Howells welcomes E&Y into LLP fold
DTI minister Kim Howells has welcomed moves by Ernst & Young to become the first Big Five firm to assume limited liability partnership status which goes live today (Friday).
The firm will be among the very first organisations to take up the new LLP status, which will reduce the liability on partners while still providing many of the tax benefits.
Howells, minister for competition and consumer affairs, said: ‘I know this new Act will be welcomed by many firms and I am particularly pleased that a major player like Ernst & Young is registering at the earliest opportunity to become an LLP.
‘The new LLP structure is likely to benefit a wide range of businesses, including start-ups. It gives members the freedom to arrange their internal relationships as they wish while retaining the benefit of limited liability.
‘The government has consulted widely before introducing this legislation. I am confident that the Act and Regulations strike the right balance between the interests of those who want to become Limited Liability Partnerships and those who will do business with them.’
Ernst & Young was among the most energetic of lobbyists LLPs and it has been a long-stated aim of the firm’s UK chairman, Nick Land, to take up the arrangements.
In a recent interview with Accountancy Age he said: ‘To become an LLP in this country you have to adopt the same reporting obligations as if you were a limited company.
‘You’re a corporate entity. You have to file your accounts, you have to have them audited and so on.
‘I think the trade off says you can have LLP status but you have to prepare and file and have audited accounts is a perfectly reasonable obligation..’
Links
Interview with Nick Lnad: A line in the sand