Advice/In-field Back-up: We work closely with all franchisees on maximising their profit and working towards their own exit strategies. We see this as an invaluable contribution to our franchisees business life. This type of consultancy work does not come cheap and we are pleased to provide this as part of our service. We utilise a range of bespoke business tools for our network in respect of their own business planning, fee charging and profitability analysis. As well as qualified staff available to assist you in running and developing your business, we also have a comprehensive support site available offering a full Blueprint for running your practice. Resale Value: The business model makes financial sense, with the potential for taking a good salary whilst creating a real asset for your long term future. Fee banks are very saleable (there are more buyers than sellers) and with the TaxAssist Accountants brand name, this could add a premium to the value of the business when you decide to sell. Additional Service Providers: So that your business can be the one stop shop for small businesses, we have a range of branded partners including: Asset Finance, Independent Financial Services, Debt Recovery, Company Formations, Employment Advice and Will Writers, amongst other services. Many of these suppliers pay a commission to you, which can form a substantial part of your revenue. These services are not only available to you, but for your clients to offer their clients too. Helpdesks: All of the Support Centre staff are on hand if you need to talk through any issues or queries. One of the main support functions that is available to you as part of the franchise package is the technical helpdesk. This is manned from Monday to Friday 8.30am 5.30pm, by individuals with a range of accountancy and tax qualifications and is available to you and your staff. There is also a marketing helpline if you wish to discuss an idea, advert, proposal or campaign. As technology progresses the reliance placed on your IT increases which is why we have researched a panel of recommended national IT support partners across the UK for you to choose from. Should you prefer to use a local IT company you are free to do so. A laptop and CCH software is provided as part of your franchise fee and CCH themselves will be responsible for the installation and updates of their software, at no charge to you. All in all a complete practice management system. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 21 OF 53

23 Key TaxAssist Facts Established in 1995, with 20 years experience of supporting successful franchisees. The only business interest TaxAssist have is TaxAssist. The largest and most successful Network of Accountants looking after small businesses. Our Target Market is Small Businesses with a turnover of up to 2million. Officially 24 th in the Accountancy Age survey, the only Franchise to be recognised. We are the One Stop Shop for Small Businesses through our Shop Front concept years left to run on Franchise Agreements. The Network has 1254 years experience as TaxAssist Franchisees. Our Franchisees hold over 200 Professional Qualifications. We have 177 shops and offices in the Network. 195 Franchised areas. 114 Franchisees are on 10 year Agreements. Our Support Centre averages 1 person per 6 Franchisees. Expanding Worldwide. We are the only Franchise where the Franchisees own part of the whole company. (see page 8) UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 22 OF 53

24 Our Achievements TaxAssist Accountants has won various Business Awards over the last few years. Here are some of them: 2015: Bronze Winner - British Franchise Association (bfa) - Franchisor of the Year 2014: Smith & Henderson - 5* Satisfaction Award Smith & Henderson - Continuous Improvement Award Smith & Henderson Winner of Best Larger Franchise Winner of Most Innovative Tax Team of the Year British Franchise Association Franchisor of the Year Finalist 2013: Best Franchise Awards Best Training & Support Unbiased.co.uk s Media Adviser Awards Winner of the Professional Adviser of the Year, Awarded to Jo Nockels, Communications & Training Manager British Franchise Association Franchisee of the Year Finalists AIA Winner of The Accountancy Firm of the Year Award. Smith & Henderson Nominated for Best Overall Franchise 3aaa The Best UK Accountancy Firm Supporting Apprentices. 2012: The Best Franchise Awards Winners of Best Training & Support and Best Large Franchisor British Franchise Association (bfa) Franchisor of the Year Finalist 2011: TaxAssist Accountants pick up 2 awards; they were from the EDP as a Business Development Winner and also the Best Franchise Award for Best Training and Support 2010: GOLD WINNER British Franchise Association (bfa) Franchisor of the Year UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 23 OF 53

25 British Franchise Association The British Franchise Association (BFA) is the only voluntary accreditation body for franchising in the UK. The bfa s remit is to develop and continuously improve the standards of good practice in franchising and to accredit franchisors who meet these standards. The BFA now represents some 346 UK franchise brands each vetted against a strict code of business practice. We are a Full Member of the British Franchise Association (BFA) and we fully endorse the BFA's code of ethics and operate in accordance with them. Visit their website: Karl Sandall (Group CEO) and David Paulson (Senior Manager, UK & International Franchise Development) are both accredited BFA Qualified Franchise Professionals. The Qualified Franchise Professional (QFP) is the formal recognition of professional knowledge and experience in franchising. It demonstrates understanding of the complexities and best practice in franchising and the investing of time to continuously develop understanding. The QFP has been specially developed for people working within the franchising industry who want to demonstrate their experience, understanding and ethical approach to franchising. Professional advisors to the industry, franchisor owners, directors, managers and franchisee support staff will all benefit from the learning and recognition that the QFP provides. As a standards-based franchise qualification built upon the ethics of the bfa, this qualification is open only to principals or employees of bfa member organisations. This further strengthens the value of the qualification and underpins the vital importance of best practice and ethics within UK franchising. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 24 OF 53

