Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Risk Management

Posted on 21 January 2018 by The Brooke Consultancy

Statistics:
According to YouGov Study:
• On average small growth companies have 8 legal cases per annum
• Costs of legal failings, £13.6bn

The study surveyed 20 different sectors and 1,000 companies, asking respondents to indicate losses related to a wide range of legal issues. The most common legal issues faced by business owners were related to employees and suppliers, regulatory matters, tax, disputes, and software. 80% of small SMEs fail in the first 5 years and the cost of failing to take advice is c.£13.6bn.

Affordability of Legal Risk Management
These statistics show that the failure to take legal advice is enough to destroy most businesses no matter how well they do.

You don’t have to choose between getting a product to market and legal risk management.

Of course, you want to concentrate on your product, getting it to market, branding, social media and sales and not pay for legal risk management but you can afford it and the structure of that is set out in the summary.

legal expenses insurance

Legal Risk Management
Business owners need to pay attention to legal risk management designed to stop sudden expenses or claims drive you off course or out of business.

• To be able to combat claims from clients and customers. These need to be contained in your own bespoke trading conditions.
• Employment Policies and Conditions: Compensation for discrimination claims are unlimited and can sometimes not be warranted forcing you into a settlement.
• Protect your IP and your branding: It’s the most important thing you will have on your balance sheet.
• Corporate governance: That includes resolution of disputes, what happens (to shares) if a partner / shareholder dies. It governs who you are or will be in business with, regulatory issues. You can set the rules now.
• Correct Corporate vehicle: Are you using the entity that suits your business objectives, limits risk and is tax efficient.

You will need to have all this in place to raise investment by third parties in your business.

Legal Expenses Insurance You need to take out legal expenses insurance, it’s not expensive. It means that when you need to defend a claim or make a claim you can rely on your legal expenses insurance so that you can resist or make claims without the fear of the financial consequences if you lose.

Summary
Legal risk management and correct corporate structure is a necessity. The Brooke Consultancy can put this in place by adapting to your financial resources and cash flow.

The Brooke Consultancy is a source of multi-disciplinary advice from one source, to learn more about that download our free Big Business Booklet on our website, contact Lynne Brooke on 07717 813925 or email to have an initial free conversation about business development, legal risk management and affordable costs.

Sources: The Brooke Consultancy, The Letter of The Law

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General Data Protection Regulation – Prepare Now For New Law In May 2018

Posted on 17 August 2017 by The Brooke Consultancy

The Data Protection Act 1998 requires every organisation that processes personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), unless they are exempt. Failure to do so is a criminal offence.

Unless one of the exemptions applies, individuals should generally be able to choose whether or not their personal data is disclosed to another organisation. If your intention to disclose information in this way was not made absolutely clear at the outset, at a time when the individual had the option not to proceed in their business relationship with you, then you will usually have to get the individual’s consent before making such disclosures.

data protection

Businesses need to prepare now to ensure they will be compliant with changes to data protection laws when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force on 25th May 2018.

The government has confirmed that the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect the commencement of the GDPR.

We suggest you visit the Information Commissioner’s Office website. This includes practical guidance, including:-

A. Overview of the GDPR. This is for those who have day-to-day responsibility for data protection.

B. The 12 steps to take to prepare for GDPR. This has been relaunched, with updated guidance and with increased focus on the need to act now to prepare for May 2018. The steps start with:

  1. Awareness

You should make sure the decision makers and key people in your organisation are aware that the law is changing to the GDPR. They need to appreciate the impact this is likely to have and identify areas that could cause compliance problems under the GDPR. It would be a useful start to look at your risk register if you have one.

  1. Information You Hold

You should document what personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with. You may need to organise an information audit across your organisation.

The GDPR requires you to maintain records or your processing activities. If you have inaccurate personal data and have shared this with another organisation, you will have to tell the other organisation so it can correct its records.

C. Getting Ready For the GDPR. This is a checklist divided into Steps.

The GDPR will significantly increase the maximum fines, so compliance needs to be taken seriously.

You need to start looking at how to comply now before it is too late.

If you want help, in the first instance, contact Lynne Brooke via Email or our Contact page.

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UK’s Top Solicitor – Lynne Brooke

Posted on 6 July 2017 by The Brooke Consultancy

Successful people hire and cooperate with reliable professionals. VouchedFor is a website presenting solicitors, accountants, financial and mortgage advisers.

certificate of excellence for Lynne

All professionals are reviewed. In order to keep everything transparent and fair, all reviewers are verified. Lynne Brooke belongs to best solicitors – as chosen by his clients. Visit the VouchedFor platform and read all reviews Lynne received.

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Social entrepreneurship: Challenging Traditional Methods, Offering New Solutions

Posted on 1 May 2017 by The Brooke Consultancy

Social entrepreneurs address social and environmental challenges in their unique and creative ways. They drive transformation in fields like education, environment and health. Social entrepreneurs often combine poverty alleviation goals with entrepreneurial acumen and enthusiasm. They challenge traditional business methods and practices and encourage new solutions.

Similar to business entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs create stable and sustainable organisations which are established either as not-for-profit or companies.

The Brooke Consultancy LLP helps and advices social entrepreneurs regarding business structure and about becoming a member of the Social Stock Exchange. Although social entrepreneurs focus first and foremost on the social value creation, they aim at optimising the financial value too.

Thanks to a successful cooperation with The Brooke Consultancy LLP, Home From Home Care achieves with its activities a greater impact on the society. Home From Home Care (HFHC) specialises in residential services for adults with learning disabilities and special needs. HFHC focuses on offering quality services and care to improve the lives of people with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), Sensory impairment, Mental Health Issues.

home from home care

Home From Home Care was created in 2004 by parents of a child with learning disabilities who understand what it means to want a person with special needs to live a happy life and reach their potential. Combining their family perspective and vision with the services offered by professionals, HFCH employs today over 300 staff.

In order to meet the criteria of The Social Stock Exchange (SSX), Home From Home Care cooperated with The Brooke Consultancy to complete an Impact Report. Becoming a SSX member leads to greater impact through capital allocation or capital raising.

Today’s social entrepreneurs like Home From Home Care are innovative, creative and resourceful. They aim at positive solutions to care to improve lives of many people. It is meaningful to change the perception of individuals with learning disabilities.

The Brooke Consultancy LLP assists entrepreneurs with the preparation of the Impact report which is necessary for a company to become a member of the SSX. Contact us to receive more information about Impact reports and SSX.

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Lynne Brooke according to VouchedFor one of the country’s top legal professionals

Posted on 19 April 2017 by The Brooke Consultancy

It’s important to hire an expert to make sure, your situation is handled effectively and professionally. VouchedFor is an independent service, a platform where you can find, rate and review professionals. The identity of all reviewers is verified.

You can search thousands of financial and mortgage advisers, solicitors and accountants. Not only can you find a professional you can also voice your opinion and contribute to trust online. Solicitors specialise in different areas of law, and therefore, look for one whose reviews are about similar issues to yours.

lynne certificate of excellence

In April 2016, The Sunday Times published via VouchedFor a guide with UK’s top solicitors. Next to Lynne Brooke’s name were the following listed areas: Employment, Immigration, Business, Disputes, Intellectual Property, and Finance.

All top solicitors have received the highest volume of positive client reviews in the past two years – visit the VouchedFor platform to read reviews Lynne received. VouchedFor lists over 10,000 professionals, and over 40,000 clients have reviewed their advisers, solicitors and accountants.

Lynne Brooke belongs to UK’s best professionals as chosen by his clients.

Sources: The Brooke Consultancy, VouchedFor.co.uk, The Sunday Times

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