Sports & Leisure

Our specialist team deliver award winning and practical solutions to the sport and leisure sector. Our wealth of industry and technical experience spanning audit, tax and accounting solutions is executed with a commercial focus with proven results for over 20 years.

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Why haysmacintyre?

Our hands-on and practical approach coupled with commercial insights mean we’re fully equipped to deliver a best in class experience to athletes and their agents, sports technology business, professional sports teams and clubs, national and international governing bodies of sport, major event organisers, and other organisations in the sports industry that are seeking accountancy and tax services.

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Building and leveraging strong relationships with our clients and network is what we do best, and we proactively advise our clients to ensure they stay ahead of the curve as new regulations emerge.

We’re well connected and take pride in our network and making valuable introductions with our clients and wider contacts. We’re continually bolstering our network and are proud to be the leading accountancy and tax partner to Premier Sports Network (PSN), a prominent sports business networking platform. Through PSN, we offer premier accounting services to benefit the sector and provide individuals and organisations with an expanded suite of resources to sustain their success. Giving professionals access to our expansive accounting and tax services ensures they maintain compliance and have their best foot forwards to thrive in the long term.

Clients within the sports sector often have complex group structures and international requirements, requiring an extra level of expertise and local knowledge. haysmacintyre is proud to have co-founded MSI, a global alliance of complementary accounting and legal services, allowing us to confidently recommend or work closely with professionals across the most dynamic markets in the world, providing a seamless, joined-up approach, ensuring your business gets the local expertise and services you require.

 

HMRC pursuing dual representation in the Premier League

Tax Policy Associates has predicted that Premier League football clubs may have avoided paying £250 million in tax, over a three-year period. This is due to dual representation by agents.

Code of Practice 9 enquiries – football agents

Code of Practice 9 is HMRC’s most serious civil investigation type, which carries an allegation by HMRC of fraud or deliberate behaviour leading to a tax loss.

Both in my current role and in my previous role I have very much enjoyed working with haysmacintyre, their specialists have provided us with a broad range of advice on a range of topics including employment benefits, VAT treatment on niche items such as boat tonnage and measurement and assisted us in responding appropriately to HMRC following compliance discussions relating to our overall VAT and PAYE positions. They always respond quickly to our calls for assistance in a measured and supportive manner and with clarity of thought and good humour. They understand in depth the challenges facing the sports sector and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them as advisors.

David Strain, Head of Finance and Administration

Royal Yachting Association

l have been impressed by the professionalism and warmth of the people that I’ve had the chance to meet at haysmacintyre. Those characteristics were integral to winning my custom.

Private Client

Private Client

Our services

We specialise in advising athletes, agents, clubs and sports organisations  fast-growth, entrepreneurial businesses and as such we understand their needs and have the breadth of expertise to advise across the range of services they require. We support our clients as their needs continue to evolve and become more complex, including supporting future change.

Statutory auditReveal

We have been providing statutory audit services to organisations in the sports industry from more than 20 years. Our practitioners have significant experience of working with clients across the whole sporting ecosystem from governing bodies to clubs and sports related businesses.

Aside from conforming to legal requirements, an audit is also a great opportunity to add value to your organisation. An external audit provides an opportunity to:

  • Identify weakness in internal controls and implement improvements.
  • Improve the quality of management information.
  • Provide confidence to shareholders and financers.
  • Provide credibility to the financial statements.

You will benefit from our audit approach, which is delivered through our specifically tailored audit software, Inflo. We are focused on adopting innovative technology to constantly improve the quality of audit service delivery and share meaningful information beyond a set of financial statements.

Outsourced accounting servicesReveal

All businesses need to maintain up-to-date financial information and records to meet statutory requirements and allow management to make informed decisions and clients in the sports industry are no different. This is particularly with smaller organisations or scale up business such as sports technology organisations.

Hiring and setting up an internal finance team can be a huge drain on resources at a time when investment should be focused on developing your business.

Using haysmacintyre’s business support team, provides business owners with a cost and time effective solution. Our services are tailored and can grow with you without the need for significant investment in people and the most recent accounting software. Having a flexible solution to your growing finance needs is something that we have found our clients value most about our service as they scale – and appointing an already established finance team using the best software solutions, means you can immediately take advantage of our forecasting services, allowing you to make better business decisions.

Corporation Tax Compliance and AdvisoryReveal

UK tax laws are numerous, complicated, and constantly changing, which makes managing your tax affairs complex and demanding.

Our Tax Compliance service includes:

  • Accurate preparation of the tax computations and returns with minimal disruption.
  • Time dedicated for innovative thinking, which focuses on ‘how your tax efficiency can be improved’, now and for the future – with us acting as your in-house business tax team.
  • Considering group matters to enhance worldwide tax efficiency where appropriate.
  • Undertaking R&D claim work at the same time as preparing the remainder of the tax computations and returns.
  • The timely preparation of tax journals, deferred tax and accounting disclosure tax notes for the accounts.
  • Our commitment to finalise the tax return and computation within 30 days of the board signing the financial statements.

We use the tax compliance process to identify tax planning opportunities and future issues both in the UK and internationally. Our corporation tax team provide a full range of tax advisory services to the sector.

VAT advisory servicesReveal

VAT is a complex tax particularly in the sports industry. There are specific complexities in the industry around partial exemption requirements, major events, cross border transactions and even agents’ fees.

