Healthcare Specialism

The partners at Sowerby act for more than 100 healthcare professionals, offering a wealth of knowledge and experience. Our professional clients include GP practices and individual GP’s, pharmacies, care homes, opticians and many other therapists and consultants. Armed with our detailed knowledge of this sector, we can help you achieve your day to day targets and long-term aims.

This sector is a difficult one to navigate, with the near-daily changes in NHS regulation adding to the regular challenges healthcare professionals face. It is therefore of the highest importance that your accountant understands the needs of the business and of the individual partners. We at Sowerby act for over 100 GP’s and GP practices, gaining over 80 years’ experience working in this sector.

 

Over the years we have accumulated a huge amount of information which we now are able to use to benchmark your accounts, ensuring that they compare favourably with other practices. In this process we can also recommend your practice’s optimum capacity and help you attract new partners to guarantee succession.

 

We can offer a wealth of advice and support to your management team, with our partners providing regular seminars to keep you abreast of new developments.

As with the practice we understand the challenges currently faced by GP partners and can offer detailed and comprehensive advice. We work closely with the individual GP partners as we know that their needs can differ from those of the practice.

If you are a locum, then you require quality advice just like a GP Partner. Severe penalties and tax implications can be incurred against your business if it does not comply with old and new tax regimes.

There are more than 11,000 pharmacies operating within England, with 40% independently owned. Many of these pharmacies have been victim to the general drive to reduce overall costs to the NHS and, as a result, profitability has suffered over the past few years.

 

We understand the needs of your sector and can offer detailed accounting services. These include; reviewing margins, reviewing wage costings, benchmarking these to ensure profitability is in keeping with other pharmacies.

 

We are experienced in situations where independent pharmacies are held as part of the owner’s retirement strategy. We at Sowerby can assist and offer advice to ensure maximisation of this asset when it comes time to sell.

 

Whilst we understand that drug dispensing doctors are different, the basic income, costs and challenges are similar.

Our ageing population has meant that the demand for care homes has increased significantly. This has come with significant profitability pressures as a result of austerity and the National Minimum Wage (NMW).

 

There has recently been a shift in emphasis, with more resources being directed to care in the community. There is also an ever-increasing demand in the sector regarding mental health issues.

 

There is a real need for an adviser who understands these challenges. We can help analyse your occupancy rates, key food and wage margins, and benchmark these with others in the sector.

 

The largest asset in the business is the care home itself. Due to its specialist nature, you can claim significant capital allowances for the integral features – we can handle these claims in a timely and efficient manner.

 

The recent changes to the PAYE system, as well as the introduction of the auto-enrolment workplace pension legislation, has made business payroll an onerous task to manage. Sowerby offers a payroll outsourcing service, allowing you to concentrate on the day to day running of the business.

 

Our services are individually tailored on a client by client basis but generally include the following:

Cash Management

 

Management of practice cashflows is one of our top priorities, as well as ensuring that the practice and all individual doctors have sufficient cash to meet obligations and tax demands.

 

Our services to this end are:

  • Preparation and presentation of quarterly or monthly management accounts.
  • Planning a drawing and tax saving/payment schedule.
  • Preparation of projections and cashflow forecasts.
  • Provision of book-keeping and payroll services.
  • Strategic Assistance.

 

The need to look at the long-term goals and aspirations creates further need for specialist advice. We at Sowerby can assist the practice, partners and management with advice on:

 

  • Securing finance.
  • Cost and notional rent and service charges.
  • Estates and Technology Transformation Funds (ETTF) or improvement grants.
  • GP practice mergers and takeovers.
  • Retirement and succession planning.
  • Partnership agreements.
  • Incorporation of the business – Consideration of the merits of incorporation.

 

An increasing number of locums are offering their services through a limited company; however, the tax implications can be far reaching and onerous. There is a particular need to review potential VAT implications, a tax that most medical professionals and their advisers ignore to their peril.

 Our services include:
  • Preparation of your Self-Assessment tax return.
  • Review of your tax position with advice on tax planning to mitigate your tax liabilities.
  • Preparation and processing of your personal expense claims.
  • Advice and assistance with Locum incomes.
  • Advice in respect of the tax implications of the NHS pension scheme.

 

Whilst we are not independent financial advisers, we do work closely with several specialists in the sector, and together we are able to assist in the following areas:

  • Review and advice on annual allowance and lifetime allowance pension rules.
  • Assistance and advice on retirement planning.

We have a large number of clients in this sector, and as such there is a large amount of data at our disposal which allows us to help our clients and their businesses very effectively. We at Sowerby can provide a detailed benchmarking service to review the performance of our business against hundreds of others in the same sector.

 

Needless to say, benchmarking is carried out without jeopardising confidentiality.

WHO CAN HELP YOU?

Our Healthcare Sector Specialists

Whether you are looking for a new accountant or simply would like a second opinion on your business, we offer a free initial meeting consultation on an absolutely no obligation basis with one of our industry specialists.

Should you require any further information please contact:

Richard Skewis

rds@sowerby-llp.co.uk

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