26 Franchising Statistics We know that franchising is the most successful way of starting a new business. But don t just take our word for it below are some highlights from the British Franchise Association/NatWest Survey which remains the UK s leading survey of the current state and dynamics of franchising. The franchise industry s annual turnover is 13.7 billion. Average franchisee turnover is 356,000. Around 561,000 people employed in the UK franchise industry. 930 franchise systems operate in the UK. Franchisors see better prospects for themselves than the rest of the economy. 88 per cent expect improvements in their business over the next year, while only 31 per cent expect the economy to pick up. The average start-up costs for a new franchisee across all industries is 150, ,000 Two thirds of franchisees trading less than two years are making a profit. Sources: NatWest/British Franchise Association (BFA) Survey TaxAssist Accountants Training Academy Programme There are three TaxAssist Accountants training courses spread throughout the year. These last for six weeks and take place in Norwich, with a week s home study in week four. All new franchisees are required to take an online aptitude test at home before joining the training course, and for those whom we feel it would be beneficial, we require them to attend a two day introduction to bookkeeping course ahead of the six week training course. If the franchisee passes the aptitude test they do not need to complete the pre-course training although they can still attend these two introductory days if they wish. The Training Academy provides our initial and ongoing accountancy, taxation and practice management training. We are confident that we have the best to offer with regard to course material and course tutors and we are delighted to be able to offer this training to franchisees of TaxAssist Accountants. The introduction to bookkeeping course (if attending) will take place on the Thursday and Friday preceding the six week course. The next three weeks will cover all aspects of accounts production and taxation for sole traders and partnerships and software training. These three weeks of intensive training are then followed by one week of home study (which will include reading, case studies and launch planning). This will be followed by a week covering practice management, recruitment, payroll, IT set up, our support site and social media training. The final week will be dedicated to sales and marketing training. We pay for all accommodation and meals during the residential period of the training course. We also ensure you meet and get to know the Support Centre staff so that, when you are out in the field, you know who to turn to for help and our support to you will not be faceless. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 25 OF 53

27 By the end of the initial six week period of training you will know how to: Market yourself, find and retain your clients Competently complete year end and monthly/quarterly management accounts and tax computations Complete Self-Assessment tax returns and a wide range of other tax forms Operate bookkeeping, VAT and payroll software and be able to advise your clients Run an efficient shop or office and business with the support of IT, marketing and eventually staff In short How to run and grow a successful business Additionally, after you have been trading two months you will return to the Support Centre for three days further CCH and Ltd Company training. At month three you will return for a week, during which time you will attend a development day to review your progress to date and provide you with additional sales and marketing tools, study corporation tax and Ltd Company software, and receive guidance on preparing your own accounts. There will be three additional development days after you have been trading for six months at the support centre, focusing on CCH software, payroll & P11D, planning tools and helping you to further build your business. On an ongoing basis, we also provide modestly priced courses at our support centre in Norwich and regionally, to keep the network up to date with technical and marketing developments. Our marketing courses include pricing and fee raising as well as social media training to keep our network abreast of business relevant advancements. Twice a year we provide Regional Training Days to cover budget, tax and accountancy updates. These are held at four locations around the country at no extra cost. Continuing Professional Development Qualified accountants and students in the UK are required to maintain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) throughout their working life. It is also strongly encouraged for non-qualified accountants, and may well become mandatory in the future. We offer a complete solution to this, using innovative online learning aids and face-to-face courses. This solution enables existing and newly qualified accountants to meet the CPD requirements set by their qualifying institutes, as well as ensuring our entire network meets these same standards. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 26 OF 53

28 Our Software & Support The Support Site forms the blueprint for managing and developing a successful TaxAssist Accountants practice. The site provides franchisees with a vast resource of reference material and guidance for all aspects of running a franchise, 24 hours a day. The detailed manuals form the basis of your training reference material and are explained fully during the training programme. All the manuals are available online and on our support website once the course has been completed. CCH Software In 2004 we introduced a fully integrated software suite to our network and in 2011 we upgraded to CCH Central. As well as compliance applications such as accounts production and personal and corporate tax, franchisees use CCH software for practice management and customer relationship management. An integrated database is much more than just a location to hold all client information. It s an opportunity to use that information to develop and build your business relationships. Every time you send an , speak to a client on the phone or meet face to face, you have a chance to build relationships and promote your practice ideal for the proactive adviser. It can be used for planning and marketing exercises and has excellent management tools such as the facility to review tax returns for potential HM Revenue and Customs enquiries. With the tools available through CCH Software, you are perfectly positioned to: Promote your practice through marketing activities Respond to requests for information Offer high-quality advice with ongoing fee-earning potential Share client documents and information online CCH Central is a suite of applications based on a new programming language (.NET) which provides a more scalable and robust platform. Benefits include: A single point of entry to access client data A consistent look and feel across applications A client-centric approach with the client record being the focus with key static data centralised Cross product reporting If you wish to find out more about CCH please visit UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 27 OF 53

29 Specialist Services There will be times when your clients will need assistance with a query in a specialist area such as foreign taxes, inheritance tax or maybe a complex capital gains tax issue - which would be more time consuming for you to deal with and outside of services covered by the normal engagement letter. It may not be efficient for the help line to deal with these types of queries and therefore for enquiries of a specialist nature we reserve the right to charge a fee for this professional advice, using an internal or external specialist as appropriate, which you will then pass on to your client. You will of course be entitled to charge your clients a premium for this. After all, it is your knowledge and contacts that will have sourced this advice. Remember the philosophy of TaxAssist Accountants has and always will be to provide a service to small businesses only i.e. keep it simple. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 28 OF 53

30 Marketing Outbound Leads During the early stages of the franchise, cold calling can be an invaluable source of client acquisition to supplement your own local marketing efforts and our national marketing activities. We have researched a number of Telemarketing Agencies, and we have a panel which we recommend, offering slightly different approaches. For each of these we have negotiated special rates for our network. There can be no guarantees, but experience shows that good results can be obtained and at the very least will create brand awareness in your area amongst the small and new businesses in your area. Inbound Leads As well as leads obtained from cold calling, we also receive inbound leads as a result of our national marketing. These leads are qualified at our Support Centre to ensure they are genuine before being forwarded on. A lead should always be viewed as an opportunity rather than a guaranteed sign up, as ultimately it will be up to you to sell your services during the initial appointment. The network currently report lead conversions of 1 in Obviously, training is provided initially and the marketing team are also available at the end of the telephone to help you at any time. A charge is made for each lead and appointment provided (outbound or inbound, currently plus VAT). This represents an inexpensive method of obtaining new clients and can help you create positive cash flow. Remember, you only pay for the lead once and your clients will stay with you for many years. From our monitoring, we have calculated that the average annual client fee for the basic accounts and tax return work is approximately 700 (plus VAT), so the service should pay for itself many times over. Also, remember that once you have built up a substantial client base many of your new clients will come from referrals and recommendations from existing ones. Clients stay with us on average for 10 years. Included with the franchise package are a number of free leads (a combination of inbound and outbound leads) to help kick-start your marketing activities. The free outbound leads will be gained as a result of an initial marketing campaign carried out by one of our agencies. This campaign is comprised of three months of live calling, followed by three months of follow up calls. This marketing launch will take the form of a mailing, advising that there is a new TaxAssist Accountants operation in the area. This will be followed up by a telephone call where, hopefully an appointment will be booked. A telephone call will also be made after the appointment to gain feedback on how it went, which will then be fed back to the franchisee. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 29 OF 53

