Thursday 30 June 2016

COMMUNICATING YOUR SKILLS/ ABILITY TO WORK UNDER PRESSURE

Hello,

In completing an application form or at an interview, you are usually asked how do you deal with pressure or questions are asked to elicit your communication skills.
It’s your responsibility to be able to express scenarios in your personal or work life to reflect an answer to the question that has been asked.

Remember the previous mail that was sent to you on Communication skills (if you didn’t read it, make sure you start reading all the mails we send you, because they all come with a good mix of valuable information), which tells you to look into the eyes of the person that asked the question and then answer (after a brief time to think and compose your answer). Maintain eye contact with the interviewers at all times, so, look at each of them at regular intervals.

Scenario-                                   In my previous/current job, I carried out payroll duties, administrative, finance and accounting, auditing, banking and reconciliation and other general duties. There are several occasions when our accounting month end falls on the same day as our four weekly and monthly payroll runs. This means that the sales invoices have to be prepared and sent out, the purchases and sales invoices have to be updated unto the ledgers, bank reconciliation’s have to be completed, necessary journals have to be raised and management accounts have to be prepared and ready to be sent out to the Directors. I have to ensure that the four weekly and monthly payrolls are done accurately and submitted to the Chief Executive. I also have to carry out all necessary audits, supervisions and other administration duties. I organise my duties, delegate responsibilities and prioritise my workload in order to meet tight deadlines. I am highly efficient in organising my workload and I provide support, cover and suggestive solutions within and across departments. I circulate and share knowledge, ideas and information with members of my team. I contribute to the development and effectiveness of my team and work with people to achieve team and individual objectives.

The above scenario elicits several talents. One question has been asked, but anyone reading this or listening to this will be able to pick out several items. Your ability to manage workload, reporting to your managers, delegating work, contributing to the team, using team members to achieve objectives, being objective, efficient, responsible and lots more.


Can you express your current position in such a way that it magnifies your role in the company?                                                                                                                           You don’t have to be a manager to be able to delegate work. By simply telling your manager to help you do some of your work when the work is so much or when you need to meet a deadline is delegating.

Start to itemise even the tiny skills and duties you do at your current place of work and see how it fits with your communication skills, ability to delegate, being a team player and contributing to the overall executive team.

Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited


Wednesday 29 June 2016

CONNECT THE DOTS

Hello,

Career Goals

What are your career goals?
Have you written out these career goals?
Did you read the mail titled- what is your purpose?

It is very easy to just look for a job and get caught up in the system of go to work come back, eat some food, pay the bills and keep going to work to pay the bills and earn a living.

Today we ask you, what are your career goals and where do they start from?

Lets start with the 5 years goal, so you can see a bigger picture-

n  5yrs goal
n  3yrs goal
n  1yr goal
n  6mths goal
n  Quarterly goal
n  Monthly goal
n  Weekly goal
n  ….Connect the dots…

Seeing the bigger picture, we then need to break it down further and further and further down to the weekly goals. The weekly goals feed into the monthly goals and the monthly goals feed into the quarterly goals, all of which feed into the yearly achievements and your accomplishments.

What do you need to be getting on with today, so as to see your goals come to reality?

Just get on with it and remember to always- CONNECT THE DOTS.

Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Tuesday 28 June 2016

DID YOU DO YOUR SWOT ANALYSIS


SWOT analysis on yourself. I know this is not something you would have thought of doing on yourself. It’s a terminology we liken to businesses and company activities. The world is a dynamic place and it is becoming more and more dynamic with all the trends we have to deal with and keep up speed with.
 
S         Strengths- What are your strengths and what will you be offering employers out there.

W       Weaknesses- What are your weaknesses and how are they posing as obstacles in your career path, then, what are you doing about them.

O        Opportunities- What opportunities are you letting pass you by. Who should you be learning from or what opportunity should you be grabbing hold of to help improve your weaknesses. It could be as abstract as overlooking a sales job which may be your opportunity to learn how to improve your skills in selling yourself to potential employers.

T        Threats- What poses as a threat in your personal life or work? Get ride of it, (if it is that simple) or improve your skills and performances, such that you become almost invaluable to the organisation. Do you know that there are people that companies do not want to see go, even in this time of recession, such that if they put forward some ‘hot’ terms, the employers will still consider it, if it means not losing them. Are you at such level or working towards being at such a level?

You may want to build yourself to get to a point like that. You can only do that if you have something unique to offer. Everyone is unique, you only have to tap into the best in you and let it out.

It’s not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win that makes the difference.” Paul Bryant.


Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited





Monday 27 June 2016

WHAT, IF ONLY YOU KNEW HOW, WOULD YOU BE DOING?

