Sherie Griffiths

March 19, 2010

“REAL” Complements

Filed under: Uncategorised — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 10:22 am

When I finished writing – for the moment anyway – I found I had time to read.  I used some of it to read “24 Carat BOLD – The Standard For Real Thought Leaders” by Mindy Gibbins-Klein.

She uses the acronym “REAL” to explain the four main attributes which she says turn a person into a “Real Thought Leader” – not just an expert in their field, but “the expert” in their field – the “go-to person”.

R – reach

E – engagement

A – authority and

L – longevity,

but if the neatness of that makes you think “Here comes another trite business book by an ‘expert’ in the blindingly obvious!”, think again.  It’s solid stuff – but not stolid.  Yes, there’s a lot of business common sense in there – but there’s also a lot of uncommon sense.

Mindy and I have met a few times on the networking circuit, but I didn’t realise how much common ground we have until I read the book.  She recommends getting “REAL” by writing a book, because that’s her specialism and there’s still no substitute for giving someone something tangible to remember you by.  I recommend getting “REAL” through podcasting, because that’s my specialism and there’s no substitute for the human voice.  Every aspect of that acronym applies to using sound as it does to print.  I’m not anti-print by any means, as you know – I’m about to go into it myself!  As an obsessive communicator, I’m not anti any medium.  A couple of weeks ago, when I was having a go at the BBC Strategy Review, I said I was a “multi-dimensional person” whose needs couldn’t all be met by one product.  All the different ways of touching people – personal meetings, phone, email, the printed word, audio, video, online interaction –have their respective strengths and weaknesses.  So they all have a place and work best when they work together – like people really.

March 18, 2010

Business Groups call for ‘Decisive Action’ on UK Deficit

Filed under: Business — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 4:00 pm

From Branston Adams (Chartered & Certified Accountants), Surrey.

 

Two of the UK’s leading business groups are calling on the Government to set out clear and credible plans for tackling the UK’s £178bn deficit.  In its Budget submission to Chancellor Alistair Darling, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the Government to set out more details of its departmental spending plans, and to bring forward its targets for balancing the books, in order to obtain the critical objectives of boosting confidence in the public finances and fostering economic stability.

The CBI believes that the Government’s target date for achieving budget balance in 2017/18 is too far off, and that the bulk of the deficit should be addressed by 2015/16.  This would be achieved by adjusting expenditure plans, rather than increasing taxes.  Richard Lambert, CBI Director-General, said, ‘The UK’s deficit, though worryingly large, is still manageable, but the Government must act now to set out a convincing, credible pathway for balancing the books’.

He added, ‘The Budget should do whatever is necessary and possible to maintain and strengthen this country’s reputation as an attractive place for investment.  The planned rise in National Insurance Contributions is particularly ill-judged.  It is a direct tax on jobs and should be reversed’.

Meanwhile, the Institute of Directors (IoD) is calling for an incoming Government to act on the deficit as soon as it takes office.

Publishing its Business Manifesto 2010, the organisation echoes the CBI’s views that fiscal tightening should be based on lower public spending rather than higher taxation.  Miles Templeman, IoD Director-General, said, ‘We are convinced that we need swift action to tackle the budget deficit. The argument that early cuts would jeopardise the recovery is mistaken.  We believe that lower spending is likely to trigger a whole series of positive developments that will assist growth’.

Planning for the 50% Income Tax Rate

Higher earners should take action now to help minimise the effect of the new 50% top rate of income tax.  If you are likely to have income in excess of £100,000 for 2010/11, you could use the following strategies to reduce your total taxable income.

Accelerating Income

Consider accelerating income into the 2009/10 tax year by bringing forward bonus and dividend payments, and possibly the realisation of gains on unapproved share schemes, ahead of 6 April 2010 so that income is taxed at 40% (32.5% for dividends).

Changing Your Accounting Date

If you are self-employed and have an accounting year end of 6 April or later, you will be paying tax at the higher rate of 50% on income over £150,000. You may wish to consider changing your accounting date in order to shift profits into 2009/10.

Incorporation

While incorporating a business currently run as a sole trade or partnership is not always advantageous, there may be some potential benefits.  A change of accounting date or incorporation requires careful thought; we can review your figures and expectations for your business, to help you to decide if either of these options is right for you.

