News

As the financial year draws to a close, many owner-managed businesses turn their attention to a familiar set of questions centred around how much profit has been generated, what the tax exposure will be, and how best to extract value from the business.

For early-stage and scaling businesses, the year-end often arrives in the middle of momentum. Revenue is growing, teams are expanding, and attention is focused on product, funding, and market position. Tax and structure tend to follow behind.

That is understandable but it is also where we see some of the most valuable planning opportunities missed.

As the financial year draws to a close, attention naturally turns to year-end.

For many businesses, this means finalising numbers, reviewing tax exposure, and ensuring everything is in place ahead of reporting deadlines. These are necessary steps, but on their own they risk reducing year-end to a process rather than recognising it as a point of perspective.

Companies House has recently sent an e-mail to all registered e-mail addresses that they hold on their records regarding an issue with its WebFiling service. While the issue has now been resolved and was not the result of a cyber-attack, it is important that businesses are aware of what happened and take a moment to review their company records as a precaution.

The Chancellor announced her 2025 Autumn Budget Statement on Wednesday 26th November. Ward Williams Chartered Accountants shares the highlights of the announcement.

Once a Grant of Probate has been issued, you may expect to receive your money quickly if you have been in line to inherit. However, this can vary greatly due to the complexity of the estate, and the possibility of the Will being contested, as well as more personal delays such as the Executors fitting this process around their lives. For an estate which has not got any property ...

If you are a beneficiary of the deceased’s estate or family, it is possible to find out if a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been granted, but that’s all you can do. You need to be the person(s) that applied for Probate to be able to track the progress of a Probate application. After you've applied for Probate, your application will be reviewed by the Probat ...

Probate and estate administration is the financial and legal process which takes place after someone has died. The purpose is to make sure all relevant taxes are collected, money owing to creditors is paid, debts owed to the deceased are collected and the remaining assets from the estate are distributed to the relevant beneficiaries. To find a Probate record online you can vis ...

Before Probate is granted In general, a Will is a private document until a Grant of Probate is issued. While the testator is still alive, nobody other than the testator is entitled to receive a copy of the Will. Following the testator’s death, unless and until Probate is granted, the Will remains a private document although the Executors named in the Will are entitled to see ...

Ward Williams is proud to be part of the growing conversation on youth employment in Hillingdon. Corporate Services Director Colin Hamilton recently joined a Youth Employment Hub roundtable with local business, education, and government partners to explore how young people can be better connected with meaningful career opportunities.