<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/cedc9d3b341b9fba662fc393c9cb6fdf.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">Determined not to be fazed by the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, multi-faceted accountancy firm <a href="https://www.rfm-more.co.uk/2020/07/more-northern-introducing-rfm-accountants-manchester/#more-6138">RfM Group</a> has pressed ahead with plans to open a <a href="https://www.rfm-more.co.uk/offices/rfm-manchester/">new Manchester office</a>. The new Manchester premises <a href="https://www.rfm-more.co.uk/2020/07/more-northern-introducing-rfm-accountants-manchester/#more-6138">officially opened in the spring of this year</a>, and will be led by <a href="https://www.rfm-more.co.uk/people/kevin-cuddy/">Kevin Cuddy</a>, a certified accountant and auditor with over 20 years of experience in the industry working for large independent companies, as well as in finance director roles.For Cuddy, the challenge of joining RfM and heading up RfM Manchester was an enticing one, owed mainly to his desire to pursue a new career direction of building something which he could take personal pride in.Cuddy said: “For the last 20 years, I have worked at partner and director level within professional practice and industry. I had reached a point in my career where I wanted to build something that I could personally be proud of, so started to consider my options.”Cuddy already shared a history with RfM’s managing director Paul Newsham, with the pair having worked together as directors for accountancy firm Haines Watts, so when Newsham approached him with the offer of setting up RfM Manchester, the opportunity was too good to turn down.Cuddy explained: “I have known Paul for many years since we were both directors at Haines Watts. During this time, we worked closely together and we kept in touch over the years after I left to go into industry. When we did catch up, Paul would update me on how RfM was continuing to grow and develop.“It has long been an ambition of mine to run my own firm and when Paul suggested setting up RfM Manchester, it seemed like the ideal opportunity to do just that.”Elaborating on why the RfM opportunity was a natural magnet, Cuddy said: “There were lots of aspects of RfM that really appealed to me. I like the idea that each office is independent whilst having the benefits that come from being a part of a wider group. It means that RfM Manchester can offer a more personal level of service that you would normally find in smaller, local practices. Yet at the same time, I’ll be able to draw upon expertise from other offices and provide the breadth of services that you’d normally only get from a larger firm.“The aspect of my job I have always enjoyed the most is working with business owners, the individuals running their businesses day in and day out, the decision-makers. Getting to know what’s important to someone and what makes them tick, helps to build a constructive and supportive working relationship. I take great pride in building relationships with clients and earning that ‘trusted advisor’ position.”The challenge of building up RfM Manchester is one that Cuddy is certainly relishing going forward.“I’m very excited by the challenge ahead and the prospect of meeting new clients who are looking for a hands-on accountant who is committed and supportive in helping them achieve their goals. Setting up RfM Manchester is the start of me working towards achieving my goal.”</div>

Determined not to be fazed by the disruption of the Covid-19 pandemic, multi-faceted accountancy firm RfM Group has pressed ahead with plans to open a new Manchester office.

Triumphing through adversity: RfM Group launches new Manchester office in the midst of Covid-19 crisis

