May Loop round-up
Here’s our quick recap of the news and updates shared on The Loop in May.
Colleagues
A warm welcome to Platt Rushton:
We were delighted to announce that Platt Rushton is now part of the Affinia group. A huge warm welcome to our new colleagues – we look forward to getting to know you over the coming weeks and months.
New team members:
In May we welcomed seven new joiners to Affinia, across our Accounts, Audit, Payroll, Finance and Business Support teams. We hope you’re all settling in well and enjoying these early days as Affinia colleagues!
Work anniversaries:
We celebrated 33 work anniversaries across the business, ranging from 1 year to 24 years.
Exam success:
Five of our clever team members passed professional exams, including Amy Catling, Tax Semi Senior at Ipswich, who is now ACCA qualified and Karen Self, Bookkeeper at Halstead, who passed her AAT level 3 bookkeeping exam and is now AAT qualified!
Instant Rewards:
Nathan Byford, Tax Trainee at Colchester, received an Instant Reward for taking the time to explain everything from internal processes to technical training to new staff members, supporting the Private Client Team.
Sam Luscombe, Trainee Accountant at Chelmsford, received an Instant Reward for supporting colleagues in addition to managing his own responsibilities, demonstrating a strong willingness to learn and consistently reflecting the qualities of Aspiration and Teamwork from our RIALTO values.
Lucy Jennings, Accounts Manager at Ipswich, received an Instant Reward for stepping up to take over a large client portfolio, consistently delivering impressive results and demonstrating a strong level of commitment throughout.
The full People & Culture update can be found here: People & Culture May Update – Affinia Marketing Blog
You can also get to know the People & Culture team better here: Meet your People Team! – Affinia Marketing Blog
Affinia job vacancies:
We showcased several vacancies for Accounts Managers in this blog post: Accounts Manager vacancies – Affinia Marketing Blog, including a reminder about our staff referral scheme.
There are various other vacancies, from front of house support to an Associate Director in our Corporate Finance team, spanning many of our service lines. You can view the full listing of openings on our website: Job Vacancies Archive | East & South East | Affinia
Meeting rooms – being considerate to each other:
Here’s a reminder of the guidance we shared on booking meeting rooms Best Practices for Booking Meeting Rooms – Affinia Marketing Blog
Cyber security awareness training:
Over the last couple of months, our IT team have shared information about cyber security training for all staff. To recap, there are eight modules to be completed within the next four months. They are all short courses under 5 minutes and have a quiz at the end. Please don’t forget to complete these and if you have any questions, you can reach out to David Edwards.
CCH migration for Sutton:
On another IT related point, a huge thank you to those involved with supporting the migration of time and fees from our Sutton office CCH to Affinia’s version of CCH. We encountered a few teething problems, but it was great to see the team pulling together to help fix the issues.
Clients
New client wins spreadsheet *reminder*
As covered in our blog post here, New Wins Spreadsheet – Affinia Marketing Blog, our business support team provided a reminder to complete and update the new client wins spreadsheet, which tracks leads, client wins and losses. Many thanks for your continued support in an important area of business information tracking.
Private Client Tax updates:
In their May newsletter, the Private Client Tax team updated us on some staff news, including good luck wishes for recent exams and the work our new team members have been tackling. There was also a focus on new business in the pipeline and a successful win, following an internal referral to the team.
Finally, they shared news of a new firm they have partnered with in Dubai, Sanctuary LLC, where we are referring work in both directions.
You can check out the Private Client newsletter in full here: http://affinia.fusion3media.co.uk/pc-tax-newsletter/
P11D deadline looming:
The deadline for submitting 2025 P11D forms to HMRC is 6th July, and it’s critical that businesses act now to ensure they remain compliant with UK tax regulations.
Our Tax team recently published an article that highlights the services they offer to help navigate the complexities of P11D reporting with confidence and accuracy: P11D Deadline is Fast Approaching – Are You Ready? | East & South East | Affinia
Please contact your local tax team for any assistance with this matter.
VAT on private school fees:
Our tax team also shared an article that highlights the changes to VAT on private school fees and how we can advise private education providers on how to meet new requirements. You can read the full article here: VAT on Private School Fees – A Small Win for Local Authority Funded Pupils | East & South East | Affinia
Property Tax team update:
In their update, our Property Tax team highlighted:
- Their new team members and team milestones
- An impressive new client win which they have collaborated on with Richard Lane. This is advising an £80m hotel development client on their UK and offshore corporate structures, UK Corporation Tax exposure, and addressing a variety of operational tax issues relating to land and property.
- Another recent case where they helped a client prevent a £60k tax liability
- Key pointers on ATED filings
- Some interesting HMRC activity and case law developments
The full update can be viewed here: May Property Tax Newsletter – Affinia Marketing Blog
The Corporate Finance newsletter:
In their May update, our CF team examined Management Buy-Outs (MBOs), highlighting their benefits through a recent client case study. You can view this feature here: http://affinia.fusion3media.co.uk/cf-monthly-newsletter/
The Audit monthly newsletter:
Last month our audit team updated us on:
- Our customised MyWorkingPapers (Affinia Audit software) templates for CASS and Academy audits, to help enhance and streamline our services.
- The Orpington team’s integration journey with the Affinia audit function.
- Our collaboration with FRC Scalebox, an initiative which aims to enhance skills and ensure the highest quality of audit standards across the Affinia Group.
The full article can be viewed here: Monthly Audit Newsletter – Affinia Marketing Blog
Digital Solutions update:
Our Digital Solutions team provided an overview of the areas they can help our clients, and how to spot opportunities to promote these. For more practical information on this, watch this space as they’ll soon be hosting some lunch and learn sessions to offer quick refreshers on the apps we use, showcase the latest developments in digital tools, and share practical tips.
Our team highlighted the areas they’ve been exploring to add more value in the work they do. This included the latest AI-powered solutions to streamline processes, especially in accounting.
This month’s app spotlight focussed on Translucent, which makes it easier to connect and consolidate multiple Xero entities, giving teams real time visibility and control across jurisdictions, without needing to switch between systems.
To read this update in full, please visit: Digital Solutions Updates – Affinia Marketing Blog
Community
We were delighted to share some Community Updates from across our locations, including:
- Our team in India visited Dharmshala to trek the Triund peak, part of the lower Himalayan chain of mountains. At c.2,900m, the trek was a total of 18kms in a single day and our entire AIAI team managed to complete the climb. Congratulations to the team in India for this achievement!
- Our Chelmsford office took part in Football Shirt Day, proudly wearing the shirts of their teams and raising £75 for the Bobby Moore Fund, part of Cancer Research UK.
- Surag Simon completed work experience with Harry Weller, Senior Audit & Accounts Manager, and left some lovely feedback on their time at Affinia.
- Elliot Keefe, Tax Manager, completed the London Marathon and raised over £3,000 for Asthma + Lung UK, in memory of his Nan.
You can read the full community update here: April Community Updates – Affinia Marketing Blog
That covers the key updates from May. If you have any questions about anything covered here, please get in touch with the head of service line as appropriate.
Have a great day everyone!