HMRC sponsor new TV series The Business Inspector

RobH · Expert

Have you heard about this?

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Well that's my TV sorted for this evening then. Cheers Rob.

I'll have money on it that it's a camera crew following a clip board wielding inspector around dodgy businesses to show off the powers that they wield rather than actually offering any help

Looking forwards to watching it.

Talk later.

Shaun.

PJC Bookkeeping · Veteran Member

Thanks for reminding me about this, Rob. I read the review in the one of the weekend supplements this morning. Sounds interesting so I will probably watch it.

Peter

PJC Bookkeeping Services

RobH · Expert

Not sure if hmrc are just sponsoring the show or doing any advising, but should be worth watching.

Neil · Senior Member

It should be fairly good promotion too, I'd have thought.

Neil

RobH · Expert

Yes hopefully there will be a lot of businesses in a right mess and the advisers will say'get a bookkeeper'!

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Yer right.

It will be fraud and illegal workers and someone from the revenue wearing their underpants outside their trousers to go in and show the muscle that they've now got.

Suspect that this will only make prime time TV if they get to kick a few doors in. Which of course since the merger with customs they can do now.

Used to be an old adage. Always pay the VAT man. The revenue might come knocking on your door but the VAT man can just take it off its hinges!

That merger must have been like Christmas at the revenue inspectors offices!

RobH · Expert

I'm not totally convinced it is hmrc, I think it will be business advisers and hmrc just get a chance to plug tax returns, like Harveys and Corrie...we'll see...

Peasie · Expert

Can this be watched at a later date on the computer? Like a Channel 5 version of iPlayer?
Which reminds me - there's still that thing on Radio 4 I only listened to the first part of.

semsley · Guru

I bet Business Link are in on it somewhere.

littlebookkeeper · Senior Member

Why was it you only listened to the first part of the radio 4 show, did you fall assleep? biggrin

I have sky ( I know don't hit me!) so will sky plus it, definitely worth a watch anyway.

Like the avatar Peasie, but errr what's the significance? confuse

Carole

Marky65 · Guru

I won't hit you carole, I am just going to login to my sky account now to plug it in. That way I won't have to go infront of my tv and find something more interesting to do than updating profiles and directory submissions.

Regards

Mark

chellawson · Senior Member

Oh, I'm going to miss it as I'll be in college, but look forward to hearing all about it on here tomorrow.

Michelle

Amanda · Expert

HMRC webiste says they have sponsered it, so could be interesting.

A

semsley · Guru

Soapbox time again - I don't believe the government should be spending our money on sponsoring any programme.

Ann-marie · Senior Member

Just saw this post in time - i'm tuning in now!

RobH · Expert

erm, nice wig Hilary.

Ann-marie · Senior Member

Hi Rob....yeah it must be a wig - looks a bit low though.

I can't believe 'leaf it out' those flowers don't look good - very old fashioned.

Quite a funny program!

Ann-marie · Senior Member

Oh if anyone missed the program - here's the link:

http://www.five.tv/programmes/documentaries/the-business-inspector

RobH · Expert

Hi Ann-Marie,

Hilary is obviously a smart cookie but I think she needs to quit the face lifts andf get an interior decorator!!

But I liked her, I think she is a salesperson through and through and we can all learn from that. I think as bookkeepers/accounting types we are able to be quite dispassionate about the various functions of business and are able to see where things work and where they don't for our clients (probably more so than for ourselves) and when it comes down to it, whatever the product, however well the books are maintained, there is no business without making a sale and the whole process starts from there.
So what did everyone think?

semsley · Guru

I remembered her when I saw her, she's been on that millionaire programme where they give donations to who they think are worthy causes.

She's a good businesswoman but really don't you think the florists should have had some advice from their accountant.

RobH · Expert

yes, like stop pocketing the cash! HMRC would look at that 11% gross margin and disbelieve them (though since they are sponsoring the programme I don't suppose they can look into it now...could give plenty of people the right to bring it up in a similar situation!), they would then ask how they managed to live after continuous years of large losses and then ask Bank of Mum and brother to show how they have funded it. Then the girls would have to mention their betting winnings! Apart from that I thought the florists did a good job of turning it around but of course they would have had to work incredibly hard to get their foot in the door of that hotel, but good for them nonetheless.

Amanda · Expert

Hi couldn't quite believe they didn't know there year end date!! And that they had lost £11K.

I supposed I just don't understand people that don't understand or like figures, to me its 2nd nature. I can see how small businesses get into trouble because they don't know whats going on financially. I didn't think much of their flower displays. Good to see that it was possible to turn it around though, it will give people food for thought that it is possible.

Will be interesting to see the next programme.
I agree Rob she need an interior designer!!!

A

RobH · Expert

Hi Amanda, well I guess taste is subjective, but I couldn't help think 'all that money spent on all that tat'!

Peasie · Expert

littlebookkeeper wrote:

Why was it you only listened to the first part of the radio 4 show, did you fall assleep?
I have sky ( I know don't hit me!) so will sky plus it, definitely worth a watch anyway.

Like the avatar Peasie, but errr what's the significance?

Carole

Only the first part was available at the time. First in the series I meant.
As for the avatar - everyone had cats and dogs in their avatars - so I thought I'd have a sheep.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Morning People,

not awfully impressed with the program.