31 Office and Shop Front Premises When you join TaxAssist Accountants, you will be making a commitment to operate your franchise from shop front premises within 36 months of joining. Our Franchisee Development Managers, senior Support Centre staff and Directors will be able to assist you when considering location, and they can help you source suitable premises within your territory. What do we mean by a shop front? When we created the first shop front in Norwich our main intentions were to create a modern, welcoming, branded office with the aim of departing from the look and characteristics of traditional accountancy practices. Staff & HR Clearly you will not want to run a shop-style operation on your own so you will need to consider taking on staff, outsourcers or sub contract workers. Further guidance on who to look for, and where to find them, will be provided in the practice management section on the support website and on the initial training course. You need to think about planning ahead, and taking on staff to allow you the free time to build up your client base. You also need to take on the right staff and you will need assurances that you have engaged them in accordance with employment law. That s why we have forged relationships with organisations that are specialists in their fields, and we work with you to make this happen. Servicing Clients Whilst Building the Business You cannot be in two places at the same time completing an existing client s accounts and attending fact-finding meetings with prospective clients. However, in the early days you may not feel comfortable appointing a qualified accountant on a realistic salary. We have direct links with a supplier of professional bookkeeping and accounting services that can cover the service provision at a manageable cost, leaving you with operating profit and the time to develop your business. This provider can support you in the early days, and even constitute a part of your own development strategy whereby you choose to use them for a proportion of all of your accounting work. Their costs are worked out as a percentage of your fee to your client, so the expense is highly visible and very affordable. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 30 OF 53

32 Our Shop Fronts We currently have over 177 shop front offices open all around the UK, more can be seen with our case studies at Nick Brook - Huddersfield Malcolm Massey Durham David & Anne Dixon Bishops Stortford Andrew Morton Craven Arms, Shropshire We picked up 3 specific clients from my launch party with a fee income of around It was an excellent day with good press coverage which has significantly increased my presence in the local area. I would recommend a launch party to anyone going into a shop front as I found it excellent for business. It was a tiring day but well worth the effort. Phil Marriott Loughborough UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 31 OF 53

33 Additional Services and Partners We have negotiated arrangements with a host of high quality Additional Service providers, to offer a range of services for you and your clients. We have association with well-known brands which can only help the growth of our network and increase brand awareness, as well as ensuring that franchisees are able to offer a full range of business services to their clients. We have researched each of these providers by following our due diligence process, which involves meeting with them face-to-face, taking a bank reference, reviewing accounts and at least two business references. In many cases these providers have been recommended to us by members of our network, and we are always pleased to receive introductions in this way. Some of these providers pay a commission, this is usual in the course of their business and in every case this is passed on to the franchisee that makes the introduction. There is no hidden agenda - the entire process is transparent. If you are able to profit from any commission made this is seen as an advantage, although it is not key in the decision making process and is not a part of the due diligence process. Examples of Additional Services providers include Independent Financial Advisers, General and Commercial Insurance, Asset and Invoice Financing, Will Writing, Telecoms Solutions, Debt Recovery Services, Business Recovery and Insolvency, Employment advice and many others. Direct Debit Scheme Using the power of the TaxAssist Accountants brand, we have now been able to negotiate a direct debit scheme which is an easy way of taking payments and maintaining good cash flow. This is available not only for you the franchisee, but also for your clients to sell to their clients. This is a major selling point for you, because small businesses would not normally have access to this scheme but they can through TaxAssist Accountants. Direct Debits are a better way of collecting payments than standing orders. The main disadvantage of standing order arrangements is that when you wish to amend monthly payments in any way, consent is needed by the client in written form. This then leads to time having to be spent on processing and chasing forms. The advantage of direct debit is that you are always in control and it does not require the client to sign and return anything if you wish to increase your monthly payments, which you may wish to do as a result of a fee review. The initial set up fee of 250 is included in the franchise fee. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 32 OF 53

34 Exit Strategies It is prudent to consider an exit strategy before even starting a business venture or a franchise. The technical detail regarding exiting the franchise is covered in the Franchise Agreement, though you may feel encouraged to know that your franchise is your business. So long as there has been no breach of the Franchise Agreement, you will have the opportunity to sell your business at the end of the franchise term, although you do need to give us initially 12 months to find a new TaxAssist Accountant to take over from you if you wish to sell your franchise. This is to protect the TaxAssist brand name in the area. We will do our best to find someone to buy and take over your business, but if after 12 months there is still no one lined up to take over from you, then you are free to sell as you wish. Accountancy brokers tell us, fee banks or accountancy businesses change hands at the rate of between 0.90 and 1.10 for every 1 of Gross Recurring Fee depending on the structure of the sale. However, we have seen that the strength of the TaxAssist brand can attract a premium to this multiple. It is also the case now that yearly one off work, if good records are maintained and it can be proven that one off work comes in every year, can be included in the multiple. We recommend that you contact reputable business brokers for advice in this area. On leaving the franchise there are deferred fees to consider. However, so confident are we in our franchise concept and business model that we have introduced a reduced deferred fee in the first year. This fee is 6,000 rather than the standard figure, as explained in the franchise agreement and exists for those franchisees who feel they have made the wrong decision in taking on a franchise. This fee is subject to conditions. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 33 OF 53

