Business News
AFL lends expertise to Icelandic stadium plans
Rob Gunn: many large businesses are now focused on tax governance
The importance of tax integrity
Firms must do more to ensure that they are not labelled tax dodgers by the media, according to experts at an accountancy business. Tax experts at audit and advisory
firm Crowe – which has an office in Oldbury – say that tax has become a ‘reputational risk’ to businesses, with a number of major businesses shamed for allegedly minimising tax payments. At the end of 2018, a national
newspaper published a list of FTSE 100 firms who had paid no corporation tax in the previous year, including BP, Royal Mail and British Gas owner Centrica. The list was repeated on the
influential financial website ‘This is Money’, and is still there today. Crowe said that organisations
now operated in a world where tax was considered a moral issue and was front page news. The firm added that as a
consequence, many boardrooms and owner managers were focused on making sure they did not face negative publicity from their tax affairs. To help with this, Crowe has developed a ‘Tax Integrity Scorecard’, to help businesses understand their UK tax risks and assist them in prioritising where to focus their resources, in order to guard against unexpected tax costs, adverse publicity and to improve tax process efficiencies. Colleague Rob Gunn, corporate
tax partner at Crowe’s Midlands office, said: “Many large and owner managed businesses across the region are increasing their focus on tax governance - the emphasis is now on ‘how’ tax compliance is dealt with and making sure the right amount of tax is paid at the right time. Additionally, ensuring that there is tax integrity within your business is now critical and reflects the wider changing climate in which businesses and tax advisors now operate.” Crowe’s free Tax Integrity
Scorecard involves completing a quick questionnaire, after which businesses receive a PDF report highlighting the level of risk in each tax area. These risk areas can then be proactively considered and further investigated by the business.
Architect AFL, which has an office in Birmingham, is helping shape the future of football in Iceland, conquerors of England at Euro 2016. AFL was chosen to come up with a series of
recommendations for Iceland on how it might develop its Laugardalsvöllur national stadium. This has happened against the extraordinary
progress that the country has made in world soccer in the past decade.
‘Iceland deserves a stadium that reflects their extraordinary footballing achievements’
The Icelandic men’s team is currently ranked 39th
in the world, while 10 years ago it was outside the top 130 teams in the world. The women’s national team is also doing well, and is currently ranked 19th in the world by FIFA. Laugardalsvöllur, which only has a capacity of
9,800, was built in 1957 and has been renovated in several phases since. It has one of the smallest capacities of any
national stadium for any European country currently ranked in the FIFA World Top 100 teams. It only just about beats real minnows like Faroe Islands (6,040), San Marino (5,115) Gibraltar (5,000),
Laugardalsvöllur stadium: one of the smallest in Europe
and mighty Andorra (3,306). Because of its limitations, it is not fully compliant with UEFA Category 4 requirements and has therefore required exemptions and special preparations to host competitive matches in international tournaments. The Icelandic FA, KSÍ, has been looking at
redeveloping Laugardalsvöllur since 2014, and recently commissioned AFL to come up with a series of recommendations, which it has now done. AFL has investigated a number of scenarios,
comprised of redevelopment, new build, roofed and non-roofed options, for which initial layouts were drawn up with full consideration of the numerous environmental and geotechnical challenges in the region. These options have been analysed against
demographic and attendance figures and costed, and now form the basis of an Outline Business Case (OBC) for future development. The final recommendation, when all factors were
considered, is a new stadium with a capacity of 15,000, with a roof that can be opened. AFL director John Roberts said: “To be selected by
our client for such a nationally and historically important project was an honour for our team. “I am confident the vision we have delivered will
be achieved. Iceland deserves a stadium that reflects their extraordinary footballing achievements.”
One giant leap for the region
A new space hub is to be set up in the West Midlands. Supported by the West Midlands
Combined Authority (WMCA) it will use Government funding to bring together expertise and businesses to explore how to take maximum advantage of the commercial space race. The money will be used to assess
current space capabilities and develop action plans for how to accelerate the growth of the hub.
24 CHAMBERLINK December 2020/January 2021 Andy Street, the mayor of the
West Midlands, said: “This is an immensely exciting avenue to explore, which could potentially create more jobs, improve skills, and boost the West Midlands’ economy. “Exploration of the global space
technology sector is especially welcome at this challenging time as we start plotting our region’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
“The West Midlands has a proud
past as a hotbed of innovation and the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This is the place to create, innovate, and build for the future.” The West Midlands space hub
will be led by City-REDI of the University of Birmingham, and supported by the WMCA and Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).
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