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/0f79ca8c07f282a3ba05afead0951123.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">Wide availability of Covid-19 antibody testing was once billed as a key exit route from lockdown. The purpose of the antibody test is to determine whether an individual has previously contracted coronavirus and recovered, meaning that there is a possibility of immunity. Understanding the path that the virus has taken was, therefore, seen as a major part of getting the UK back to work. The antibody tests are not like the existing coronavirus swab tests being widely used by the government, which can only determine whether an individual has the virus at the time of testing. Swab tests also take longer amounts of time to return results than the antibody blood tests.However, Superdrug, which became the first high-street retailer to begin offering home Covid-19 antibody tests, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/27/uk-health-regulator-calls-halt-sales-unreliable-covid-19-finger/">suspended sales of the test in May</a> after health regulators issued warnings over its reliability.The Superdrug testing kit initially went to market at a price of £69 and users take finger prick blood samples at home which are then forwarded on to accredited laboratories to be tested. Similar testing kits are available through other websites including that of Lloyds Pharmacy, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/13/coronavirus-antibody-test-where-kits-buy/">according to the Telegraph</a>.The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency [MHRA] first appealed for the sale of such tests to be stopped in May, warning that people who have used the finger prick antibody tests “should not consider the results to be reliable” nor “take any action” based on the outcome of the test.Indeed, Dr George Xynopoulos, founder and CEO of private North London clinical pathology laboratory <a href="https://www.medical-diagnosis.net/">Medical Diagnosis</a> - which has been handling the government's existing swab tests - warned earlier in the year that the development and mass production of a reliable antibody test would take time.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=39&amp;v=8q6_2PUFnro&amp;feature=emb_title">Speaking to Sky News in April, Dr Xynopoulos said</a>: “Everything in medicine takes time, it is not something you can do by waving a wand, so it needs proper verification and it needs trials.”The exact issue with the home-antibody testing kits to date is that Public Health England does not yet regard blood samples taken from the capillaries at the end of the finger as an effective specimen.The government had initially ordered some millions of these tests from China back in April, before trials undertaken at the University of Oxford <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/06/government-seeks-refund-millions-coronavirus-antibody-tests/">revealed that they were largely inaccurate</a> and unsuitable for public use.Furthermore, Professor Karol Sikora, private oncologist and Dean of Medicine at the Unviersity of Buckingham, took samples from his own staff members using the test, with results subsequently verified by a private laboratory. Professor Sikora’s samples <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/15/uk-coronavirus-antibody-test-validated-results-show-under-40s/">revealed that some under-40s who were known to have had the virus returned negative antibody test results</a>, suggesting a further lack of reliability.Prof Sikora said at the time: "I think the antibody tests do work – but young people just don't seem to have the antibodies, which suggests they are using other mechanisms to fight off the virus.”The unreliable finger prick tests are unlike the venous antibody tests which were first manufactured by Swiss firm, Roche, and <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/13/exclusive-first-coronavirus-antibody-test-given-approval-public/">granted Public Health England approval back in May</a>.The Roche tests have been deemed reliable by the MHRA because blood samples are taken from the veins, making them more reliable, and require a health professional to administer them. The government ordered ten million of them after they were approved.A discrepancy concerning the finger prick tests lay in the fact that they utilise the same technology as the venous test produced by Roche, prompting online retailers to mistakenly advertise the home-testing kits as PHE approved after the Roche tests were allowed to go to market.Even with the recent breakthrough of a reliable test of any kind, the levels of immunity that can be expected of individuals who have previously had the virus and beaten it also remains unclear.Dr Ron Daniels, a consultant in critical care at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/beware-antibody-politics-rise-covid-elite/">said</a>: “If you test positive for antibodies, it’s likely you have a degree of immunity. We’re not sure for how long, and how much, so you shouldn’t stop [social] distancing, but best guess it is likely to be partially protective for at least a few months.”With the only reliable antibody test thus far requiring the presence of a health professional and uncertainties remaining over the levels of immunity that can be expected, it is likely that mass production of a home antibody testing kit is some way off and that the prospects of using the presence of antibodies among the population as a basis for making key medical decisions are remote.</div>

Wide availability of Covid-19 antibody testing was once billed as a key exit route from lockdown. The purpose of the antibody test is to determine whether an individual has previously contracted coronavirus and recovered, meaning that there is a possibility of immunity. Understanding the path that the virus has taken was, therefore, seen as a major part of getting the UK back to work.

Covid-19 home-antibody testing likely to be some way away

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/598cb95cfcfe3c2a15ab869086ad28fe.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">Normally spending $420.9 million in under four hours would be considered a little reckless to say the least. <a href="https://www.christies.com/?cid=EM_SEM|ACCT:ChristiesBrand|CMP:ChristiesBrandOnlyUK|AG:BrandExact|ENGINE:GOOGLE|NT:SEARCH|RG:UK|BANNER:|IMG:|KW:christies|MT:e|SID:1000?rnd=1&amp;gclid=CjwKCAjwjLD4BRAiEiwAg5NBFjoV3xtNT4OJAH3Zw7BkTuMl0K-eiNUnC7axayrLQlDeOEd0QWNArhoCQoMQAvD_BwE">For Christie’s</a>, this is the future. Impacted by the pandemic in much the same way as the remainder of the arts industry, the stakes for auction houses remain a little higher than most. Yet it seems that Christie’s has jumped at the challenge, hosting what <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/arts/design/christies-auction.html">The New York Times</a> refers to as a “back-to-the-future” style endeavour. Moving from Hong Kong to Paris, London to New York in a matter of hours, the sale is perhaps indicative of things to come. Yet it is not all plain sailing. Indeed, as <a href="https://www.theartnewspaper.com/scott-reyburn">Scott Reyburn </a>notes: “The Covid-induced shift from live to online-only sales has severely dented turnover at the major auction houses.” For Christie’s this dent amounts to around a 60 per cent decline in the year’s second quarter when compared with the same time last year. Co-founder of <a href="https://www.artadvisors.org/advisor/abigail-asher-and-barbara-guggenheim/">Guggenheim Asher</a>, an art advisory company in New York, Abigail Asher, notes that for the Sotheby’s sale in June: “Everyone was holding their breath before Sotheby’s sale. There had been no public transactions of this value since February.” For her, the first sale indicates that: “This is a global buying market.”For <a href="https://www.bartaart.com/">Nikolaus Barta</a>, a collector and art insurer, based in Vienna, this brave new world is not without its complications. He says: “It seemed to be a great thing, but access was a little complicated, and when the Hong Kong auction was not starting half an hour late, I lost interest.” If online auctions are to be the future of art, one hopes that the problems can be ironed out soon. </div>