With the backing of the revenue you would have thought that they would have been able to afford a bit of the time of someone of the magnitude of Theo, Richard, Sir Alan or Lord Digby. But no, we got someone who isn't someone that I felt should have been listening to me rather than the other way around.

I watched it anyway but thought all the way through that the advice being dished out by the expert was no more than that which would have come from any of us.

Thing that annoyed me most about the program though was where the business owners were summoned to the house. They came through that huge door into the palatial living room and directly behind the door was a vase on a table that they had to navigate around.

Think that I've had too many children as every time I watched someone come through the door I just wanted to move the vase back a bit!

Wouldn't agree that it was all tat. Looked to be some very nice pieces and I did really like the house... But was there any need to showcase the persons house in a program that was supposed to be about business?

Anyway, Morning all,

Shaun.

RobH · Expert

Morning Shaun,

Yes it didn't get down to the nuts and bolts of the business, probably because the businesses were very simple and small. When they used to have 'the trouble shooter' on, it John Harvey-Jones (?) would start at the balance sheet and really delve into things.

Still think she had appalling taste!

Neil · Senior Member

I thought this was quite funny. The accounts info she was looking at appeared to have been typed up an a 1950s typewriter.

I'm with Rob regarding the taste. Horrible. Even it were valuable it's still horrible.

The lady also needs to give in to being nearer to 70 than 30. She's a lovely lady but her style of dress was pretty distracting, I thought..

I'm amazed that she managed to get the florists working. I think that was a real accomplishment.

Cheers
Neil

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Morning Rob,

John Harvey-Jones. Now there was a man who knew his stuff. Sadly missed in the world of real business.

That woman from last night (completely forgotten her name already) just didn't get angry enough for the program to be a success. These programs need someone like Gordon Ramsay who tells it like it is.

I think that those running the flower shop shouldn't have ever been in business. I mean, not knowing when your own year end is! Knowing nothing about costing! Having zero presentation skills!

Really felt that the only way that they would have made that profitably would be to

- Get rid of one of them (stop them chatting and drinking tea all day). Think we all know which one should go!
- Hire someone professional to front the business (sure that your telephone answering service people must have been cringing at their telephone manner).
- Lose the shop. There was no passing trade so they would have been better working out of a lockup industrial unit.

For the other business, what was with all the franchise rubbish! It may work as a quirky add on to the rest of the events support business but there are hundreds of franchise opportunities out there competing for punters to pay for a job. Why on earth would anyone adopt that business idea? Its a coloured ball on a stick in the middle of a table run out of the yard from Steptoe and Son.... Franchise? I think not.

talk in a bit,

Shaun.

RobH · Expert

Yes I agree that wasn't a franchise and in fact did a lot of harm to franchisors since she just called franchisees 'your sales force who pay you'.

Hi Neil, I found her a tad distracting too, from one angle she looked 35 and another 75 and her 'hair' never moved! Did they say how she made her money?

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

A nieche in the HGV business? From the size of the house I would say it must have been importing illegal workers, arms and drugs! (lol).

Neil · Senior Member

Rob, I think she made her money in haulage. Something to do with pallets?

Neil

RobH · Expert

Ok, there used to be a lot of money in those pallets. You would see signs on the motorway with offers to buy them. Think you may be right Shaun, the money has shifted to importation of illegals!

littlebookkeeper · Senior Member

I loved it when she advised the florist to 'get a tint', I was like 'honey you may have a good head for business but dress, hair and interior design is not really your strong point!'

What was all that table centre about? I mean as if? Good entertainment though.

Carole

semsley · Guru

Hi Shaun

I somewhat agree that the florists should not have been in business. However, I can understand how difficult people find it to make presentations if they have never done it before. If I had not done teacher training I would have been in a similar position. If you have never been involved in selling, acting, presenting before and you don't have a lot of self-confidence or don't know your product inside out you're on a hiding to nothing.

Must admit, even now, I'm much better at selling/presenting what I do and what I have to offer than answering stupid interview questions. That's why I went for self-employment.

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi Sheila,

I was actually once asked the question at interview "If you were an fish what sort of fish would you be?".

What sort of stupid question was that!

I actually answered it by asking if they had any sensible and relevant questions.

Believe or not I actually got offered that job!!!

Think that we all have our pet hates. Mine is presenting to groups of above around five people as I always feel that I'm not making contact with everyone in the group.

Shaun.

Lisa Jo · Senior Member

Hands up for electing Shaun to be the Busiess Inspector?, you would be good telling everyone how its done..If those 2 florists worked for someone who owned the shop they would be working a lot harder I can tell you..

RobH · Expert

I'll second that Lisa, Shaun for business inspector! We could get a petition going!

Shamus · Forum Moderator & Expert

Hi People,

can't take group accounts anymore. After a while you just get to thinking why the heck should I care if it's a subsidiary or an associate.

Thanks for the votes folks. Yep, I'd do it no probs.

Right first the florists... How would I approach that one... Ah yes... "You, your fired. Take your friend with you and turn the lights out as you leave!".

It would certainly have made better TV viewing than the pussy footing around that they were doing on the show... Although it may have been a somewhat shorter program.

Actually in all my years in business I've given a few warnings but I've only ever had to fire one person and it was a truly awful experience... Don't think that she was too happy about it either.

Right, time for bed. lets see who tries to entice us all with a franchise opportunity, alternate forum or latest offering from the world of online software tomorrow... Sorry, today!

Night all,

Shaun.