35 Franchisee Case Studies Martin Thomas Victoria Central, London After a career spanning 25 years looking after finance in the marketing services industry, Martin Thomas decided it was time to fulfil a lifetime ambition and run his own show. Working for big players in the PR and marketing services industry, including as European CFO for Weber Shandwick and FD of Burson Marsteller, spending two years in Frankfurt, four years in Hong Kong and three years in New York, Martin was looking for an opportunity to channel his creative passion and accountancy knowledge into running his own business. After extensive research into all the options available, Martin, a qualified chartered accountant, decided to take a fresh approach and entered into a franchise partnership with award winning TaxAssist Accountants duo Vince Dalaimo and Debbie Corbett. When I made the big decision to step out by myself, the initial and obvious route was to become a sole practitioner, said Martin. But starting up a new business in the City can be paved with pitfalls, so I started looking into different options. The TaxAssist Accountants brand offered a much stronger and more immediate profile than M. Thomas FCA, in terms of attracting small businesses and individuals needing to complete Self Assessment Tax Returns, which is my target market. Also the help and advice TaxAssist Accountants Support Centre could offer me in terms of tax knowledge and marketing was indispensable. The partnership with Vince and Debbie came out of initial discussions with the national network. Both Vince and Debbie already have a proven track record of success of running TaxAssist shops in Central London and their extensive experience and strong credentials with the banks for financing and lending to TaxAssist operations was critical in helping raise finance for the new shop in Victoria. I ve now been running the TaxAssist Accountants shop in Victoria for 10 months and have built a fee bank of 150,000 and a client base of 140 local businesses and individuals needing tax advice. As a small business myself I love helping other local businessmen and women to grow their businesses by allowing them to focus on what they re good at (running their business!) and explaining tax and accounting issues in simple, plain language in a friendly and approachable style. The network support is exceptional. There are 189 like-minded franchisees who share best practice and a national support centre, which holds regular regional meetings and innovation focus groups and provides training and helpdesk support across technical issues on accounting, tax, software and human resources and other essential areas such as marketing, PR and social media. The beauty of TaxAssist Accountants for me, is in the flexibility it provides. There s still a huge growth potential here and I might open another shop in the next few years, or on the other hand do fewer hours and take lots of holiday. Who knows?! UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 34 OF 53

36 Franck Sidon Chiswick, London With a scientific degree from a prestigious French University and after more than 20 years spent in the Financial Industry and working for banks in places such as Paris, New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, Franck Sidon decided to start something of his own. Why did you go down the franchise route? And why did you choose the TaxAssist Accountants franchise? Starting a new business is a risky endeavour. Using the franchise model reduces the risk significantly and allows you to focus on your core business. Among the limited options available in the tax compliance sector, TaxAssist Accountants was by far the more established brand and the more mature operation. What did you do before taking up a franchise? I worked in the financial sector. Many different roles over the years: I started my career as a trader, moved into finance and operations and even had a stint in technology. What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing? While my accounting knowledge was good, I had no experience dealing with small businesses where processes are sometimes non-existent. TaxAssist Accountants was able to allow me to adapt to the specificities of that market. What is a typical day for you as a franchisee? Most of my day is spent meeting with potential or existing clients. I also spend a lot of time training staff and checking work done by the team. What marketing/promotional tools do you use to grow your franchise? A lot of the marketing is done at head office level. I also maintain a blog with topical advice both in French and in English, which raises the profile of the business. But our best marketing tool is the quality of our work and the referrals it generates. What differentiates your franchise from the competition? My being French made it easier initially to cater to the specificities of the French population in London. We now have almost 50% of our clients who are French speaking and all of our staff are bilingual. In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee? It is important to follow the model. There are many ways to be successful in a business, but when you are part of a franchise, you need to leverage the model pushed by the group. If you are not ready to do this, you are better off on your own. What advice would you give to someone thinking of buying their first franchise? Again, don t be afraid to follow the model. You ll realise soon enough that there are many ways you can be creative and build your niche while remaining aligned with the brand. Don t waste the years of experience of the franchisor: if you follow the rules you will succeed. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 35 OF 53

37 Renee MacKay Edinburgh Renee Mackay is from a training and development/ipd background but had run her own business for nearly ten years before buying into TaxAssist Accountants. Before that she had worked with LloydsTSB and Telewest Communications. Customer service was (and still is) her background. Why did you go down the franchise route? And why did you choose the TaxAssist Accountants franchise? A large part of the work my training company undertook was in the franchise market, so I knew franchising inside out. I also knew TaxAssist very well. So, when I started looking round for a business to get into (because I wanted to stop travelling so much so I could get a dog), TAA was a no-brainer. What did you do before taking up a franchise? Got a shop front location. I wasn t going to get into this franchise without following the shop front model. Fortunately, one presented itself pretty much straight away and I was able to negotiate a good lease. I already knew the model and brand inside out so no research was needed, really. What training and support did you receive initially and ongoing? The initial training programme. The software and we get lots of leads from the Support Centre. What is a typical day for you as a franchisee? I walk into work which takes about an hour I get in for 8.30 ish. We now have a team of 11 so I dedicate my time during the day to them and to client meetings both signing off accounts, tax returns and signing up new business. I have dedicated slots through the day for checking work. When the team goes home I can then do the things I need to do sitting at my desk. So any technical work that I need to do, answering s and catching up with existing clients doing my follow ups and the pro-active stuff needed to run the business. I usually leave the office somewhere between 8.30pm and 9.00pm for the hour long walk home. What marketing/promotional tools do you use to grow your franchise? I do a lot of marketing: networking is very important and I network at least twice a week, preferably more. We are active on social media, advertise in three local magazines, distribute leaflets regularly, have a branded car and the shop front is very visible. We hold receptions and drinks parties in the shop at least twice a year. We sponsor a local rugby team and have an advertising hoarding at their ground; we advertise in their programme and take clients to their annual fund raising ball. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 36 OF 53

