Here are the latest news and views from Isle of Man Accountant Liam Thompson

‘The Sound of Music effect’

Here’s a very small idea that could have a very big impact on your business.

Have you noticed that one of the most successful shows on the UK theatre

circuit at the moment is the film Sound of Music?

Simply by adding subtitles to the original film it has been transformed into

a cult event that regularly attracts fanatical sell-out audiences who pay

£10 a head to dress up as nuns, Nazis and even ‘brown paper packages tied up in string’, and sing along to the entire film! 

By applying some creativity and lateral thinking to a very old product, the

promoters have been able to create a hugely successful new product. 

Some time ago the makers of Johnson’s Baby Powder created a profitable new

market when it started to emphasise that their product was just as good for

mothers as it was for their babies. 

So our ProActivity suggestion to you is simple. Why not run a brainstorming

session with your entire team to identify some ground-breaking alternative

uses or markets for your products or services? 

And don't just limit yourselves to thinking about your current products. Dig

out all the old stuff that has been gathering dust on the shelves, and

brainstorm around them too.

Even if you don’t come up with any breakthrough ideas, I guarantee that it

will be a great teambuilding exercise that your people will really enjoy.

And that alone should make it well worth doing.

To make it even easier for you to do this we have produced a guide to

running brainstorming events that we would be delighted to give to you. If

you would like a free copy give me a call on 01624 611108 or e-mail me on

lthompson@thompsons-cas.com and I will send it to you.

Goodbye ARI!   

The Attribution Regime for Individuals (or ARI) will be abolished with

effect from April 6, 2012. Trading companies will no longer have to

distribute in excess of 55% of their distributable profits to avoid having

to attribute 100% of its distributable profits to its Isle of Man resident

shareholders. Non trading companies will no longer be required to attribute

100% of their distributable profits to its Isle of Man resident

shareholders. In future Isle of Man resident shareholders will be taxed on

the actual dividends that they receive from Isle of Man companies.

Did you know?

Our range of optional fixed fee packages mean our bills are never a single

penny more than our clients bargained for - guaranteed...

Anyway, I hope this has given you some food for thought. I’ll be back in

touch soon with more ProActivity ideas that I think you’ll find just as

interesting.

Best wishes

Liam Thompson  

PS        And finally, I thought I’d share with you a couple of quotes that

I came across recently that I thought you would like: 

Make your business competitive by making the businesses of your

customers more competitive. Mack Hanan

The biggest mistake is the fear that you will make one. Anon