This business was founded in 1984 in East London, broadly offering the same services as now, book keeping, accounts preparation and taxation, plus payrolling, but in those days, most of the work was paper based and done manually.

Now located near the villages of Ramsbury and Aldbourne,in the Marlborough downs, John Nielsen-Hall continues to run the business profitably and peacefully. All the work is handled electronically at some stage, and increasing amounts of business are done over the Internet.

There are now over 200 clients of Sila ranging from businesses with a turnover of nearly £1 million to small traders turning over less than £15000, as well as charitable trusts and individuals living on pensions and investment income.

Ethics

Because both book keeping work and Tax work require us to operate as our clients agent in dealing with Customs & Excise and the Inland Revenue, we operate in a position of trust as regards both those departments of Government and our clients. In addition, Sila was founded to propagate the Buddhist religion by example, and to accommodate this and the position we work in, we have drawn up an ethical code. Over the years, this has been altered in the light of experience quite a few times. Therefore, what follows is the current ethical code. There very likely will be further versions, over time.

We will not undertake any work which we believe to be illegal or which we believe would constitute an illegal act were it discovered by the appropriate authorities, or which involves the deception of Government servants. Additionally, we will not undertake work in connection with:

Hunting or Slaughter of animals, intensive livestock farming, the supply of weapons, whether likely to cause fatalities or not, persons engaged in military operations or training to be so engaged, except in the case of reservists or those who are trained by the military on a part time basis, the supply of drugs other than those prescribed or licensed for sale by the Department of Health, and maybe not even then, or intoxicants. The manufacture, supply or distribution of materials produced by industrial processes which are not generally considered to be beneficial to the environment, or are detrimental to health, whether or not that detriment is medically established or just our opinion. The supply, sale or distribution of political or religious propaganda of whatever persuasion, material concerning non-consensual sexual acts, or anything at all that might be found to be so offensive by sections of the community that its distribution or sale may lead to violence or disorder, either in the United Kingdom or elsewhere in the world.

The above conditions are subject to the discretion of the principal of the firm, and usually, anybody who is working for him. We welcome clients of all faiths or none, and this ethical code in no way seeks to impose values on our clients, but should be seen simply as a guide to what work we are, and are not, prepared to undertake.

To find out more about Buddhism and John Nielsen Hall himself

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