38 What differentiates your franchise from the competition? Most accountants try to differentiate themselves on how good they are at the job. But that should be a given after all, all accounts should be about the same. Next accountants try to be different based on their price. I do neither of these things I differentiate my business based on the service experience that our customers receive. Whether it s a 250 tax return or a 3,000 set of accounts I would say all my clients like coming in to see us. All the team know how important service is, too, and they all subscribe to the ethos, too. In your opinion, what makes a successful franchisee? It depends how you define success. For me there are three things. Someone who is prepared to put in more effort than they ever thought they could, someone who understands the brand they are joining inside out and thirdly, someone who is passionate about their business. What advice would you give to someone thinking of buying their first franchise? Easy three pieces of advice: No matter how hard you think you re prepared to work, you will work harder if you re serious about building a business At some point (and sooner rather than later) you have to employ people and at some point (sooner rather than later) staff will break your heart If you have one minute spare in any given day use it to market your business; contact a prospective client, send an , arrange to go networking and never ring the Support Centre complaining you don t have any leads if you aren t marketing locally. One final piece of advice get a dog for the office. My dog comes into the office every day and customers love him. More case studies can be seen at UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 37 OF 53

39 Annual Conference 2015 TaxAssist Accountants celebrated their Annual Conference again in style at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales celebrating 20 years of success. The event was as successful as ever and guests celebrated the evening in style with a formal black tie Gala Dinner. Every year our franchisees get together for a weekend of networking and sharing of best practice. Our franchisees and corporate partners always find the event beneficial and the first year s attendance is included in your franchise fee for yourself and a guest. More Conference highlights can be seen at UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 38 OF 53

40 Frequently Asked Questions: What is the split between qualified accountants and non-qualified accountants? As at February 2014, 87% of our Franchisees are fully qualified accountants or full members of a related professional body such as the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) the Federation of Tax Advisers (FTA) or the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) and we now have a full system in place for the completion and monitoring of Continual Professional Development. We also require new Franchisees, and indeed some existing Franchisees, to pass examinations through the Federation of Tax Advisers to ensure the ongoing technical competence of our network. The initial training course should fully prepare franchisees for this. What financial assistance can I obtain if I need to? We have close contacts with all the major banks and, subject to status etc., they will assist you. If you wish for assistance you should ask to speak to their Franchise Department and discuss the possibility of a loan towards the initial cost of the franchise, equipment etc. and an overdraft facility for working capital. You may need to provide security for any finance obtained although this is not always the case. Can I talk to some of your existing franchisees? We would need your CV and Application Form to assess your suitability before giving names and numbers. We will give you access to the whole network, after you have attended a Discovery Day, and we would encourage you to speak to at least 6 franchisees as part of your research. Do you advise us to obtain independent professional advice before we take out a franchise with you? Yes in all cases. Speak to the BFA, solicitors, accountants, banks etc. and do not take on a franchise with us until you feel completely confident about every aspect of the business and ourselves. You should satisfy yourself on all aspects of our Franchise before joining us. On what basis do you choose your franchisees how selective are you? We are highly selective because we do not want franchisees to join us who are not going to be successful. We look for ambitious, disciplined and capable people with a positive outlook and who are happy, pleasant individuals. Who will be my link with you after I have opened the business? Can I meet some of your staff? Our Support Centre staff are constantly in contact with you. The trainers, help-line staff, and Directors are always available for ongoing assistance. You can meet all these staff before you take on the franchise. You will have a Franchisee Development Manager appointed to help you. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 39 OF 53

41 How much IT knowledge do I need to have? We will only accept business owners who have a good degree of knowledge and experience in using a PC. This is due to the fact that a large part of the work involved is software driven. How do you allocate an area? We grant you the ability to operate as a TaxAssist Accountant within an exclusive area defined by postcodes. We obtain our population figures from Overview Mapping Solutions. Overview Mapping Solutions provides access to top level demographic and business figures to help you determine your territory. What if I decide to incorporate my franchise after I have signed my sole trader agreement? Should you decide to incorporate your franchise, you will be asked to sign a new current limited company franchise agreement. If you do not agree to the terms of that current agreement then you will not be able to incorporate your franchise due to the personal guarantees contained within the limited company agreement. If you do incorporate and sign up to our current agreement, you will have the choice of two expiry dates. Your new limited company agreement can either have an expiry date up to the term of your original agreement or, you can sign up for a further five years. Do you train me? Who pays for my training? Where do I go for training? Full and professional initial and ongoing training is provided by the TaxAssist Accountants Training Academy. The initial training course which lasts for six weeks is included in the franchise package fee as are three additional training days at month two (software and Ltd Company training), a week at month three (Ltd Company training, corporation tax, business development training, and guidance on preparing your own accounts) and three days at month 6 (CCH software training, business development training, payroll & P11D, planning tools and internal reporting). You pay for later training and updates at cost price. Later training as well as other ongoing meetings may be carried out in the North and the South for the convenience of the majority of our franchisees. Currently we hold two update training days per year. Now that accountants are expected to maintain Continuing Professional Development (CPD) throughout their working life, as well as face courses, we also offer innovative online learning aids. We make our training course costs as reasonable as we can for partners/staff etc, because it is beneficial for both franchisee and franchisor to have a well-trained network. Training Academy is charged at 60 pcm per practice. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 40 OF 53

42 What services can I provide? You will be trained on various aspects relating to accounts; tax returns completion, bookkeeping etc and you can offer these services to your clients. The normal procedure is to act for sole proprietors and partnerships initially and then at a later date, following further training, to move on to acting for small limited companies which do not require statutory audit. We avoid company auditing work and complex tax work and you should never take on assignments that you have not been trained for. However, you can call for the assistance of a specialist to help you with your clients affairs if required although there may be a charge involved for this type of service. In these circumstances, you may be able to pass on the cost, with a mark-up, to the client. We have also developed add-on services, which can be offered to clients through suitable third parties and we will continue to develop others. What help would I get? We would give you whatever additional help and assistance we could, including additional training. Because we are monitoring your performance closely and speaking to you regularly, we should spot this at an early date and give you whatever additional assistance you require. Can you demonstrate your capacity to provide the necessary follow-up services after the business has commenced? Our Support Centre is based in Norwich and employs people with a wide range of skills at varying levels in the company. We have a continuous relationship with you, giving you adequate backup and support on all technical, marketing, IT and administration matters. You will receive regular visits and have regular meetings and conversations with a Franchisee Development Manager who will be responsible for helping you to ensure you develop your business in the right way. You will also have periodic visits from a Director or Technical Manager who will help you with any technical issues or concerns you may have and will ensure work continues to be produced to the required standard. We will also arrange periodic regional training workshops throughout the year. The function of our Support Centre is to support our franchisees in all areas of their business and to grow and develop the brand and company. Other franchisees that you will be able to speak to can confirm the level and adequacy of the back-up services. How much net profit can I earn from my operation? This is really down to you but we want you to build up your turnover and profits consistently, aiming for a turnover of 300,000 + after 5 years. Our training covers the staffing requirements for your business and we expect a third of your turnover to cover the costs of running your franchise, with a third payable for your staff, leaving you with a third of your turnover as net profit. What fees do I charge? We give you guidance on the level of fees that you should charge your clients for the various services you provide. This is covered extensively on the training course. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 41 OF 53