Normally spending $420.9 million in under four hours would be considered a little reckless to say the least. For Christie’s, this is the future. 

Big Spender: Christie’s auction rakes in $420.9 million in under four hours

<div class="editor-cover-image" data-dimensions="780:300" data-pmr-editor-image="" style="background-image: url(&quot;https://leaders-council-web.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/uploads/store/89930f7535e6c02ff95549209c31577e.jpg&quot;);"></div>

 <div data-pmr-editable="" class="medium-editor-insert-plugin">The Times has revealed this morning that HMS Queen Elizabeth will be based in the Far East from early next year as part of <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-set-to-confront-china-with-new-aircraft-carrier-v2gnwrr88">Britain’s efforts to counter</a> an ‘increasingly assertive China.’The vessel, which costs £3.1 billion will work closely on military exercises with the United States and Japan.It is expected to be joined around eighteen months later by its sister vessel, HMS Prince of Wales. This news follows <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-set-to-confront-china-with-new-aircraft-carrier-v2gnwrr88">a warning from</a> the National Institute of Economic and Social Research that a trade war with China ‘would damage economic growth and lead to higher inflation and interest rates.’ Britain’s new outlook on China is also reflected by the plans to remove Huawei from our 5G telecoms network. However, The Times expects Boris Johnson to face a backlash from Tory MPs over the news that it could take another seven years <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tory-backlash-at-seven-year-wait-to-scrap-huawei-5g-ch2n67gqh">to fully remove</a> the Chinese-government owned firm from the network.Sir Iain Duncan Smith has already described the delay as 'totally unacceptable'. And the Daily Telegraph expects the prime minister to agree <a href="http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/289/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/289/pub/289/page/11/article/61747">to his Tory rebels’ demands for the Huawei 5G network ban</a> to be complete by 2024. Tom Tungenhandt MP <a href="Kicking our addiction to Beijing tech must go further">writes in the same newspaper</a> about the need to reduce our reliance on Chinese technology:’Parliamentary unrest, violations of international treaties and human rights abuses, have exposed the folly of a strategic dependence on the companies controlled by Beijing to a harsh light, but the final straw has been US sanctions on Huawei. We must rethink the company’s place in our infrastructure.'On the subject of about turns from the prime minister, The Times reports that facemasks will become compulsory in shops from July 24th, with <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/wear-mask-in-shops-from-july-24-or-face-a-100-fine-xt7dxsqvz">a fine of £100 for people who do not comply</a>.A spokesman for No 10 said: “There is growing evidence that wearing a face covering in an enclosed space helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus. The prime minister has been clear that people should be wearing face coverings in shops and we will make this mandatory from July 24.”The economic effect, if any, of this new policy will remain to be seen but, so far, it appears as though the return of customers to shops has not been as strong as the Office for National Statistics had hoped, with economic output in May rising by only 1.8 percent <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/slow-return-to-growth-ends-hopes-of-swift-recovery-t76d6rgp0">despite predictions of 5.5.</a>Any concern about this missed projection will be blown out of the water, however, if the warnings from the Academy of Sciences turn out to be accurate. The Telegraph reports this morning the suggestion from 37 scientists that Covid-19’s second wave <a href="http://digitaleditions.telegraph.co.uk/data/289/reader/reader.html?social#!preferred/0/package/289/pub/289/page/14/article/61648">‘could double the death toll of the first’</a>.Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@ly0ns?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Li Yang</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/china?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a> </div>

HMS Queen Elizabeth will be based in the Far East from early next year as part of Britain’s efforts to counter an ‘increasingly assertive China.’ The vessel, which costs £3.1 billion will work closely on its military exercises with the United States and Japan.

UK sends vessel to China as Huawei is ushered away 

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Triumphing through adversity: RfM Group launches new Manchester office in the midst of Covid-19 crisis

Covid-19 home-antibody testing likely to be some way away

Big Spender: Christie’s auction rakes in $420.9 million in under four hours

UK sends vessel to China as Huawei is ushered away