The haysmacintyre VAT team has a track record of communicating complex requirements in a results-oriented and practical way, without losing sight of the inevitable complexities and areas of uncertainty. We can aid with VAT reviews, highlighting VAT efficiencies, partial exemption calculations, preparation for inspections and inspection visits.

Employment tax advisory servicesReveal

There are several specific challenges within sport related to employment taxes. We often see clients requiring advice on benefits in kind, off payroll working arrangements, foreign entertainers’ taxation and image rights amongst many other issues.

We have a dedicated employment taxes team who advise on all the above these issues plus other bespoke assignments including:

  • Advising on compliance reporting obligations under the business expense payments regime.
  • Drafting and updating staff expense and travel expense policies.
  • Assisting with HMRC employment status reviews and helping to implement an internal review process.
  • Structuring termination payments.
  • Advising on National Living and Minimum Wage Regulations.
  • Managing HMRC reviews.

Transaction advisory servicesReveal

With significant growth in the industry, new start up business and regular changes of ownership, the sport industry requires specialist transactional advisory and support services.

Whether assisting with a private sale or acting as reporting accountants in an IPO, our partner-led approach allows us to add real value to these processes. Within our transaction advisory services team, our key services include:

  • Reporting accountants
  • Vendor and acquisition due diligence
  • Financial modelling
  • Equity Capital Markets
  • Exit strategies

High net worth and private clientReveal

Our dedicated sports compliance and advisory teams are on hand to deliver bespoke services to athletes and high net worth individuals. We advise athletes already residing in the UK, coming to the UK, or moving abroad, and we’re equipped to advise on complex tax matters, tax efficient remuneration planning, profit extraction, bearing in mind future plans for the business. Wherever you are in your personal journey, our team is ready to support you. We’ll unravel your financial knots, explain the best options and set out a path that can achieve your aims.

Tax disputes and resolutionsReveal

Our team has in-depth experience of dealing with HMRC on behalf of individuals, partnerships, companies, trustees, and charities, and are experts in dealing with a wide range of tax disputes including:

  • Tax avoidance schemes
  • Negotiating tax settlements with HMRC
  • Tax disclosures
  • Disputes with HMRC including alternative dispute resolution
  • Tax investigations under Code of Practice 8 and 9

Applying tax legalisation to each client’s specific circumstances with confidence, we can undertake all financial and technical analysis, negotiate with HMRC, and seek a settlement on your behalf, should one be required.

R&D tax creditsReveal

Tax reliefs are a key advisory service at haysmacintyre and are particularly relevant to business in the sports and esports sectors. Our experts regularly work with our clients to prepare robust, comprehensive and accurate claims, with our scope being tailored for each client’s needs. This can extend to us preparing the required qualitative report or providing our guidance, templates and undertaking a detailed review if you prefer to prepare the report in-house. Our work also ensures that the maximum but supportable costs are included in a claim, by understanding your project processes and the roles of those involved.

haysmacintyre has assisted companies with R&D tax relief claims across a wide range of industries for over 15 years and we have an excellent track record of dealing with HMRC. With recent changes to R&D tax credits, and a significant increase in the enquiry/challenge rate, it’s important to partner with a firm who have a strong track record, have expert knowledge of your sector, and have qualified experts within the business working with you on your claims.

InternationalReveal

Many of our clients need a wide range of professional advice when conducting international business and we meet this need through MSI Global Alliance, a multidisciplinary international alliance of legal and accounting firms, which we co-founded.

Member firms work closely together to provide integrated multidisciplinary services, local expertise and global reach to a wide variety of clients. This enables us to provide a seamless service in managing the overseas activities of our clients.

International expansion advice

It may be that you’ve established your place in the UK market and are now looking for your next expansion opportunity. If you’ve performed your market research you may have identified a promising location for your product/service overseas, but you may not be quite sure how to access this market.

That’s where we can help. We work with clients to explore international opportunities and are happy to take the lead advisory role in liaising with advisors in our MSI Global Alliance. Often, we act as a clients’ in-house team, appraising the advice provided drawing on our knowledge of establishing international structures and effectively being your ‘interpreters’, making recommendations to allow your board to make an informed decision.

We frequently advise clients on establishing the ‘right’ type of overseas subsidiaries having regard to any unique tax status or requirements of the UK parent company.

Latest

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Press
Sports & Leisure
haysmacintyre launches dedicated sports division

haysmacintyre is thrilled to announce the expansion of its partnership with Premier Sports Network following...

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Press
Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
haysmacintyre extends four-year partnership with UK Premier Sports Network

This extension to a four-year partnership reinforces the development of providing comprehensive financial and tax...

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Football
Insights
Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
HMRC pursuing dual representation in the Premier League

Dual representation An agent would normally represent one side – either the club or a player –...

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Insights
Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
HMRC new guidance for football agents

The guidance covers HMRC’s position where football clubs use the services of an intermediary (...

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Insights
Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
Code of Practice 9 enquiries – football agents

What is COP9? Code of Practice 9 is HMRC’s most serious civil investigation type, which...

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Insights
Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
Off payroll arrangements impacting the sports and entertainment sectors

The Government has become increasingly concerned by an emerging tax gap in this area. In...

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Awards and Accreditations

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work 2024
Accounting Excellence Large Firm of the Year 2023
eprivateclient top accountancy firm 2023

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