Welcome
With traditional holiday time kicking in, our office blog has a schools-out feel this month, with several members having a fantastic time at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Sterling office stalwarts never took their eye off the ball, achieving our full FCSA accreditation renewal, and conducting some very intriguing staff polls… We’ll share more about some of the team, and how our Gratitude Gallery initiative ended in rousing style. Whether you’ve been holidaying or holding the fort, we hope you’re having a great summer, too!
Office News
Accreditation by the Freelancer & Contractor Services Association (FCSA) is the UK’s gold standard for compliance and ethics in the contractor labour market, your assurance that accredited payroll providers, umbrella companies and contractor accountants have passed rigorous annual audits by independent legal and accounting professionals to ensure full UK tax compliance. We are delighted to report we have passed all four of our annual accreditations: Umbrella Employment, Limited Company Accountant, Self-Employed / CIS Contractor Provider and Professional Employment Organisation (PEO). It’s easy to check anyone’s accreditation via: https://www.fcsa.org.uk/directory-of-members/ (you’ll find us there!)
Senior management whisked themselves away for a strategy day outside office distractions. It’s incredible we’re two-thirds of the way through the year; having strategic and stretching goals in place is what keeps us ahead on providing trusted care and compliance, as well as continuing to expand our wraparound services and members’ benefits. Watch this space!
Gratitude Gallery:
Sadly we’ve come to the end of our Gratitude Gallery initiative, a phone-based photography gratitude practice designed as a mood-boosting creative team activity. The last group “graduated” with some captivating moments including views, family, pets, wildlife.. and a mouthwatering croissant! Everyone found it beneficial, and we will aim to continue stopping, noticing and sharing. Huge thanks to Ginny Koppenhol Photography for facilitating.
Talking about focussing on the important things, ICS New Business Executive Jasmine shared her learning that being present with the people who matter most, is just as important as being present at work. She took time off to celebrate her daughter’s birthday, and share some quality holiday time. Work is important, but making time for yourself and the people you love are the moments you remember the most, and keep us refreshed and ready to go in all areas of our life.
Getting to Know Us:
Our Sales Manager, Alison, has just celebrated four years at ICS. Her journey, from Business Partnership Manager, to Senior BPM, and now Sales Manager, illustrates Alison’s trademark dedication and sheer hard work. If she pauses long enough from back-to-back meetings on the road, she might just hear us say congratulations and here’s to the next four years!
We asked Jasmine what life was like, a month into her new role as ICS Account Manager. She said: “I love speaking with consultants from so many different agencies, and have already built some fantastic relationships. My role is all about making life easier for consultants by supporting them through the process of registering contractors for umbrella payroll, helping to take the stress out of their day, providing regular updates and ensuring every stage of the process is managed efficiently. I find this role incredibly rewarding, I can’t believe how quickly my first month has flown by!”
Would You Rather…?
With a holiday feel in the office, our internal social team kept team spirit up with a few Questions of the Day. So, would you rather: Change one thing from your past, or know your future? We can report a 90/10% split for going back and amending something in the past. Wanting to change the past often comes from learning hard lessons: mistakes, pivots, and “what ifs” can teach us how to build better processes for the future. The best financial and business decisions aren’t always about predicting the future- they’re about having the right advice and information when it matters most. This is why so many agencies and contractors choose and trust in ICS Accounting. What would you pick: past makeover, or future heads-up?
As autumn weather starts to hover on the horizon, one thing we can predict.. is unpredictability! With a dedication to trust, care and compliance, we’ll keep making life good under the ICS Umbrella. If you want to check what we can do for you, just get in touch.
Best wishes,
Your ICS Accounting Team