Restricting Income

If you run your business through your own company, you may wish to consider restricting your income to below either of the two key thresholds of £100,000 or £150,000 byreducing your salary and dividends and leaving any surplus cash in the company.

Transferring Income

If your spouse or civil partner has a lower marginal tax rate, you could consider either transferring ownership of income generating assets such as shares, let property or bank deposits to your spouse, or changing them to joint ownership.  Where your spouse is involved in your business, care must be taken to ensure that you comply with all of the necessary legalities.

Remuneration Options

Salary sacrifice schemes may allow a saving to be made, by replacing taxable income with certain benefits-in-kind.  The benefits may themselves be taxable, so it is important to factor this in when considering the savings.  The new restrictions on pension savings may make share based reward schemes more attractive forms of remuneration, allowing income to be taken as a capital return.  Approved share schemes could result in a capital gains tax liability of 18%, compared with a potential income tax liability of up to 50%.

Pension Payments

Pensions are a complex area for those whose income reaches (or has reached) more than £130,000 per annum, but maximising pension savings could reduce your marginal rate. Please contact us for further advice.

For further information and details of more strategies to minimise the effect of the new rates, such as deferring tax relief, tax-efficient investments, and making charitable donations, please visit the Hot Topics section of our website.  Please contact us for advice on your individual situation before taking any action.

March 17, 2010

The Radio Village

Filed under: Book, Business, Marketing, Media — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 10:22 am

Extract from “On Sound Foundations”, Chapter 2, “A Proper Little Madam!”

“At their best, radio and TV create communities; they break down barriers, binding diverse groups of people together with a common interest, be it soap, news or music.

“I tend to think of radio communities as villages.  Some are large, some are small – some no-one outside has ever heard of; but within those groups, everyone knows the place so well, they can talk to each other in shorthand. They know every local landmark and become fiercely protective if any are moved or messed with (just check out ‘Feedback’ on Radio 4 if you don’t believe me); and they feel they know each other. 

“The names of listeners who write or phone regularly, stick with presenters – and other listeners can remember those names years later.  For instance, I’ve never forgotten Siobhan from Hendon, aka ‘The Duchess of North London’ or James – the young lad from Berkshire, who had more front than Blackpool and Southend put together (he’s probably in sales now) – yet I’ve heard nothing of either of them for more than twenty-five years.  Then, of course, the listener feels they know the presenter – and just occasionally, they do.

“There are elements of that in television, but it’s less intimate; less personal.  It’s one-to-many communication, rather than one-to-one.  If radio is a village, TV is a city.  When it works well, there’s still a sense of pride, of belonging, but you’re far less likely to know the neighbours personally.”

I didn’t know I thought that until I wrote it a couple of months ago; but since I put it down in writing and started talking to people about it, it’s met with a lot of recognition. 

The technology which has put ‘radio’ and ‘television’ into our hands – yours and mine – means we can now build villages or cities around our businesses.  The choice has nothing to do with size.  It’s about the ethos – especially the one-to-one versus one-to-many engagement.  Personally, I prefer to aim for a village, but what about you?

March 10, 2010

M&S Speak Volumes About Their Brand

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Podcasts — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 11:03 am

I bought my very first interview suit at Marks and Spencer, back in 1986, when I was eighteen.  It was a grey pin-stripe – very conservative – and a long way from anything you’re likely to see me in these days!  I can’t remember when I last shopped there, but I’m obviously still on their customer database, because I recently received the latest of their regular audio updates –which also means that somewhere along the line, they’ve logged the fact that I have a visual impairment.  All good marketing and customer service practice.

There’s only one small issue: these communications come on cassette.  Now, I may have missed something, but I thought the company had put in a lot of work over the last few years, to modernise its brand.  I thought they were trying to get away from the image of staid ladies whose sense of style began and ended with ‘sensible’ knickers.  Recent ad campaigns seem to be trying to target women across a wide age range who care about fashion and for whom maturity means more style, not less.  They want me, as a potential customer, to believe that like me, Marks has moved with the times – and yet they communicate with me in an outmoded format, which most people I know couldn’t even play.  Do you still own a cassette player?  I do – but then, as a media junky, I’ve got almost every option you can think of for playing the stuff.  That said, I never listen to these tapes.  If they came as mp3s, I probably would, but the cassettes just get recycled.

