AISMA accountant Anthony Brand explains what business planning consists of, how to get consensus, running a SWOT analysis and pitfalls in strategic planning. Read more

Should locums be hired as employees or should they be self-employed? Unfortunately there is no black and white answer since each case will depend on its own facts. Luke Bennett considers the tax and superannuation issues. Read more

Raising finance to pay off a retiring partner for their stake in the practice is increasingly tricky. Accountant Bob Senior advises on the options. Read more

Accountant Luke Bennett runs through eight premises taxes that could impact on practice income and partner drawings

Whether a GP owns or rents premises, every partner should be familiar with the following eight taxes or costs arisng from a practice premises. Read more

The Winter 2013 issue of AISMA Doctor Newsline, the newsletter for GPs and practice managers published by  the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants, has been published today.

With the possibility of early retirement tempting many GPs, AISMA expert Barry Rigby leads this issue with an overview of the issues affecting NHS Pension Scheme members and the options they should be considering.

AISMA committee member Chris Howe reflects on the income pressures many GP practices will be experiencing in 2013 due to increases in workload, creeping tax rates and increases in superannuation contributions.

Former primary care support services boss Paul Ham gives a run down of the financial dilemmas puzzling many GPs and offers answers to some common questions. Resident management expert Kathie Applebee highlights the rising levels of sickness absence and resignations among practice managers and explains how GPs can support stressed managers in their own practices.

Finally Alison Oliver, a solicitor specialising in GP partnership and contractual matters concludes her series of answers to the legal questions most commonly asked by GPs and practice managers.

AISMA Doctor Newsline is available exclusively to clients of AISMA accountants.

Doctors wishing to contact their local AISMA accountant can find details on the find an accountant page of this website.

GPs should start reducing their drawings by up to 10% in order to prepare immediately for a sharp dip in income from April, medical accountants have warned.

Accountants are advising practices to prepare early for the sweeping changes to the GP contract which are set to be imposed from April, with some predicting take-home pay could fall by as much as a fifth. Read more

Planning ahead is key to ensuring 2013 deadlines for tax, National Insurance and pensions are met. There are some significant changes afoot; not least the disappearance of primary care trusts on March 31 as CCGs start operating. April will also see a radical change to the way in which PAYE information has to be reported to HMRC which will require monthly submissions of consistently accurate employee information.

Sue Beaton explains the key financial deadlines Read more

Many GPs prefer not to think about their tax bill, but putting it off can increase costs. Accountant Bob Senior offers tips on how to lessen the pain. Read more

The latest issue of AISMA Doctor Newsline, the newsletter for GPs and practice managers published by the Association of Independent Specialist Medical Accountants has been published today.

With many GPs considering their retirement options, this issue leads with succession planning advice from AISMA committee member Luke Bennett to help practices ensure a smooth transition when GP partners change.

AISMA’s Northern Ireland committee representative, Seamus Dawson, reflects on funding issues in the light of the major consultation announced by the Royal College of General Practitioners on the future of general practice across the UK.

Alison Oliver, a solicitor specialising in GP partnership and contractual matters has answers to the legal questions most commonly asked by GPs, while organisational trouble-shooter Dr Chris Hewitt offers advice to practices on how to run effective meetings.

Finally, management guru Kathie Applebee explains where GPs and practice managers can find specialist advice without paying expensive consultancy fees on areas such as human resources, health and safety and CQC registration.

AISMA Doctor Newsline is available exclusively to clients of AISMA accountants.

Doctors wishing to contact their local AISMA accountant can find details on the find an accountant page of this website.

GPs are being advised to do more to look after their constitution. Their CCG one.

According to the GPC, some doctors’ practices have been put under pressure to sign up to documents that would impose certain duties upon them with proper involvement from LMCs.

Chairman Dr Laurence Buckman warned: ‘We are concerned that practices are being pushed into signing up to inter-practice agreements’.

Now GP leaders have produced a seven-point ‘voluntary, fair commissioning charter’ and are urging all CCGs to adopt it:

It asks CCGs to:

1 Work to improve the quality of and access to local services and to cut health inequalities
2 Develop a culture of genuinely clinician-led commissioning
3 Engage with patients and the public
4 Operate transparently and openly and not engage in any contracts/negotiations that impose conditions of commercial confidentiality
5 Resist any qualified provider being imposed from external sources
6 Consider relationships between individual GPs and patients
7 Establish and strengthen working relationships with LMCs.

27 APRIL 2012