Ian Morgan
Ian Morgan is the Managing Director of MBS Accountants and host of The Leaky Bucket. With more than 15 years’ experience in accountancy and business, he works with established owner-managed businesses to help them understand their numbers and make better-informed decisions.
Articles by Ian Morgan
Claude Can Create Your Management Accounts. But Should You Trust Them?
AI tools can turn your accounting data into polished management accounts in minutes. Whether you can rely on them depends on the accounting underneath.
Changing Shareholders or Share Structure: What Business Owners Need to Think About
Bringing in a shareholder, giving shares to family or creating new share classes? The tax, accounting and filing points to consider, and where you need a solicitor.
Group Company Structures: When Do They Make Sense?
When a group of companies is worth the extra work, when it isn't, and what running one well involves, from intercompany balances to group accounts and VAT.
When Does a Business Need a Holding Company?
Most businesses don't need a holding company, but some benefit from one. When it makes sense, the tax points to understand, what it costs to run, and its limits.
Should Your Accountant Do Your Bookkeeping Too?
In-house bookkeeper, independent bookkeeper or one firm doing both? A neutral comparison of the three models, and how to choose the right one for your business.
What Should You Expect From a Good Accountant?
The standards every business should expect from its accountant, what an established business should expect on top, and why the right level of service differs.
How to Change Accountants: A Practical Guide for Established Businesses
Changing accountants is simpler than most owners expect. What the handover involves, what to check before you move and when to time it for an established business.
What Better Financial Information Revealed in a £1.4m Business
A £1.4m business looked profitable on paper. A closer look at its financial information revealed costs and trends its owners couldn't clearly see.
How Much Should You Pay Yourself in 2026/27? A Straight-Talking Guide for Directors
How to split salary and dividends as a company director in 2026/27, with the higher dividend tax rates, frozen thresholds and three worked options up to £100,000.
Revenue Is Up. So Why Doesn't It Feel Like Your Business Is Doing Better?
Growing revenue doesn't always mean growing profit or cash. Understand what your financial information can reveal about what's happening underneath sales.
Why Most Business Owners Are Making Decisions in the Dark (And Don't Know It)
Why annual accounts and a daily bank balance aren't the same as financial visibility, and what monthly management accounts give business owners instead.
What “Good Numbers” Actually Look Like in a Well-Run Business
What makes financial numbers genuinely good: timely, accurate, understandable and consistent — and why having numbers isn't the same as knowing they're right.
Why Growing Businesses Outgrow Their Accountant Before They Realise It
Has your business outgrown its accountant? Discover the common signs and what established businesses should expect from their accounting relationship.
The Numbers Your Bank Looks at Before Saying Yes
Understand the financial information banks and lenders may consider when assessing a business, from profit and cash flow to debt and management accounts.
The Hidden Cost of Cheap Bookkeeping (And Why It Shows Up Later)
Cheap bookkeeping can cost more than you think. Learn why accurate, up-to-date bookkeeping matters as your business becomes more complex.
Why Clarity Beats Clever Tax Planning in Growing Businesses
Why reliable numbers have to come before tax planning in a growing business, and what good tax planning actually relies on.
Why Good Bookkeeping Is a Growth Tool, Not an Admin Task
Why accurate, regular bookkeeping is the foundation for visibility, control and better decisions as a business grows — not just an admin task.
Why Profitable Businesses Still Run Out of Cash (And How to Fix It)
Why a profitable business can still be short of cash, the common reasons cash disappears, why growth often makes it worse, and what good cash visibility looks like.
Why VAT Mistakes Happen — and How Good Bookkeeping Catches Them
The common reasons VAT errors happen — from wrong VAT treatment and poor coding to software assumptions — and how good bookkeeping and review catch them early.
CJ Bookkeeping Solutions Joins MBS Accountants
CJ Bookkeeping Solutions has joined MBS Accountants, bringing its clients and bookkeeping experience into the wider MBS team.
Carpet Boost AI: From Unclear Numbers to Better Financial Decisions
See how better financial information helped Carpet Boost AI understand profitability, identify an issue in its client offer and make more informed decisions.
How Outsourcing the Finance Function Gave Unlocking Language Better Financial Information
See how MBS helped Unlocking Language improve its bookkeeping, invoicing and finance processes with an outsourced finance function.
How Silver Fox Café Cut Weekly Bookkeeping From Around 8 Hours to 30 Minutes
How MBS took over Silver Fox Café's in-house bookkeeping with an automated daily process reviewed by our team, cutting the owners' weekly bookkeeping time sharply.
How Heads Up Gained Clearer Financial Reporting and Simpler Finance Systems
How MBS reviewed Heads Up's finance function, created clear reports and set up simpler financial systems, giving its founder a clearer picture of performance.
How The Somatic School Gained Better Financial Visibility
How MBS helped The Somatic School's founder understand his numbers, with monthly management accounts meetings, a realistic budget and a dedicated client manager.
What Are UK Tax Payments on Account?
What Self Assessment payments on account are, when they're due, how they're calculated, and how to plan for them — with a worked example.
AI Bookkeeping: What It Can Do — and What It Can't
AI can make bookkeeping faster and more efficient, but automation doesn't guarantee accurate accounts. See where technology and human expertise fit.
When Does Your Business Need a Better Finance Function?
As a business becomes more complex, its finance needs change. Learn the signs that bookkeeping and annual accounts alone may no longer be enough.
Should You Put a Company Car Through Your Own Company?
The tax and cost questions to weigh before putting a car or van through your company, including benefit-in-kind, electric cars, first-year allowances and VAT.
Sole Trader, Partnership, LLP or Limited Company? Choosing the Right Business Structure
How sole traders, partnerships, LLPs and limited companies compare on liability, tax and administration, and what to consider when choosing a business structure.
10 Things Good Management Accounts Should Tell You
Discover what good management accounts should include and how reliable financial reporting can help you understand what is happening in your business.
Effective Expense Tracking: Keeping Business Expense Records Accurate
Why accurate expense records matter, which tools help capture them, and how to categorise and separate business expenses so your accounts and tax returns are right.
What Does Good Financial Control Look Like in a Business?
Financial control isn't about watching every penny. Learn what good financial control looks like and the information an established business should have.