Sir Paul Chambers was never a household name, even in his lifetime but he came up with an innovation that changed the economy. This was back in the early 1940s when the world was at war and those left behind in Whitehall began to think about the post-war era. We all know about the other institutions founded then, the National Health Service and state education for instance but less is said about the seismic shift in the way tax is collected. Before then, most people paid tax in arrears, calculating what they owed and paying a lump sum to the taxman. READ MORE

Well not really, as no company would get very far if it didn’t report PAYE, VAT or year end accounts. But what about where it’s not compulsory, such as management accounts? Judging by the absence of such from most businesses it looks like they don’t matter. This is a pity because if you can measure it you can improve it, assuming you want to? READ MORE