Hello,

What would you do now if you had additional resources?
What, if you were sure it would be successful, would you jump on right away? What would you begin immediately, if your resources were limitless?
What are you betting your future career on?
What would you be willing to bet your future career on?

We all can have a long list of what-if’s that can hinder each of us from maximizing and reaching our potentials. What you must realize is that you are the only person that limits yourself from being the best.

There is always a way around every circumstance and each person can bring up a list of excuses (yes excuses and not reasons) why he or she isn’t doing one thing or the other to maximize his/her potentials.

If you agree with me, you can be given additional resources you need and once you get such resources, you automatically develop another set of excuses why you are not performing at best. Or put in a lighter term, another reason can come up. Things keep coming up!

The main limiting factor is you. Deal with your current situation and utilise the limited resources available to you and get out the best in yourself.

Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Friday 24 June 2016

INGREDIENTS FOR PROMOTION


A study at Stanford Business School examined the qualities that companies look for in promoting young managers toward senior executive positions, especially the position of Chief Executive Officer. The study concluded that the two most important qualities required for great success were;

1. TEAM BUILDING-
The ability to put together and function as part of a team. Since all work is ultimately done by teams, and the managers' output is the output of the team, the ability to select team members, set objectives, delegate responsibility and finally, get the job done, team building was central to success in management.

2. KEEPING COOL WHEN UNDER PRESSURE-
The ability to function well under pressure, and especially in a crisis. Keeping your cool in a crisis means to practice patience, perseverance and self-control under difficult or disappointing circumstances.

TAKE ACTION-
Start contributing significantly to your current team; resolve to always perform to high standards.

Develop a calm attitude in stressful situations.


Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Thursday 23 June 2016

JUST DRAW INSPIRATION

“We all find ourselves in situations that at times seem hopeless, and we all have the choice to do nothing or to take action.” Catherine Pulsifer

“It’s not the situation, but whether we react (negative) or respond (positive) to the situation that’s important.” Zig Ziglar

“Personal action is your pathway to success, even if it is a little bit at a time!” Catherine Pulsifer

Epictetus:
“First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do”

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers, you cannot be successful or happy.” Norman Vincent Peale

“Its time to break through the barriers that have held you back and held you down for such a long time. It is time to reach out and indelibly etch your place in history.” Greg Hickman


You have the ability; it’s how you use it that determines your significance. It’s all about having confidence, setting your goals and taking action.

Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Wednesday 22 June 2016

THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH


n     According to a research at Cambrigde Universty, it deosn’t matter in what ordre the leters in a word are, the only importent thnig is taht the fisrt and lsat leters be at the rigth place. The rset can be a totol mses and you can still raed it withuot porblem. This is bcuseae the human mind deos not raed ervey leter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe.

n  Pettry amzanig, huh?

n  You will notice that the first and the last letters are at the right places, even though the middle letters are in a mess/scattered.

n  DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU STARTED FROM?
n  DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING TO?
n  DO YOU HAVE A CLEAR GOAL?
n  CLARITY OF YOUR GOAL WILL KEEP YOU ON TRACK AMIDST THE SCATTERED PERIODS AND UNPROFITABLE TIMES.

n  AMIDST YOUR SCATTERED PERIODS, YOU SHOULD NOTE THAT---
      The most important factor in success is your
      MINDSET & THINKING

      Be clear about the beginning and your desired end; focus and think positively 
      and this will reflect in your actions.

      “Thought is action in rehearsal.” Sigmund Freud

      “It is the nature of thought to find its way into action.” Christian Nevell Bovee

      “Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind.” Scott Fitzgerald

       Your actions translate into your achievements.


       Yours Sincerely,
       The Friendly Team

        The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Tuesday 21 June 2016

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ABOUT THE CAREER PATH YOU HAVE CHOSEN ?

Hello,

For most people this is a strange question - we rarely spend time thinking about our own beliefs. A quick answer to this is- many people think that the accounting profession is a well-paid profession, especially, when you are a qualified Accountant.

The collection of beliefs you hold about your career - is reflective in most of the choices you make.


- How much risk you are prepared to take.
- What's risky and what’s not. 
- What projects and initiatives to undertake. 
- What kind of resources you need to succeed in your career. 
- Who to partner with, if any. 
- Cooperate or compete.
- What your employers should expect from you. 
- How hard you expect to work.
  And lots more….

If your belief is that the accounting profession pays well, what happens when that belief isn’t being met? You change career?

All these decisions stem from your beliefs, and it will help you to make them explicit. Once you surface those beliefs, you can start to distinguish which are useful beliefs and which are not.

- What is the benefit of a particular belief?
- Is this belief relevant to your current world
- Or is it a carry-over from some past part of life?

Believe in yourself and the career you have chosen.


Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited

Monday 20 June 2016

PERSONAL TAX PART 3



Income tax is tax charged on income earned by individuals and it’s used by the government to run and maintain the state.

The government tax year starts on 6th April to 5th April the following year.

Tax year
Tax period
2016/17
6 April 2016 to 5 April 2017

From the total income earned by an individual, personal allowance is deducted to arrive at the taxable income. The personal allowance for 2016/17 is £11,000, which could vary depending on the individual’s circumstances and income level.

The taxable income is subjected to different tax rates which range from 0% up to 45% on different parts of the income. The tax rates and income brackets are shown below for different types of income an individual could earn.

2016/17 Tax Year

Income brackets
Non-investment income
Savings income
Dividends income
Capital Gains
Starting rate
£0 - £5,000
-
10%
-
-
Basic rate
£0 - £32,000
20%
20%
7.5%
10%
Higher rate
£32,001 - £150,000
40%
40%
32.5%
20%
Additional rate
Over £150,000
45%
45%
38.1%
20%

From 2016/17, there is a tax free savings interest of £1,000 for basic rate tax payers and £500 for higher rate payers; an individual will then need to pay tax on any interest above this at the applicable tax rate after adding savings income to non-investment income.
From 2016/17, there is a dividend allowance which implies that there will be no tax to pay on the first £5,000 of dividend income for all tax payers, and any dividends received above this, will be subject to tax at the applicable tax rate after taxing savings and non-investment income.
We will now use an illustration to demonstrate the computation of income tax for an individual.


Illustration:
Thomas Bamqual, is 42 years old and he has employment income of £43,000; interest received from a building society savings account of £1,900; dividends received of £1,683; taxable gains from the sale of a garage property of £20,100 (after deducting the annual exemption); interest received from an ISA account of £800 and he made gift-aid contributions of £960 through the year. What will be the tax liability?



Solution:
**You will need to bear in mind that:

Employment income- The employment income is subjected to tax first, then 

Savings income- The savings income is subjected to tax next, then 

Dividends income- The dividends are subjected to tax next, then 

Income from sale of assets- The taxable income from capital assets will be taxed



               
Basic Rate bracket will now be extended to: £32,000 + (£960/ 0.8) = £33,200

Interest from ISA’s are not taxed

Interest received will need to be grossed up, but dividends will no longer be 
grossed up

Thomas will be entitled to the full personal allowance of £11,000, since his taxable income is less than £100,000




Totals
Non-Investment
Savings
Dividends
Capital Gains

£
£
£
£
£
Employment income
43,000
43,000



Interest (£1900/0.8)
  2,375

2,375


Dividends
  1,683


1,683

Capital gains
20,100



20,100
Total income
67,158
43,000
2,375
1,683
20,100
Personal Allowance
(11,000)
(11,000)



Taxable income
56,158
32,000
2,375
1,683
20,100


This means that the first item to be taxed will be £32,000 and then the next £1,200 from savings income will be taxed to make up the extended basic rate bracket (remember the basic rate has been extended from £32,000 to £33,200 due to the gift aid donations). The rest of the taxable income will be taxed at the applicable higher rate based on the type of income.

Tax liability computation:


£

£
Taxable employment income
32,000
£32,000 @ 20%
6,400.00

Interest

  1,200
£500 @ 0%
   NIL
£700 @ 20%
140.00
Sub-total
33,200


Interest (£2,375-£1,200)
  1,175
£1,175 @ 40%
   470.00
Dividends
  1,683
£1,683 < £5,000
   NIL
Capital gains tax
20,100
£20,100 @ 20%
4,020.00
Taxable income (same as above)
56,158


Total tax liability


11,030.00












You will notice the interest is split into three lines in the table above. This is because the 
savings income is the next type of income to be taxed and we need to use up the extended 20% tax bracket of £33,200, which the taxable employment income doesn’t cover this bracket in full; so the balance is covered in the savings income. The tax free savings interest of £500 for higher rate tax payers has been accounted for; hence the savings income has been split as £500 which is exempt and then £700 which is then taxed at 20%, while the remaining savings income of £1,175 is taxed at 40%.

The dividends received from 2016/17 will no longer be grossed up and the first £5,000 dividends received will not be taxed, so there is no tax on the dividends received by Thomas because it is less than £5,000.

The table above shows that Thomas will be due to pay tax of £11,030 for 2016/17; remember this tax year has just started and the tax return will be due by 31/01/2018.


We have an article in the last edition of this magazine which shows that this person would be due to have paid £13,548.75 in 2015/16 if he earned the same income. Please feel free to compare the two tax years and identify the differences in the thresholds and tax computations.


Yours Sincerely,
The Friendly Team

The Training Place of Excellence Limited