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 Audit & Assurance
 
Full scope audit
 

The first question here is do I really need an audit?

Unless you are above a certain size or involved in certain activities (e.g. financial services) there is no requirement for you to have an audit. For small business there are very few circumstances where it will be practical or cost efficient for you to have your company accounts audited (often only where audited accounts are requested by a particular customer or industry regulator).

If you are looking for the added comfort that comes from having your numbers looked at by an independent third party there are other ways of obtaining this comfort which will be a lot cheaper.

Larger companies may be required to have a full scope audit (only if they cross the relevant thresholds specified in the Companies Act).
  • £5.6M Turnover
  • £2.8M Net Assets
It should be noted that there is still some confusion regarding the benefits and level of comfort provided by an external audit. Accountants and auditors refer to this as the ‘expectations gap’ i.e. the difference between the comfort actually provided by an audit and what is expected by management of the company and the users of the accounts.
 
Compliant is a registerd audit firm and as such we are licensed to perform audits on companies registered throughout the UK and Ireland.
 
Please see the attached booklet for information on the Compliant approach to an effective value added audit.
 
 
If you are thinking about having an audit done and would like some independent advice on exactly what comfort you should expect from your audit please feel free to contact us we will be pleased to assist you in understanding the audit process and what you should expect from your auditor.
 
 
Review of financial information
 

This is likely to be the best solution for organisations for whom there is no audit requirement but who desire the benefits conveyed by an independent 3rd party examination of their financial information.

A review engagement can be performed on both statutory and non-statutory1 financial information.

It should be noted that a review will not provide the same level of comfort as an audit as its scope is usually much narrower. A review will usually cost less that an audit of the same financial information however this cost is largely dependant on the nature of the financial information and the controls around its preparation and the procedures applied in the maintenance of the underlying financial information.

 

Agreed upon procedures

Here the nature of the work to be performed is determined by the organisation's specific requirements. These engagements are typically used to provide assurance around a particular document or process or for a specific purpose. The cost for this type of engagement is very much dependent on the nature of the work required.
 
 

Production of statutory financial statements

There is no requirement for sole traders and partnerships to prepare and file financial statements with Companies House       however the preparation of financial statements in accordance with the relevant accounting standards are essential to the growth prospects of any business and are necessary to allow for accurate computation of the tax liability of the owners.

Limited Companies and Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) are however required to prepare and file their annual accounts with Companies House. These accounts must be prepared in accordance with the Comp[anies Act and applicable accounting standards. Accounts that that fail to conform to good accounting practice and which are grossly and obviously incorrect will be rejected by Companies House      .

The preparation of your companies accounts is certainly not a DIY job.
 
If you do not have the expertise in-house then you are strongly advised to seek the assistance of an external chartered/certified accountant. 
Compliant can assist you with the preparation of your company accounts.
 
This service is offered as part of our outsourcing service or as a separate compilation engagement.
 
Additional guidance on the type of information that required for preparation of your accounts is available here.
 
 
 
1 Statutory financial information is the term used for financial information information prepared and presented in accordance with the Companies Act requirements for the financial statements of Limited Companies.

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