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Why We Joined the Good Business Charter
Most of what we write about here is tax: deadlines, rates, the things you have to do. This one is different. It’s about something we chose to do, because it says something about the kind of firm we want to be. We’re proud to be part of the Good Business Charter.
What the Good Business Charter is
The Good Business Charter is an accreditation scheme that launched in 2020 to recognise organisations committed to responsible business, looking after their people, suppliers, customers, and the environment, and paying their fair share of tax. It was created to pull a set of good behaviours together into one clear, credible standard, rather than leaving “being a good business” as a vague claim anyone could make.
To be accredited, an organisation has to meet the requirements across ten components:
- Real Living Wage, paid to all directly employed staff.
- Fairer hours and contracts, avoiding exploitative arrangements
- Employee wellbeing, taken seriously rather than treated as a poster on the wall.
- Employee representation, giving staff a real voice
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Environmental responsibility
- Paying fair tax
- Commitment to customers
- Ethical sourcing
- Prompt payment to suppliers
Why it matters to us
A few of these are close to home for an accountancy practice.
“Paying fair tax” is one. There’s a version of accountancy that treats tax as a game to be gamed, and it’s never been ours. We help clients pay what they owe and not a penny more, using the reliefs and allowances that exist for exactly that purpose. Committing publicly to fair tax is simply putting our name to how we already work.
“Prompt payment to suppliers” is another. We see, up close, what late payment does to small businesses. Cash-flow pressure is one of the most common reasons good businesses struggle, and a big company sitting on an invoice for ninety days can do real damage to the small one that raised it. Paying our own suppliers promptly is a small thing that matters.
And the real Living Wage, fair hours, wellbeing and giving our team a voice: that’s just how we think a business should treat the people who make it work. We’re an independent, female-led practice, and the culture within the firm is something we’ve deliberately built.
Being part of something bigger
Signing up to the Good Business Charter isn’t a marketing exercise for us. It’s a way of standing alongside other organisations who take these things seriously, and of being held to a standard by someone outside our own four walls. It’s easy to say you’re a good business. It’s better to be measured against ten specific things and meet them.
If you run a business and this resonates, the Good Business Charter is open to organisations of every size. You can read about the ten components on their website.
Here’s how we help
If you’d like to work with an accountant whose values match the way you want to run your own business, we’d love to hear from you.
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