DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent
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DPC Business & Tax Advisers Stoke-on-Trent
Creating Relationships – Driving Success
Looking for an Accountants in Stoke-on-Trent? Wherever you are in your business journey, just starting out, established and running a successfully business, looking to retire to grow your business, or just need some help with meeting your tax obligations, DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent have all the skills to help you achieve your financial goals and keep you compliant.
Our aim is to build lasting relationships to understand your business and personal financial goals and help you achieve them.
We can provide you a professional, honest, and personal service from day-to-day business accounting and compliance, through to specialist tax or business advice, and auditing.
Our team have a wealth of experience to help individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses to reach their full potential and grow and develop.
We help a wide range of businesses from corporate groups, owner managed businesses, sole traders and partnerships working across multiple business sectors and industries.
We use and embrace technology to enable us to deliver accurate and efficient information to you which enables us to provide advice that adds value to your business.
Our staff are trained to a high standard and our work is regulated by the ICAEW accountancy body, ensuring we deliver a high standard of service to all our clients.
Working with you to ensure the success of your business relies on strong relationships, trust and integrity.
As a well-known Staffordshire firm of chartered accountants and business advisers, DPC Chartered Accountants Stoke-on-Trent use intelligent accounting solutions and expert advice to guide business and private clients.
Continual staff training and in-house skills are invested in to deliver the most up-to-date services compliant with HMRC, digital technology and data protection.
Whether you run a start-up company, a growing business, are looking to exit a business or require taxation advice, you can be assured of the highest quality guidance and tax solutions.
DPC Chartered Accountants are part of The Sumer Group Limited.
The heritage of DPC Group Limited originated with Edwin Downward on February 9, 1943 who set up shop as a sole practitioner in Wellesley Street, Stoke-on-Trent.
Welcoming John Plumb in 1962 and Mike Colclough in 1963, the firm became known as Downward, Plumb and Colclough – later adopting the acronym DPC.
Over the course of its rich history as a firm of accountants in Stoke-on-Trent (80-years celebrated in July 2023) DPC has gone from strength to strength embracing many changes and a commitment to constant innovation.
When computers were a fledgling industry, DPC took a chance by investing into new technology by spending £3,500 on a revolutionary Logabax accounting machine in June 1967.
The investment enabled advanced accounting (at the time) for some of Staffordshire’s most prominent businesses. The efficiency in financial affairs resulted in many of these organisations achieving international success.
Looking to work as an accountant in Stoke-on-Trent? We welcome people at all stages in their careers, from school leavers and recent graduates to experienced professionals.
We’re focused on attracting the best talent, putting people into the right roles and offering the best professional training and personal development to deliver a first class client service.
We offer fully funded and supported professional training at each stage of an accountancy/ audit/ tax career i.e. AAT, ACCA, ACA (ICAEW), ATT, or CTA. This is supplemented with an in-house mentor and Personal Development Plan.
We offer structured career paths across a range of roles within the practice
Experienced hires
Develop personally and professionally with DPC
Apprenticeships
Looking to start a career in accounting? Join our outsanding training programme
Weekly Business News

February 10th Business News
Welcome to the DPC round up of some of important business news for our clients. Please contact us if you want to talk about how these updates affect your business. We are here to support you!
To view previous business newsletters, click here
Monthly Tax News

February 2025 Tax News
In the February edition of DPC Tax News - we look at ways to make the most of the available reliefs and allowances available to you, as well as updates on Double-Cab Pickup (DCPU) vehicle, employment expenses and VAT on food and drink.
To view previous tax newsletters, click here
Practice News

NSCG welcome DPC staff to address their students
Sharing their experiences of working for the Stoke-on-Trent business who were recently awarded ‘SME Employer of the Year Regional Finalist’ in the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards, Rachel and Nathan helped the group to focus on the progression opportunities available to them within this in-demand profession.

DPC are part of the fastest growing accountancy firm in the UK!
Sumer has been recognised in this year’s Top 50+50 Accountancy Firms, by Accountancy Age! It’s official, we’re now the fastest growing accountancy firm in the UK! It’s not just about numbers or rankings; it’s about the incredible team that made it happen and the trust of the clients who believe in us.

Business Fives Football Fundraiser
Earlier this week, DPC’s five aside team braved the snowy cold weather to compete in a charity football tournament at the Powerleague in Stoke-on-Trent. Our team was playing to raise money for the aiM charity – this is a local charity that was set up by the parents of Mia who tragically passed away in December 2022 from sepsis. The charity works to raise awareness of Sepsis to save lives and hopefully stop others feeling the same pain as Mia’s family.
Business News from DPC Accountants Stoke-on-Trent

Are you thinking about starting a new business?
Starting a business in the UK is an exciting venture, but it comes with financial, tax, and accounting responsibilities that you must navigate effectively. Understanding what you will need to do from the outset will help make sure that you don’t miss anything, avoid unnecessary costs, and position your new business for success.

Base rate cut to 4.5%
The Bank of England reduced their base rate to 4.5% last week, as had been widely expected in the days leading up to the decision. The decision was made by a 7-2 majority. The minority of two members were looking for the rate to be reduced to 4.25%. In announcing their decision, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) outlined their thoughts on the economy.

