Spring 2008 Newsletter Content Winter Of Discontent CGT Winners CGT Losers Shifty Business Anything To Declare? Long Arm Of The Law Irreplaceable You Earn As You Pay Ask Questions Later Capital Ideas ISA ISA ISA Referee! Go Green VAT Or No VAT? Taking The Register Close Encounters May Contain Nuts Going Concern Ancient History Business And Pleasure Do Your Duty Know Your Rights Time To Go? Passing The Buck

Passing The Buck A director and his company fell out with their accountants over a failed project on which the accountants had advised. The accountants admitted that they had not done the job as well as they might, but they argued that the project had failed because the director had not obtained the necessary licences to operate the business - it wasn't anything to do with their advice. Even so, the director engaged the company in a legal action for damages against the accountants. The court agreed that they were not to blame, and ordered the company to pay the firm's costs - and made the director jointly liable for those costs, because it was the director's personal decision to pursue the case when he must have known it was hopeless. Lawsuits can be a chancy business, but if you know you have no chance, it's best to cut your losses.