According to the latest Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, almost two in five small businesses in the UK suffered a successful cyber-attack in the last year, with each attack costing an average of £26,650.

Globally, cyber incidents cause around 32 hours of operational disruption a year on average.

Cyber-attacks are no longer exceptional events, being viewed more as recurring costs, so businesses must prepare themselves financially for the impact.

How should you prepare your finances in advance of a cyber-attack?

A cyber-attack is slowly and sadly becoming a reality for many SME owners across the UK.

To prepare, business owners should assess the potential financial risk a cyber-attack poses and forecast cash flow to ensure their business can survive one.

It could also be beneficial to value your data assets to estimate the worth of any lost revenue and recovery expenses.

Business owners may also want to keep offline playbooks. These are secure, printed offline copies of critical financial contacts, account numbers and recovery protocols to ensure that your business has key information in the event of a cyber-attack.

Additionally, your business should establish strict double-check procedures for unusual payment requests or changes to supplier details to prevent business email compromise.

You should also factor cyber insurance premiums into your operational risk management to ensure that you are prepared for any eventuality.

What should you do to get your finances back in check after a cyber-attack?

Should the worst-case scenario happen, once you are back on track, the first thing you should do is speak with your accountant.

Your accountant will help you to calculate the exact monetary value of damaged assets, lost revenue and stolen money so that you know exactly where your business stands.

They will then review your financial data and your tax records to establish a baseline for recovery and determine if the business can continue or if restructuring is necessary.

Accountants can also help during complex cyber insurance claims by submitting the required evidence to ensure fair financial assessments of the business interruption costs.

Once you have received any insurance payments, an accountant can advise on the tax implications.

How can we help?

Cyber-attacks are becoming more prevalent for businesses up and down the UK.

That is why it is imperative that you receive advice on how you can best prepare your finances in a worst-case scenario.

Our team of accountants can help you to prepare your business for a cyber-attack and in the event of a cyber-attack, we can help you pick up the financial pieces.

Get in touch with our team for support with preparing your business for a cyber-attack.

According to UK Finance, gross lending to SMEs from the main high street banks reached £5.35 billion in the second quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly level recorded since the pandemic.

Real estate and professional service firms drove much of this growth, while manufacturers and hospitality businesses borrowed less.

How can loans help SMEs?

A loan can often be a lifeline for SMEs in a financial rough patch. It can help a business bridge cash flow gaps in the short term, ensuring that it has enough money to cover payroll, rent and supplier obligations.

It could also be the case that a loan can help to fund expansion to increase business opportunities or hire more staff.

Additionally, loans can help business owners to retain ownership of the company rather than selling equity to investors.

However, SMEs need to remember that a loan must be paid back with interest regardless of business performance.

How should SMEs prepare for a loan?

Preparing your business for a loan can often be a tricky process. First, you will need to gather two to three years of profit and loss statements alongside cash flow forecasts and up-to-date tax filings.

Next, you will have to check and correct any errors that may be on your personal or business credit reports in order to optimise your credit profile before borrowing.

You will then have to create a strong business plan outlining your core growth strategy and market opportunity.

There should be a clear breakdown of how the funds will be used, linking every borrowed pound to revenue generation, as well as a risk mitigation section addressing potential economic downturns.

You must consider the lender that you are selecting by comparing criteria across high street banks and alternative providers.

How can an accountant help?

An accountant can be one of your most valuable assets when applying for finance. They can help to improve your financial record-keeping, build advanced financial models and stress-test your cash flow to give lenders greater confidence in your business.

We understand that it is tough for SMEs to obtain funding at the moment. That is why our team can help you obtain the loan that you need.

For support with accessing loans, get in touch with our team.

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (DBIST) initiated a ‘modernising corporate reporting’ consultation on 7 September 2026, which closes on 30 November 2026.

Under the proposed overhauls, many medium-sized companies may be exempt from mandatory audits.

This consultation forms part of a wider Government pledge to cut administrative burdens on businesses by 25 per cent by 2029.

What is being proposed?

The Companies Act 2006 considers various company size categories to assess which reporting, audit and disclosure requirements apply.

For medium-sized businesses wanting to access exemptions currently exclusive to small companies, they must not exceed two of the following three thresholds:

• Turnover of £54 million
• Balance sheet total of £27 million
• Average of 250 employees

Under these exemptions, many businesses would no longer need to have an audit, provide cash flow statements or prepare consolidated accounts.

Elsewhere, the proposals from DBIST include:

• Introducing an SME accounting standard
• Allowing companies to calculate employee numbers on a full-time equivalent basis
• Removing strategic report requirements for most medium-sized private companies
• Simplifying financial reporting rules

Is it always smart to forgo an audit?

While the proposals mean audits may become optional for some SMEs, forgoing an audit isn’t always the smartest move.

An audit can often go one step further than simple compliance and financial reporting, providing insights and peace of mind that your numbers are accurate.

Lenders also often rely on audited accounts when deciding how much to lend and at which interest rate.