43 What hours do I need to work, do I spend all my time completing client accounts and tax returns? You should be prepared to work normal office hours (typically Monday to Friday inclusive, 9am to 5pm plus an occasional early evening or weekend appointment). You should never spend more than half of your time on client accountancy affairs, as you need the balance of your time for marketing and development of your business, staff supervision and office administration. Do you have any minimum performance targets? Only sensible ones. If you do not achieve annual sales of 15,000 in year 1, 37,500 in year 2, 65,000 in year 3, 100,000 in year 4 and 140,000 in year 5, then you are not operating our franchise effectively. If the fees charged by you to your clients do not exceed this year on year increase then we can terminate your Franchise Agreement at any time after the first year. If your annual fees have not reached 140,000 per annum after 5 years then we may not renew the Franchise Agreement at the end of the initial 5-year term. These figures are our minimums, and by keeping to the business model you should comfortably exceed these levels of growth. How do I find my clients? You will get your clients through a combination of leads generated from these agencies, inbound calls to the Support Centre, local marketing, national marketing, networking and referrals. We cannot emphasise enough the importance of networking in your local area and the benefits this will bring to your business. We always recommend that you spend no more than half your time on completing client accounts and the other half of your time networking and meeting people in the business community - to gain introductions and recommendations. Our most successful franchisees are those that approach this area with confidence and enthusiasm, appointing staff in a timely fashion and focusing on Business Development. You will obtain some clients from passing trade. We can advise you how to source business lists to develop your database of potential clients. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 42 OF 53

44 What advertising and promotional expenditure do you incur and do we have to contribute to it? There is a Brand Awareness fund into which you pay at the rate of 1,920 per annum calculated and payable on a monthly basis increasing by 60 per year. This fund is used to promote the brand on a national basis. You are responsible for your own local advertising and for the cost of any leads provided to you (currently 55 plus VAT per qualified lead). What help will I receive in local advertising and promotion? On our support website there is a selection of advertisements that you may choose from and for a nominal fee we will ensure that the advert is tailored to your specification, with your personal details and sent to your chosen publication on time. It is down to you to pay for local marketing and you will need to budget for this. During the initial training you will be given guidance on what marketing works and will be given help to complete your own Marketing Plan. Are there any returns that I need to submit to the Support Centre? Yes, franchisees must submit a MIN form to the Support Centre before the 10th of the following month, which gives details of client stock and revenue information for the last completed month. In addition, franchisees are required to submit copy VAT returns and annual accounts as and when they are completed. We also require your client list on an annual basis. What exclusive rights do you get? You will be allocated an exclusive marketing territory defined by postcode boundaries and population. No other TaxAssist Accountant can market directly in your area or vice versa. When you and other franchisees carry out local advertising in publications covering more than one franchise area then the normal procedure is to share costs and divide out responses according to the geographical areas covered by you. However, should you receive a genuine recommendation from a potential client outside your exclusive marketing territory then you can act for that person. I perceive that it will be too expensive to go into shop front premises in my area. Is it absolutely necessary for me to make this move? Yes it is! This is the way we will build a strong brand throughout the whole of the UK. Don t forget that you will have up until the end of the third year to do this. We have franchisees who have managed to find good shop front premises when at first glance there appeared to be nothing remotely suitable. It is location, location, location translated as visibility, accessibility and affordability. This will help you to achieve the growth that we both seek. What happens if I do not like the business? How can I terminate the contract? You must fully consider the position before you take on the franchise and we certainly would not take on anybody we thought was not going to be suitable. However, if you do decide at a later date that you have made a mistake and you do want to terminate the agreement then this is possible, subject to fees as quoted in the Franchise Agreement. There is a reduced termination fee of 5,000 if you decide to leave within the first year. (Terms and Conditions apply). UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 43 OF 53

45 Does this contract permit me to sell my business? Yes, the client base is a considerable asset built up and owned by you. The potential sales value of the goodwill of the business may typically be between x1 and x1.25 gross fees. There are various deferred fees to consider which are laid out in our franchise agreement, which you would factor into your selling price. Having assessed the value of your business, you must offer it to us in the first instance. Assuming we do not purchase your business, so long as there has been no breach of the Franchise Agreement, you will have the opportunity to sell your business at the end of the franchise term, although you do need to give us 12 months to find a new TaxAssist Accountant to take over from you if you wish to sell your franchise. This is to protect the TaxAssist brand name in the area. Hopefully we will find someone to take over your business, but if after 12 months there is still no one lined up to take over from you, then you are free to sell as you wish. If you dispose of your business to someone who is not going to be a new franchisee of TaxAssist Accountants, we will require a fee to be paid to us as set out in the Franchise Agreement. Should the purchaser wish to continue as a TaxAssist Accountant then, subject to our approval as to their suitability, we would require them to attend formal training just as you did yourself. Certain fees are payable for this arrangement as detailed in the Franchise Agreement. For how long is the franchise granted and is there a fee payable on renewal? The term of the Franchise Agreement is 5 years but this is renewable by you every 5 years for an administration fee of 500 assuming you have operated the franchise as set out in the Franchise Agreement including meeting your minimum targets. In most cases we anticipate franchisees will renew the agreement to continue the franchise every 5 years until they dispose of it at some future date. We also now offer at our discretion a 10 year Franchise Agreement. What if I already have clients before becoming a TaxAssist Accountant? We have taken on some accountants who already have a block of clients of their own acquired during the period before they joined us. We have been asked to consider whether some relief can be given against charging our normal rates of Management Service Fees. Our policy for this scenario is subject to a minimum fee base of 5000 being involved, we will allow the fees to be kept in a separate pool and for two years only we will not charge Management Service Fees on these fees. After two years these fees will be amalgamated with other fees acquired during the TaxAssist Accountants Franchise term to form one pool and full Management Service Fees will be payable on the total pool of fees. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 44 OF 53

