23 October 2024, London – The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the world’s leading professional body for management accountants and one of the founding member bodies of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, has sent its policy proposals to Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, ahead of the UK Government’s Autumn Budget on 30 October 2024.
CIMA's core proposals for the upcoming Budget are:
Securing sustainable economic growth with a focus on reducing uncertainty for businesses, ensuring that the tax system is fit for purpose, driving innovation, boosting productivity, supporting SME growth, and accelerating skills development. Key proposals include:
Reducing uncertainty in policy and taxation for businesses.
Ensuring corporation tax remains competitive and addressing fiscal drag.
Establishing a stable, predictable R&D tax relief scheme that provides consistent incentives for businesses.
Creating a Productivity Commission, introducing a UK-wide Productivity Strategy, and creating skills and productivity clusters across the country.
Maintaining funding for higher level apprenticeships, accelerating the introduction of a Growth and Skills Levy, and making accounting a STEM subject.
Prioritising policies that support SMEs.
Improving public finances and public sector productivity with a focus on redefining productivity in the public sector and implementing better measurement and tracking of outcomes to drive more effective decision-making, resource allocation, and performance. Key proposals include:
Developing a consistent definition of productivity for the public sector and providing appropriate guidance.
Addressing the public sector's need to better measure outcomes and considering centralising the responsibility for tracking productivity in the public sector into a single function.
Exploring how accounting and finance professionals can be instrumental in supporting the public sector's productivity agenda.
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, Chief Executive – Management Accounting at AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants said:
“The upcoming Autumn Budget must provide businesses with the stability and certainty they need to plan effectively and invest confidently.”
“CIMA’s proposals are designed to provide a comprehensive approach to bolster economic growth, improve public finances, and keep inflation in check. By prioritising stability and certainty in taxation, enhancing productivity, and fostering talent development, the UK Government can create a more predictable and supportive landscape to sustain economic growth and a globally competitive economy, laying the groundwork for long-term prosperity.”
Read CIMA’s full Autumn Budget 2024 submission here.