I don’t know how many customers the tapes go out to and how many of those still have the means to play them.  What I do know is that Marks’ target audience is also the sector of the market where mp3 player ownership is growing.  I can’t help feeling that either sweeping assumptions have been made about the audience, or (worse) they’ve gone on doing what they’ve done for years and haven’t included this in their modernising strategies.  Either way, it sends me the wrong messages:

1 – M&S isn’t really moving with the times, and/or

2 – they don’t know the sector of their market to which I belong.  They don’t talk to me in my language – or even ask me what that language is.  They talk at me in a way they think I want, or should want, so I don’t feel inclined to listen to what they have to say.

Marks’ customers with visual impairments will be a small percentage of their total customer base, of course.  So you might think this is a very small issue; but there are wider implications.  As we all know in business, if we do one thing which is inconsistent with our core message, at best it doesn’t reinforce what we really want to say and at worst, it undermines it.

 

In case you’re wondering, no, I’m not just going to sit here complaining.  I intend to make contact with the relevant people within the organisation to chat through their options with them.  I’ll let you know how I get on.

March 9, 2010

“Born Survivors”?

Filed under: Book, Business, Podcasts — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 11:12 am

“On Sound Foundations” – Uncorrected Extract: “Part One – From Casual Links To Permanent Connections: “Chapter 1 – How Did I Get Here?

“That was the question I kept asking myself through the Spring of 2009.  I was busy preparing my presentation for the launch of my new company, Savvy Business.  I knew the story backwards, of course, so that was no problem.  The only thing I couldn’t decide was – where did it start? 

 “Well, officially, it was in July 2008 when we launched the first version of savvybc.com; but, really, it was when I first had the idea in April 2007 – although, no, actually it was when I made my very first legal podcast in August ’06 … or was it 2005, when I first found out what a podcast was …?

 “I finally decided to pick up the story in 2006, although in fact its roots go back much, much further – all the way back to a pushchair in 1969 – and beyond.”

 I wrestled with a similar issue when it came to the starting point for the book.  In the end, I went way beyond that pushchair, to 1939, when Mum became an evacuee and Dad a POW. 

 Why?  Because my parents perfectly illustrate one of the main themes which runs through the book, my speaking engagements and life in general – the choice between being a survivor or a victim.  Yes, I did say ‘choice’.  We talk about someone being a “born survivor” don’t we, but are they?  Are survivors, or victims come to that, born or made?  Wearing my ex-noncommittal-lawyer’s hat, maybe I should say I don’t know – it’s probably a bit of both; but actually, my own experience has shown me we often have more choice in the matter than we know and sometimes become ‘victims’ simply because we don’t know all our options.  I used to see myself as a victim – someone to whom life happened; someone stuck in the backseat on her own journey, while other people drove.  These days, I do my best to happen to life – and I’m definitely behind the wheel!  The change was my choice and one I’m so glad I made.  It led directly to that “EUREKA!” moment  at 5.00am on 6th November ’09, to the book and everything which looks set to follow.

March 8, 2010

The Advertising Industry Is Apparently Getting ‘Less Worse’

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Media — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 12:10 pm

This story was carried on Friday morning’s BBC business news, although actually, the quote and the figures which prompted it have been around for a while.  It comes from Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of global advertising agency WPP, which is the parent company of a number of other ad agencies.  The company’s profits are rising again, after the ‘most worst’ (my words) advertising recession ever seen.  Interestingly, within WPP, online marketing seems to have put in the ‘least weakest’ (again, my words) performance.

Earlier in the week, we had the latest figures from ITV, showing a 2.7 billion pound loss in 2008 converted into a profit of 25 million in 2009 – significantly less worse!  Traditional advertising revenues were on the slide before the recession bit and the improvement (or should that be ‘negative deterioration’?) is due at least in part to changes in the kind of advertising offered – specifically, the increase in ‘spot’ ads – directly attached to programmes.  These are supposed to catch the viewer who has drifted away during the ad break – or whizzed through the ads while watching via Sky+ or similar.  Then there are whole segments of viewing sponsored by one advertiser – so their ad pops up at the beginning and end of every part of every show in that segment. 

