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CHRISTMAS CRACKER JOKES
How does Father Christmas reduce his tax bill? He claims Ho-Ho-Holdover relief What is Father Christmas’s biggest accounts overhead? Private Elf insurance What gaming console do auditors want for Christmas? A SARBox One S How does Santa’s accountant value his sleigh? Net Present Value What is the tax status of Santa’s helpers? Elf-employed Why does Father Christmas love visiting the UK? Because he can claim gift relief
PRIVATE EYE CARTOON
We couldn’t resist sharing this Private Eye cartoon with you…
AM I STILL
A CIMA?
The CCAB recently put on an impressive event, the ‘Perspectives on Fighting Economic Crime and Anti-Money Laundering’. All the top accountancy bodies are members on the group, with the exception of CIMA, who left a number of years ago. Among the speakers on the day was Duncan Hames, director of policy at Transparency International (pictured above). He was a little embarrassed to admit he was a CIMA member, because with all the recent changes he wasn’t sure what acronym he should be using!
THE NISSAN CIMA
If your accountancy body was a car, what sort of car would it be? Well, CIMA need not worry – Nissan has made a CIMA car! The Nissan Cima is a luxury sedan, and a quick look on Wikipedia explains that the car’s name is derived from the Spanish for ‘summit’. The marque is an image of an acanthus leaf. Many of you will know that this leaf was commonly used by classical Greeks to make a wreath for use as a crown.
FAMOUS PEOPLE WHO FLIRTED
WITH ACCOUNTANCY SMARTPHONE USE FALLS AMONG YOUNG
Over the past year the average 16-24 year old spent 3.8 hours a day on their smartphones and tablets. That’s a fall from 3.9 hours the year before! The decline might be small, but a third of this age group said they used their phones too much and wanted to cut down (if time spent on computers is included in the total then 16-24 year olds spent 6.7 hours a day staring at a screen). Every age group, apart from this one, increased their smartphone usage in a new study. And the biggest increase? It was among pensioners, who increased the amount spent on mobiles from 36 to 54 minutes a day.
’ WEV E
CPA Canada recently spotlighted a whole group of people who have had a close brush with accountancy. A few will surprise you – did you know Peter Falk (yes, Columbo!) was a qualified certified public accountant and worked as an efficiency expert for the Budget Bureau of Connecticut before hitting the small screen? Other stars ‘outed’ were tough-guy actor Lee Van Cleef, who worked as an accountant, and saxophone superstar Kenny G, who has a degree in accounting from the University of Washington.
THIS IS YOUR GRECIAN DIVORCE
Divorce rates in Greece have surge by 20% in recent years and accountants there are putting it down to a rise in ‘dummy’ or ‘tax’ divorces. Accountant Dimitris Bokaris said increasing numbers of Greek couples are filing for ‘fake’ divorces to evade the taxman and bank foreclosures. Under Greek law divorces, or mere separation requests, can allow couples to reclaim those benefits while paying up to 50% less in taxes.
GOT THE L OT
It’s simple – just Revise! Bletchley Park puzzles Osborne Books has launched ACCA Revise Notes for papers F1 to F9. These colourful texts typically run to 100-150 pages, so should be manageable for all students. They are also ideal for any PQ who wants to refresh their knowledge, or have not covered certain areas due to exemptions. We have five to giveaway this month. To enter this great giveaway send your name and address to graham@pqaccountant.com. Head up your email ‘Osborne Revise!’
We have three sets of the Bletchley Park series of puzzle books to give away this month. This is your chance to follow in the footsteps of the codebreakers and see if you have their skills! Our four books include ‘IQpuzzels’, ‘Cryptic Crosswords’, ‘Codebreaking Puzzles’ and ‘Number & Mathematical Puzzles’. To be in with a chance of winning this giveway send your email headed up ‘Bletchley Park’ to graham@pqaccountant.com. And don’t forget to tell us where you live!
Terms and conditions: One entry per giveaway please. You must send your name and address to be entered for the draw. All giveaway entries must be received by Friday 9 February. The main draw will take place on Monday 12 February 2018.
TO ENTER THESE GIVEAWAYS EMAIL GRAHAM@PQACCOUNTANT.COM 34
PQ Magazine January 2018