Likewise, when it comes to selling a business, buyers and investors often look at audited figures when conducting due diligence as they offer greater credibility.

For any businesses mulling the exemption, it is important to evaluate long-term plans and whether spending money on an audit could have benefits.

At the moment, these changes are part of an ongoing consultation and so may be subject to change in future. We will bring you further updates as they emerge.

Speak to an accountant to evaluate whether an audit may be beneficial to your business.

The so-called mansion tax is already beginning to have an impact on the UK housing market, despite the surcharge not being due to come into effect until April 2028.

Under the new tax, formally known as the High Value Council Tax Surcharge, homes in England worth £2 million or more, based on their value as of April 2026, will face an annual charge on top of their council tax.

Some sellers appear to be pricing homes just under £2 million to attract buyers who want to avoid paying the incoming council tax surcharge.

How is the housing market changing?

According to a report by Tax Policy Associates, sales at exactly £2 million made up 2.70 per cent of completed sales between £1.7 million and £2.3 million from December 2025 to July 2026, down from 5.69 per cent in the same period a year earlier.

At the same time, the share of sales priced within £10,000 below the mansion tax threshold rose roughly fivefold, from 0.44 per cent to 2.27 per cent.

Tax Policy Associates describes this as clear evidence of prices bunching below the threshold, although it has not yet found evidence of a wider fall in property values.

The annual surcharge bands are as follows:

• £2 million to £2.5 million – £2,500 per year
• £2.5 million to £3.5 million – £3,500 per year
• £3.5 million to £5 million – £5,000 per year
• £5 million and above – £7,500 per year

What are the risks with an artificially low property price?

While sellers can distort their asking price in an attempt to avoid the tax, the Valuation Office is expected to use comparable sales and property characteristics to assess which properties sit above the £2 million threshold.

This means tax liabilities will depend on assessed value, calculated using a combination of sales data and technology-driven modelling, rather than simply what a property is sold for.

Therefore, sellers who artificially drop their price to below the threshold may not achieve the intended tax outcome, as the buyer may still be liable to pay the surcharge.

Buyers and sellers may try to make up the costs elsewhere, such as inflated payments for furniture or fixtures, but this is also risky.

As Stamp Duty Land Tax is levied on property transactions, HMRC scrutinises extra charges to determine if they are just and reasonable and at fair market value.

If they are deemed to be disproportionate, the buyer may face extra tax and even interest and penalties.

Do you own or are looking to sell a home worth £2 million or more? Speak to our team for advice on your tax position.

Reforms to the Benefits in Kind (BIK) system have continued to change in recent years, as the Government prepares to roll out mandatory payrolling.

From April 2027, businesses will be required to payroll BIK, but this will now be a phased approach, with the full reforms in place from April 2028.

For employers who were expecting to do away with the P11D process in the main from next year, this means that most will still need to complete and submit P11Ds for 2026/27 and, for any benefits not yet payrolled, for 2027/28.

The new phased approach to payrolling BIK

HMRC confirmed earlier this year that in April next year, employers will only need to payroll BIK for the following benefits:

• Company cars and car fuel
• Company vans and van fuel
• Employer-provided medical benefits

From this date, Income Tax and employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) on these benefits must be paid using the same real-time system as the rest of PAYE.

HMRC intends its Real Time Information (RTI) system to handle the payrolling of most BIK from April 2028.

The exceptions are employment-related beneficial loans and living accommodation.

Employers providing either of these will still need to complete P11Ds for the relevant employees each year.

HMRC is also weighing up whether to keep P11Ds for a small number of specific situations, such as internationally mobile employees on modified payroll arrangements.

For 2028/29, every other benefit must be processed through your payroll, with the associated Income Tax and Class 1A National Insurance paid in real time.

What is the expected impact of the changes?

First and foremost, you will need to prepare your payroll processes to incorporate real-time reporting of BIK.

This should be relatively straightforward, but it still makes sense to ensure your team and systems are prepared.

You will need to report more information than before, on a more regular basis, which may lead to more payroll errors, so don’t leave preparations too late.

In the first year of payrolling BIK, there may also be cash flow implications for the business and employees.

In 2027/28, an employer will pay the final P11D-based Class 1A bill for 2026/27 in July 2027. In the same year, it will also pay Class 1A on 2027/28 benefits in real time. That’s roughly two years’ worth of Class 1A leaving the business within one year.

For employees, the same doubling up can happen, as the tax on benefits reported on a P11D is often collected after the event through Self Assessment the following January or through a tax code adjustment in a later year that recovers an underpayment.

In the first year of payrolling, an employee could still be paying off the previous year’s benefit tax while also having tax on their current benefits deducted from each pay packet.

Need help with the upcoming BIK reforms?

Businesses are being encouraged to act early on these changes to ensure they understand the cash flow implications and reporting rules of this new mandatory payroll requirement.

If you would like help updating your payroll process or need support managing your payroll, please get in touch.