It’s quite comforting, in a way, isn’t it, to know that even a massive global industry like advertising has to move with the times, to adapt to changing technologies by coming up with innovative ways of reaching their target market?

As for the negative dressed as a positive – or is it the other way around? – I find that less comforting.  In fact, I find it quite disconcerting.  As we climb out of recession, whatever industry we’re in, if we’re scared to look forward with confidence – and to admit that’s what we’re doing – aren’t we in danger of missing the next opportunity?  Any thoughts?

March 4, 2010

“Clarification” On The BBC Strategy Review?

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Media — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 10:56 am

I’m normally aiming to talk to you a couple of times a week, but what I’m about to say follows on from yesterday so won’t wait till next week!

As you’ll have gathered, I was genuinely baffled about the business case for some of the specific cuts proposed by the BBC Strategy Review, published on Tuesday. I focused on 6 Music in my last post, but the axe is also hovering over the Asian Network (another small digital radio station) and various web services.

So when I heard that the BBC’s Head of Strategy was going to be interviewed on Radio 4’s “The Media Show”, I pricked up my ears. A-ha! I thought. Now we’ll get some answers!

Well, no, not really.

Nothing I’m about to say is meant in any way as a slur against John Tate – I wouldn’t want his job for any salary – especially at the moment. As he pointed out in his interview with “Media Show” presenter, Steve Hewlett, the report was very much a team effort.

He emphasized that the core purpose was to streamline services, to “do fewer things better”, put more money into high quality programming and put content back at the heart of everything. Well, that’s great – but it still didn’t answer my question – why streamline by removing small, relatively low-cost niche services for which the wider market doesn’t have an obvious replacement?

Previously, said Mr Tate, the BBC had been able to “do both” – create new services whilst maintaining the existing offering. Now, he said, it was becoming a choice of “either/or”. Ok, I get that. Most of us in business during the recession have had to make those decisions. Just one small problem: the emphasis of the report seems to be on maintaining and improving existing services at the expense of new ones – but these proposed cuts are aimed at existing services. Is it me, or is that a straight contradiction?

Steve Hewlett asked if the previous digital expansion, which produced 6 Music, the Asian Network and a lot of the new web services, had actually “backfired” by diluting the offering from the core channels? After all, the report talks about taking new comedy back to BBC2 (from BBC3), along with high end factual and cultural material (from BBC4). Mr Tate disagreed though. Far from backfiring, he said, all those new digital channels had “created more space” for great programming – space which the review seems to recommend should now be reduced. He went on to say that BBC2 had changed since the introduction of 3 and 4 and the plans contained in the review included “taking it back” to some extent. Contradiction alert?! He said the place for digital media had changed. Well, yes, very soon it will become the only media we have.

On the subject of 6 Music, he said the station has “a big and loyal fan base”, but that the “listener hour” cost is relatively high, the average age of the core listenership is 37 – “Right at the heart of the target audience for commercial radio” and 85% of those listeners also listen to other BBC stations. Aside from the cost, none of that convinces me of the business case. Just because the average 6 Music listener is part of the target audience for commercial radio doesn’t mean commercial radio is serving them; and as for 85% listening to other BBC stations, I don’t doubt it. I don’t know about you, but I’m a multidimensional person who can’t get all her needs met from any single source, radio or otherwise. I want different things at different times and I find them in different places – but that doesn’t lessen the importance to me of any individual source.

Mr Tate said the choice was between growing 6 until it became the third national pop station, alongside Radios 1 and 2, or closing it and redistributing the programming. With respect to the authors of and contributors to the report, who must have done a huge amount of background work, I think they’ve missed several points here – especially the one about the radio village. That’s what 6 and the Asian Network were set up to be and now they risk being destroyed because that’s what they’ve become. It all boils down to the question: what was the measure of success set out when these networks were set up?

There’s always going to be some conflict between minority entertainment and commercial principles and between commercial principles and listener-funded public service broadcasting. We expect psb to serve minorities, but as we all know, those services have to be paid for – by the majority. It’s a really difficult balance, but one I don’t think this latest report has managed to strike. What do you think?