46 I am not certain that the goal of 250,000/ 300,000 turnover and/or 400/500 clients is achievable in five years are you? Yes, and some franchisees have even bettered this, although each franchise grows at its own pace and it may take longer in some cases. Certainly franchisees who commence their business in shop front premises will have a big advantage as regards client growth compared with those who start from a conventional office, who will build up their business more slowly. Not all franchisees will necessarily build up to these higher figures and it is really up to them how far and how quickly they want to grow their business although we do expect them to have achieved at least 140,000 of client fees after five years. Of course, we cannot guarantee what a franchisee will achieve ultimately it is down to each individual franchisee to set their goals and, with our help, ensure they are achieved. Speak to any accountant in private practice you know and you will hear the message that there is lots and lots of work being provided by the self-employed and small business community often more than most accountants can easily cope with. The problem for accountants is often how to cope with large volumes of requirements for their services rather than scratching around looking for new clients. Feel free to speak to any of our existing franchisees for confirmation of this. How has the increase from 1m to 5.6m for the small company audit exemption turnover limit affected TaxAssist Accountants? Strictly speaking, as the small business champions the pool of potential clients for franchisees is opened up significantly and you could go fishing for bigger business. However this brings with it a number of risks. Companies turning over up to 5.6m are more likely to have complicated transactions, which bring added risks and research may be required regularly to service these clients. They could therefore be less profitable and bring additional risk. Clients in the 1m to 5.6m category will naturally take longer than a smaller client, and a franchisee may find they neglect smaller clients as their Core Business in an effort to service these larger clients. The TaxAssist Accountants business model and the strapline The Small Business Champions refers to both the clients and the way of working. There is security in operating with small business clients, each with a modest average annual fee in that if some of the clients leave, the risk to the overall business is negligible. Therefore, TaxAssist Accountants will continue to service small business clients i.e. those with a turnover of less than 2m as their Core Business. However if a franchisee wishes to take on a client with a turnover more than 2m then they would need to make sure that the annual fee for this client must not be more than 3% of the overall fee bank and that the client issues are within their technical capability. This is our guideline on risk management of your portfolio, and a best practice guide. More frequently asked questions can be found at if you have any further questions, please contact the Recruitment Team. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 45 OF 53

47 Qualifications The TaxAssist Franchise is open to both Qualified and Non-Qualified accountants, if you were to join us as a non-qualified accountant you would need to work towards your Federation of Tax Advisors Exam as a minimum requirement which you don t need to have on day one and we will help support you on. Do I need a Practicing Certificate? Yes - Institutions vary on their requirement for practicing certificates the route to obtaining one depends on which Institute you belong too. We would advise you to contact them direct to find out their requirements. ICAEW - They confirm that a practising certificate is required before you engage in public practice. CIMA - confirms that it requires ALL Members in Practice to register with CIMA. Members in Practice must then apply for a practising certificate after one year and within three years of registration. AAT - The AAT confirm that if you are a full or fellow AAT member and you are offering accountancy, taxation or related consultancy services to the public you must become an AAT member in practice ACCA Members and Students The advice given below is our understanding of ACCA rules and regulations and is not meant to be a definitive guide. If you have any doubts as to your eligibility to obtain a practising certificate then you must contact ACCA who will guide you. ACCA Members - If you are a full member of ACCA you must have a practising certificate when you join TaxAssist Accountants as a franchisee. If you do not have this, then ACCA will require you to dispose of your franchise or resign as an ACCA member. ACCA Students - If you are a registered student of ACCA then you must relinquish this if you join TaxAssist Accountants as a franchisee. Practising Certificate - In order to gain a practising certificate you must have been admitted to membership. Additionally you must have obtained three years work experience at an ACCA approved employer practising certificate development. Two years can be obtained after admittance to membership. This experience must be recorded in a Practising Certificate Training Record and verified by an appropriately qualified principal. You may still be able to obtain a practicing certificate if you can get your previous employers sign off on work that would be relevant. We strongly suggest you speak to the ACCA yourself and explain your circumstances. More information on qualifications can be found on our website, but our recommendation would be to speak directly to your institute for their requirements. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 46 OF 53

48 Meet the UK Recruitment Team Jody Fiveash UK Recruitment Manager Jody joins us as the newest member if the Recruitment Team as the UK Recruitment Manager responsible for the development and growth of our network. Jody brings with her a wide range of experience and understanding of recruitment as well as business development and marketing working with a wide range of clients. Jody will be your key contact throughout the recruitment process and if you have any questions then she will be able to answer them for you Clare Alexander - UK Recruitment Executive Clare joined TaxAssist Accountants in March 2012 where she initially worked for the Inbound Team. In February 2013 she joined the UK Recruitment Team where she works closely with the UK Recruitment Manager. Prior to joining TAD Clare worked for HSBC for 31 years where she had experience in both Branch Banking and Commercial Banking. By using this experience and knowledge of businesses, Clare is able to offer support and guidance to both our new and existing Franchisees. Clare will work closely with our Prospective Franchisees as they complete their Business Plans and will help our existing network of Franchisees as they grow their businesses and when the time comes for them to realise the asset they have built. Nikki Brister & Sherie Reynolds support the UK Recruitment Team behind the scenes, they take care of the administration and provide general support. Technical Support Team Our highly qualified Technical Team are here to support you and your staff within your practice with any Technical or Software enquires. Ray Clarke Group Head of Technical, FCCA, CTA After serving in the Royal Navy for 5 ½ years, Ray first entered the world of tax and accountancy with the Inland Revenue. He then moved over to the accountancy profession and spent 26 years working in practice on the affairs of owner managed businesses in the small and medium business sector. Ray joined TaxAssist in September 2014, straight from a specialist London tax practice where he was Senior Corporate and Business Tax Manager. He is both FCCA and CTA qualified. Ray has responsibility for all Technical aspects of our business, primarily support and training, the visit & audit programmes and being the main contact point for our technical partners, including CCH. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 47 OF 53

