DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent
DPC Business & Tax Advisers
Creating Relationships – Driving Success
Wherever you are in your business journey, just starting out, established and running a successfully business, looking to retire to grow your business, or just need some help with meeting your tax obligations, DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent have all the skills to help you achieve your financial goals and keep you compliant.
Our aim is to build lasting relationships to understand your business and personal financial goals and help you achieve them.
We can provide you a professional, honest, and personal service from day-to-day business accounting and compliance, through to specialist tax or business advice, and auditing.
Our team have a wealth of experience to help individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to reach their full potential and grow and develop.
We help a wide range of businesses from corporate groups, owner managed businesses, sole traders and partnerships working across multiple business sectors and industries.
We use and embrace technology to enable us to deliver accurate and efficient information to you which enables us to provide advice that adds value to your business.
Our staff are trained to a high standard and our work is regulated by the ICAEW accountancy body, ensuring we deliver a high standard of service to all our clients.
Find out about the wide range of services offered by DPC Accountants
Working with you to ensure the success of your business relies on strong relationships, trust and integrity.
As a well-known Staffordshire firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, DPC Chartered Accountants Stoke-on-Trent use intelligent accounting solutions and expert advice to guide business and private clients.
Continual staff training and in-house skills are invested in to deliver the most up-to-date services compliant with HMRC, digital technology and data protection.
Whether you run a start-up company, a growing business, are looking to exit a business or require taxation advice, you can be assured of the highest quality guidance and tax solutions.
DPC Chartered Accountants are part of The DPC Group Limited, built on over 80 years’ experience.
The people behind the company! Introducing the staff, our practices and our working culture.
The heritage of DPC Group Limited originated with Edwin Downward on February 9, 1943 who set up shop as a sole practitioner in Wellesley Street, Stoke-on-Trent.
Welcoming John Plumb in 1962 and Mike Colclough in 1963, the firm became known as Downward, Plumb and Colclough – later adopting the acronym DPC.
Over the course of its rich history as a firm of accountants in Stoke-on-Trent (80-years celebrated in July 2023) DPC has gone from strength to strength embracing many changes and a commitment to constant innovation.
When computers were a fledgling industry, DPC took a chance by investing into new technology by spending £3,500 on a revolutionary Logabax accounting machine in June 1967.
The investment enabled advanced accounting (at the time) for some of Staffordshire’s most prominent businesses. The efficiency in financial affairs resulted in many of these organisations achieving international success.
Since Edwin’s ‘accounting vision’ launched in 1943, the company has grown steadily to employ over 60 people today, making DPC one of Staffordshire’s largest accountancy practices.
Looking to work as an accountant in Stoke-on-Trent? We welcome people at all stages in their careers, from school leavers and recent graduates to experienced professionals.
We’re focused on attracting the best talent, putting people into the right roles and offering the best professional training and personal development to deliver a first class client service.
We offer fully funded and supported professional training at each stage of an accountancy/ audit/ tax career i.e. AAT, ACCA, ACA (ICAEW), ATT, or CTA. This is supplemented with an in-house mentor and Personal Development Plan.
We offer structured career paths across a range of roles within the practice
As a dynamic and proactive practice we continually expand and are always looking for high-calibre staff to join our busy team.
Accountants in Stoke-on-Trent
Unleash the power of generative AI: A potential game-changer for your business
DPC accountants Stoke-on-Trent understand the importance of leveraging technology to drive efficiency and innovation in business operations. In this article we will introduce you to the concept of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and the transformative power it could have for your business. Now, you might be wondering, what exactly IS generative AI?
Is your business Disability Confident?
New Disability Confident guidance has been published to help managers recruit, retain, and foster the progression of disabled people and those with health conditions in the workplace. The Disability Confident scheme is voluntary and helps employers make the most of the opportunities that can come from employing and developing disabled people.
Consultation on law changes to make apologising easier
A new consultation has been launched to find out how the law could be updated to make it easier for organisations to apologise more when they make mistakes. Many organisations are reluctant to apologise because they are concerned that it will be interpreted as an admission of fault.
Have you checked your tax code?
Prior to the tax year starting each 6 April, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), will issue new tax codes to employees, usually where there is a change of tax code. These tax codes, a series of letter and numbers, allow employers to deduct the right amount of tax to be deducted from each employee when the payroll is run.
Flooding support fund for farmers opened
It has been a difficult winter for many farmers with flooding and extreme weather damaging agriculture and property and equipment. Some farmers have suffered uninsurable damage to their land as a result. A Farming Recovery Fund has now been opened by the government to support these farmers.
New R&D tax relief guidance available
For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024, a new merged scheme for research and development tax credit comes into force. The new merged scheme replaces the old RDEC and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) schemes. The new scheme reduces the amount of benefit that would generally have been received under the old scheme.
Safety notice issued on thermites
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have issued a safety notice about the manufacture, storage and carriage of thermites and thermite containing articles. Thermites are a type of pyrotechnic composition that produces intense heat and molten metal.
What can you do to recover a hacked account?
Losing access to any of your digital accounts can be very stressful, and if it’s an account you need for work this can be doubly the case. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) produces guidance that can help the self-employed and sole traders as well as any individual recover a hacked account.
Thinking of buying another business? What due diligence should you consider?
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), via their Working Minds campaign, has declared April Stress Awareness Month. Work-related stress is an important consideration for businesses since all employers have a legal duty to prevent work related stress to support good mental health in the workplace.
April is Stress Awareness Month
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), via their Working Minds campaign, has declared April Stress Awareness Month. Work-related stress is an important consideration for businesses since all employers have a legal duty to prevent work related stress to support good mental health in the workplace.
Are training costs tax deductible for the self-employed?
HM Revenue & Customs have recently updated and clarified their guidance on training costs paid by the self-employed. The general rule for whether the cost of a training course can be deducted from your self-employed profits is that it must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade being carried out by the business at the time that the training is undertaken.
What is the future for the National Minimum Wage?
The Low Pay Commission (LPC) has published a report on the future of the National Minimum Wage beyond 2024. In recent years, the LPC has been setting the National Living Wage based on a target of two-thirds of median hourly earnings.
Farmers encouraged to keep everyone safe around livestock
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have reminded farmers to stay safe around livestock, not just for themselves and their workers, but also with walkers who may use public footpaths. Their Your Farm, Your Future campaign is aimed at improving safety on farms, and there is a focus on livestock in 2024.
Food inflation slowing down according to BRC
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has released figures showing that food price inflation in March has slowed to its lowest level since December 2021. Shop Price annual inflation dropped to 1.3% in March, compared with 2.2% in February.
UK artists to benefit from new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement
As a result of a new UK-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), UK artists will now be able to claim resale royalties when their art is resold in the Australian professional art market. Previously, UK artists have not received any royalties when their artwork was resold in Australia.
Good bookkeeping: A backbone of business success
Keeping your accounting records up to date can feel like a chore, but when your bookkeeping is kept up to date, you and your business can gain some significant benefits, including financial clarity, budgeting and planning, compliance and tax management, monitoring cash flow and identifying financial trends and patterns.
Increase in Child Benefit rates
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that Child Benefit rates increased on 6 April 2024. A family with one child will now receive up to £1,331 a year and up to £881 a year for each additional child. Payments are made to families on a 4-weekly basis and paid directly into their bank account.
Could the VAT Annual Accounting Scheme be good for your business?
VAT-registered businesses normally submit their VAT returns and payments to HM Revenue and Customs 4 times a year. However, HM Revenue and Customs also offer an Annual Accounting Scheme for businesses with a taxable turnover of £1.35 million or less.