A-Z of Terms – D

Filed under: Uncategorised — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 10:25 am

From International Trade Financial Solutions.

Discount: Defined here in relation to the discounting of Commercial Paper – typically Bills of Exchange. Where a future dated Bill of Exchange has been accepted by the drawee [the one who's due to pay - see below], it may be possible to discount the Bill. A Discount House [or bank] may agree to advance the bulk of the face value of the bill, thus helping your cashflow. Discounting can be with or without recourse [see Recourse, later on]. Usually only bank endorsed bills will be discounted without recourse [except for some specific agreements - usually restricted to larger, multi-national
businesses].

Drawee: The party on whom a Bill of Exchange is drawn, i.e. the one who is buying and has to make payment.

Drawer: The party who draws up the Bill of Exchange – the seller.

Drawing: In terms of Letters of Credit, a drawing is the presentation of documents for payment/acceptance under the Credit. Depending on the terms of the Credit, a drawing may be for part or the whole of the value of the Credit.

Due Date: The date on which payment of an accepted Bill of Exchange or a drawing under a deferred Letter of Credit becomes due. [A deferred Letter of Credit is one where there is a credit period between presentation of documents and payment, but no Bill of Exchange has been called for].

Duty: Import Duty may have to be paid on certain imports into the UK. Generally, there is no duty on goods that are already in free circulation within the EU. For goods imported from outside the EU, rates depend on product and Country of Origin. Duty rates are always based on the CIF value of the goods [regardless of which Incoterm was actually used for the contract] and VAT is added to the CIF value. Care, rates can and do change regularly and at short notice. Customs Duty is different, and applies to specific goods irrespective of their origin, for example, cigarettes, alcohol, etc. coming into the UK. For both types, it is usual
to have to pay the relevant duty amount to HMRC before goods are released [but see Duty Deferment below].

Duty Deferment: For regular importers, it may be possible to obtain a Duty Deferment bond from your bank and lodge this with HMRC. The effect of such a bond is that goods are released quicker and you pay the duty in arrears. There is a cost insofar as the bank will view this as a contingent liability and may require security and will almost certainly charge you for its issuance. Also, the bond must cover an average 2 month’s value of imports.

March 3, 2010

To Niche or Not to Niche

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Media — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 12:54 pm

Marketing people are always telling us we need to know our niche – that we can have several different ones, but each needs to be approached individually. That makes perfect sense to me. Everything I do is based on knowing who I’m talking to and if I try to talk to everyone at once, chances are, no-one will listen.

I’m not sure if I should admit this as a sound specialist, but I start the day with “Breakfast” on BBC1. I enjoy a bit of quiet time before the working day gets going, catching up with the news while I eat my porridge. That said, it wasn’t very quiet this morning, because one item had me growling at the screen with frustration!

You might have noticed mentions in the news of the recently published review, commissioned by the BBC’s governing body, the BBC Trust. The report recommends a move towards a more disciplined, streamlined organisation, which makes more efficient use of licence-payers’ money. No, that isn’t what had the dog staring at me, wondering what I was growling at.

What frustrated me was the discussion this morning around one potential cut the corporation is considering – the closure of 6 Music. Now, I have to say up front, I’m not a regular listener – although all the publicity of the last few days and the passion of those who are regulars has made me curious, so I will be checking the station out very soon. My objection, though, is with the arguments put forward by the BBC representative – whose name I missed and can’t seem to find on the website! She said that if the closure happens, the innovative programming on 6 is likely to be absorbed by Radios 1 and 2, both described as “mainstream” networks. So what’s wrong with that?

Where do I start?

Firstly, 6 was set up to serve a niche market – people interested in new music and also some of the stuff rarely heard on the mainstream networks – and never on commercial radio. By definition, a niche audience is likely to be smaller than a mainstream audience

So, secondly, when the review says that 6 needs to grow its audience without losing its USP, I have to wonder about the measure of success the BBC is applying here. Yes, a small niche can be made bigger, by marketing, PR etc, but at some point, if it keeps growing, it stops being a niche and becomes mainstream.

