Late payment crackdown

Hammond cracks down on late payment Philip Hammond is to force big companies to reveal how long they take to pay small suppliers as part of a crackdown on late payments. The Chancellor said audit committees will be required to review payment practices and report on them in their annual accounts, with a non-executive director given responsibility for reporting on how quickly suppliers were being paid. The Financial Reporting Council has been asked to look at whether it can change existing rules or if the Government needs to pass legislation. Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, welcomed the move, saying: "The end of late payments could be in sight. It can't come soon enough, to bolster small businesses at a time when they are in great need of support and a lift in confidence."