49 Doug Blake - Senior Technical Manager, FCA Doug Blake qualified with a small firm of accountants in Leicester, and has spent time in both practice and industry. Doug took on a TaxAssist Accountants franchise in October 1999 and after selling his franchise, joined our support centre team in July Doug is responsible for Technical Support. Tim Duffield - Technical Planning Manager, BA Hons & FCCA Tim is FCCA qualified and joined us in 2009 from a large local practice. His main experience is of preparing annual and management accounts for small companies as well as preparing VAT and Corporation Tax returns. Tim s role is to manage technical related project work and to perform technical audits for franchisees. Daren Tilson - Accounts and Tax Software Training Manager, studying ACCA Daren is responsible for the delivery of the CCH Software training and brings to TaxAssist over 12 years commercial experience as an Accountancy Software Consultant and Trainer. Having worked for resellers of SunSystems to large and blue chip companies, he rose through the industry starting as a Support Consultant then to Support Manager, Pre-Sales Manager, Project Manager and Operations Manager whilst always delivering the software training to new and existing clients. Being used to working with accountants and accounting staff globally at all levels from office juniors to Directors, he is keen to help everyone realise the potential and ensure the network is proficient in, the use of this powerful tool that is provided, so it can enhance and not hinder the working day. Daren is currently studying towards his ACCA qualification and is part AAT qualified. He is keen to help with any CCH software training or support issues. Graham Taylor - Technical Manager, CTA Graham is a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) with over 30 years experience. This has been with accountancy practices ranging from the top 4 to the small regional practice. He has also had a short spell in industry where his experience was used in dealing with UK as well as overseas tax issues for a UK business. He has wide experience dealing with various personal and business taxes including National Insurance. Graham delivers the tax training to new franchisees. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 48 OF 53

50 Philip Youngs - Technical Manager, part qual ACCA, AAT Philip is a fully qualified MAAT and part qualified ACCA accountant and has had a career spanning 20 years ranging from practice and industry. His practice experience ranged from small regional practices through to the Top 2 where his primary focus was the preparation of Annual and Management Accounts from incomplete records to completion for small Limited Companies, Sole Traders and Partnerships. This also included VAT returns along with completing Personal and Corporation Tax Returns. Philip joined TaxAssist in 2011 as a Technical Manager providing Technical Support to Franchisees and their staff. Andy Gibbs - Technical Manager, ATT, CTA Andy joined us from one of the big four accountancy firms where he looked after the affairs of high net worth individuals and private equity executives. Prior to this he worked at a local regional practice where he dealt with the affairs of owner managed businesses and private individuals. Andy has dealt with both tax compliance and tax advisory projects across a range of industry sectors. Andy is a qualified Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) and holds the STEP Advanced Certificate in Trust and Estate Accounting. Samantha Skyring - Technical Manager, ACCA, MAAT Samantha Skyring qualified in 2013 with a medium sized firm of accountants in Norwich. In the 7 and a half years there, she developed strong relationships with her clients and helped them with bookkeeping, VAT returns, Payroll, Accounts preparation and tax issues. She is both ACCA and MAAT qualified. Sam joined the technical support team in November 2014 as a Technical Manager. Further to the listed staff, we have 24 additional staff to fully support you in growing a successful business UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 49 OF 53

51 How do I find out more? Discover TaxAssist At our Norwich Support Centre we hold Discovery Days. Our Discovery Day is the chance for you to come along and meet us at our Support Centre to discover more about our Franchise offering and our network. A Discovery Day is a valuable and informative day that gives you the opportunity to find out about our franchise in a friendly and non-pressured environment. You will have the chance to find out about us, meet our highly skilled team and ask us any questions you may have to find out if a TaxAssist Franchise is right for you. Top Topics on a Discovery Day: Our history and what makes TaxAssist a unique franchise What do I receive for my franchise fee The TaxAssist Network Our Award Winning training The support we provide to make your business a success Meeting the banks and bank funding How to market and develop your business successfully Our Business Plan And anything else you would like to know! And at the end of the day you will have the opportunity to have a one to one so you are able to ask us any questions personal to you about the franchise, and your next steps if you wish to find out more about joining us. Our new franchisee Amir Zaka, Hackney tells us about his Discovery Day experience: I attended a Discovery Day looking to find out more about TaxAssist and wanted to meet the people behind the franchise. I found the whole day beneficial as it helped me clear up the question of do I want to run my accountancy practice. The day helped me differentiate between TaxAssist and their competitors and gave me an excellent understanding of how TaxAssist operates. It was good to listen to a range of presenters throughout the day which gave me an in depth understanding of the whole franchise in a friendly yet professional manner. I would definitely recommend to anyone thinking about their own accountancy practice to attend a Discovery Day with TaxAssist to realise the benefits of this brand We recognise that investing in a franchise is a big decision, not just for you but also for your family, you are welcome to bring a guest with you, whether it be a business partner or a family member, that way they can learn first-hand about us and of course to meet us too. UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 50 OF 53

52 Next Steps If you would like to take your interest further and find out more about our network with no obligation, then please contact us on: or us on: or Our Network of Franchisees is expanding rapidly, join us now to be part of our success!! UK PROSPECTUS PAGE 51 OF 53

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54 TaxAssist Accountants Second Floor Bankside 300 Peachman Way Broadland Business Park NORWICH Norfolk NR7 0WF Telephone: Follow franchisetax