That brings me to my third point – Radio 1 serves a niche – a young audience. Radio 2, on the other hand, tries to be all things to all people. Some individual shows try to do that, like the Chris Evans Breakfast Show; but the station does serve minority audiences quite successfully, by providing niche programming within its schedule. It’s certainly a very different station from the one my Dad used to listen to in the car when I was a kid, which was definitely targeted towards the “older” listener, but I would argue that it still has an image issue and trying to incorporate content currently carried on 6 into the Radio 2 format risks losing the audience, or a large part of it.

Fourthly, the saving made by the BBC by axing 6 Music would be around nine million pounds a year – very small fry in corporation terms. BBC3, which provides new comedy etc to a tv audience, costs eleven times that, but is apparently secure (at the moment) – reinforcing my belief that even within our public broadcaster, radio is the poor relation.

Finally, as a discussion on 5live asked recently, “What is the BBC for?” Personally, I thought it was to provide programmes which the commercial sector doesn’t or can’t. If that’s so, surely 6 Music is a perfect case in point. Commercial radio effectively has two customers – the listener and the advertiser – and both have to be satisfied. That’s not exactly the environment for innovation – quite the opposite. I’m not saying all commercial programming is bad, just that as everything lives and dies by the numbers, it can’t afford to take too many risks. The BBC, on the other hand, is supposed to serve licence fee-payers – you and me, in other words. The rights and wrongs of that system are a whole other discussion, but while it’s with us, shouldn’t we be able to expect it to provide us with services we can’t find elsewhere?

BBC Chairman, Sir Michael Lyons, says that if the review’s proposals prompt “massive public protest”, they will be rethought.

I’ll leave you with these thoughts: How massive is “massive” and can 6’s niche audience, deliberately created by the corporation, shout loud enough to be heard? Wouldn’t moving 6’s programming to Radio 2 be like uprooting a village community which is based on and loved precisely for its quirky individuality and dumping it down in the middle of London?

A-Z of Terms – C

Filed under: A-Z of International Trade Terms, Business, International Trade, International Trade Financial Solutions — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — sheriegriffiths.com @ 10:17 am

From International Trade Financial Solutions.

CMR – Convention Merchandises Routiers: These are the conditions for the international movement of goods by road.

Collections: Again, held over from Issue 10. A bank collection is the collection of trade debts through the banking system whereby documents relating to the shipment of goods are passed through the banking system and exchanged either for payment or an acknowledgement of acceptance [usually by means of a Bill of Exchange] for payment at a fixed future date. Both buyer and seller must agree to this course of action at the start and, unlike Letters of Credit, there is no undertaking by the bank to pay. It is generally felt that this is a more secure method than open account trading.

Confirmed Letter of Credit: I will cover this when we look at Letters of Credit, later in the series.

Consignee: The party to whom goods are sent.

Consignor: Also known as the shipper; the party despatching the goods.

Consignment (1): The underlying goods sent by the consignor to the consignee.

Consignment (2): Care – if goods are exported subject to consignment, the exporter will only receive payment on completed sales. Any unsold may be returned to the seller, at the seller’s expense. Can be high risk and expensive.

Containerisation: The use of sealed containers into which goods are packed for shipment.

Convertible Currency: A currency that can be freely bought and sold for other currencies at will, e.g. Sterling, US Dollar, Euro, etc. Exporters must ensure that payment for their goods will be in a freely convertible currency. Note, however, that this may not necessarily mean that funds will be immediately available, if the country concerned still uses exchange control.

Correspondent Bank: A bank that operates in its own Country the business of a foreign bank.

CPT Incoterm: Carriage Paid To [named place]. The seller clears the goods for export and pays for delivery to a named place. The goods are deemed to have been delivered, and the responsibility for them passes to the buyer, once they have been taken by the seller’s carrier.

Customs: Generic term for HMRC. Whether you are importing or exporting, you must follow HMRC regulations, which are complex and detailed. If you use a freight forwarder or shipping agent, they can undertake much of the customs procedures on your behalf but, like tax returns, you are still ultimately liable for the accuracy, etc. of all declarations.

Customs Commodity Code: Also known as CN Code. An 8 digit code required for all goods to be exported outside the EU. Imports from outside the EU have a 10 digit code. These must be entered on the relevant documentation and are available from HMRC via their publication known as The Tariff.

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