There is no doubt that with the Six Nations currently in full swing, rugby fever has gripped the nation and you cannot open a newspaper or switch on the radio or television without being overwhelmed by some obscure reference to an act or combination of events in a rugby match being analysed, dissected and assessed by experts, all of whom seem to have a different interpretation of what the outcome should have been. It does make it hard to see how any form of cohesive situation can come from it all and how any form of structure for the game can ever be possible. Even the referee at times finds it impossible to decide what did happen and what should happen next. So what does he do? He refers it to the Television Match Official or TMO who then, armed with copious slow motion re-runs and countless requests for a different angle arrives at a definitive answer. In those situations how many of us are amazed to find what we thought was obvious (a try – a foot not in touch – a pass going backwards) was in fact not the case and that with the ability for real analysis and review we can see he did drop the ball over the line or he did put his foot in touch or the ball did go forward. It certainly shows the value of reassessing a situation armed with all the facts and some specialised knowledge.

It’s very similar when we consider the situation regarding Embedded Capital Allowances in commercial property. These capital allowances are highly specialised and can be complex to identify and quantify. In many cases assumptions are made concerning the potential for them being available or the belief that the accountant handling the general accounting functions of the business will have done it already. Experience tells us that frequently that is not the case and in reality many successful and highly professional accounting firms prefer to refer this to their own “TMO” which in this field of taxation specialism is us. The accountant can deal with all aspects of capital allowances that can be seen or easily identified but when items are embedded in the building or are obscure items that are not easily recognised as qualifying then the best of the professionals involved may be unable to give fully informed advice and the best of those recognise the need to proactively involve specialists such as us to ensure their client is best served and best advised. If an international referee who is refereeing a rugby match in front of millions recognises they need specialist input then its just the same when highly professional and proficient accountants, solicitors or commercial property agents refer clients to us so we can use our highly specialised in house team to go through the review process.

This was very clearly seen only recently when an accountant who was aware of our services spoke to us about a client who owned a small care home group. They had not long taken over responsibility for the accounts and the client had never previously been advised of any potential for Embedded Capital Allowances. It was in fact an even bigger assumption than that as the client was convinced that nothing would be available and that it could be a costly exercise that would in the end deliver them no benefit. Nothing could have been further from the truth because it costs nothing at all to find out so it’s possible to have a full review at no upfront cost with fees being only charged once the exercise had been done and allowances identified and those then being accepted by HMRC. Once the client realised he would not be expected to pay anything if nothing was found he was happy to let us proceed even though he still felt we would find nothing. We got on with the job in hand, surveys were done, necessary documentation accessed and a report completed. Even though it involved 8 properties the whole thing was completed within a 10 week period and submitted successfully to HMRC. Allowances in excess of £1Million were found which resulted in significant repayments from HMRC with further tax reductions due over the next few years as the allowances continue to be used up. What looked like a situation that could not deliver any positive outcome for the client was in fact a situation that put valuable cash back into their care home business and will continue to help improve cash flow year on year for a number of years and all done with zero risk, no interruption of services and without involving the client in any disruption to their busy schedules. The lesson to be learned is never think it’s been done or that it can’t be done and always remember that finding out costs nothing and risks nothing – not finding out might though. Those who own any form of commercial property should really take heed and get in touch to get their own situation assessed for no cost, no commitment and no assumption.

We don’t know who will win the Rugby World Cup but we do know that making assumptions will never be part of influencing the outcome.