Would you benefit from a top up contribution to your State Pension?
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have revealed that 37,000 people have plugged gaps in their National Insurance (NI) record since last April, boosting the amount of State Pension they will receive when they reach retirement age. The amount of State Pension you will receive is based on how many completed years you have in your NI record.

How do you ensure data cannot be recovered from storage media?
When it comes to disposing of computer equipment, how do you make sure that any storage media – hard drives, SSDs, flash drives and so forth – can’t be read by unauthorised users or have the data recovered? The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) reports that there have even been examples where several gigabytes of sensitive documents were retrieved from decommissioned photocopiers and printers.

Charity Commission warns charities about fraud prevention
The Charity Commission has issued a warning reminder to large, incorporated charities about changes to the law on preventing fraud. A new failure to prevent fraud offence will come into force on 1 September 2025 for all large organisations, including charities.

Boost in funding for flood defences
Following the recent run of storms and wet weather, the government has announced that £2.65 billion will be spent over the next two years to build, maintain and repair flood defences. Extreme weather events are increasing in frequency, so flood defences are becoming increasingly important in protecting both homes and businesses. The funding will also help protect farmland, which has also suffered in the recent storms.

Rises to national minimum wage confirmed
Legislation was laid before Parliament last week confirming that the new National Living Wage and new Minimum Wage rates will take effect from 1 April 2025. While many businesses are feeling and have expressed concern about the increases, the sight of the legislation suggests that no reprieve is in sight.

Duty changes for the alcohol industry
February saw changes for the alcohol industry come into force that particularly affected winemakers. A temporary easement has been in place for wine that has treated wines with an alcohol by volume (abv) between 11.5% and 14.5% as if their abv was 12.5%. It was announced in the 2024 Autumn Budget that the easement would end on 1 February 2025. There have been calls to make the easement permanent, however the government has confirmed that the easement would end as planned.

Company fined over health and safety negligence
Pemberton Timber Frame Ltd from Kent has been fined and ordered to pay costs following an avoidable injury to one of its workers. The company manufactures timber frame structures for the construction industry. One of its workers was operating a panel saw and was asked to perform a rip cut on a length of timber, i.e. cut down its thickness.

Chancellor’s speech: An update on economic growth measures
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, delivered a speech last week that served as an update on the government’s plans for delivering economic growth. The plan largely focused on developments proposed around Oxford and Cambridge as well as a third runway at Heathrow. Here are some of the highlights from the speech.

Rising above the storms: Finding strength in recovery
Severe weather can be an enormous challenge for businesses, and we have seen plenty of it recently. Power outages, property damage, and forced downtime are not just disruptions—they can feel like setbacks that threaten months or years of hard work. If your business has been affected by recent storms, you are not alone, and it’s important to remember that resilience is built in moments like these.

Avoiding the last-minute rush: A guide for business owners on preparing next year’s tax return
The annual self-assessment tax return deadline has just passed, and for many business owners, the experience may have been a mad scramble to gather documents, double-check figures, and submit their returns and pay the tax on time. If that was your situation, you were in good company! HM Revenue and Customs said that 3.4 million taxpayers, almost a third, hadn’t submitted their tax return yet going into the final week before the deadline.

Lack of competition in the UK cloud services market
A recent investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) independent inquiry group has revealed that competition in the UK cloud services market is not functioning as effectively as it could. Cloud services form the backbone of modern business operations, supporting industries ranging from financial services and retail to digital start-ups and public services.

Is cash still king?
Concern has been raised about various shops and service firms not accepting cash and therefore excluding those who rely on cash to pay for things. While some countries appear to be planning to put rules in place that require essential services to accept cash, the UK does not seem as though it will be following suit.

Data Protection Day at the ICO: Focus on AI
28 January 2025 was Data Protection Day and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) used it to highlight the opportunities and challenges related to AI and data protection. AI adoption is integral to the government’s growth plans, however the ICO are keen to make sure that the opportunities AI brings are taken up in a way that keeps people safe.

Global growth team appointed
As part of the government’s efforts to drive economic growth, the Trade Secretary has appointed a new ‘global growth team’ of UK Trade Envoys with the goal of driving UK exports and investment. 32 MPs have been assigned target markets across the globe and have been tasked with identifying trade and investment opportunities for businesses as well as championing the UK as the place to invest for investors in those markets.

Reforms to pensions proposed in order to drive growth
The Prime Minister and Chancellor met with business leaders last week and unveiled proposals to give occupational defined pension schemes more flexibility. Restrictions will be lifted on how well-funded, occupational defined benefit pension funds that are performing well will be able to invest their surplus funds. It is hoped that this will pave the way for future growth across the economy.

Deposit return scheme to launch in October 2027
A deposit return scheme, which more than 50 countries worldwide are now using, gives people a financial incentive for returning empty bottles and cans to a collection point, such as at a supermarket. According to government supplied statistics, the average return rate in Europe is 90% with Germany leading the way at 98%.

The Budget and what it means for you
Click to see our guide to the implications of the 2024 Budget for your finances.