Audit and Assurance Services

An audit is the external examination of an organisation's financial statements by someone independent, normally a Chartered or Certified Accountant and Registered Auditor.

By law, a company requires an audit when it has two of the following:

• Turnover in excess of £10.2m
• Gross assets in excess of £5.1m
• More than 50 employees.

There may be other scenarios when a company requires an audit and transitional years are treated slightly differently.

Many organisations will opt for an audit even if they do not require one by law as a statutory audit provides a much higher level of scrutiny. If you would like to discuss your needs and our approach to audits please get in touch.

Our corporate services department can help in many areas of compliance, including but not limited to: preparation of financial statements (for audited and non-audited entities) to fulfil statutory requirements including filing at Companies House, providing advice in relation to the accounting treatment of transactions, providing Registered Office and Company Secretarial services such as Confirmation Statement filings, Director appointments/resignations, share transfers etc., making recommendations on a company’s procedures and processes as part of our audit findings.

The main reason a company requires an audit is because they exceed thresholds set by the UK government. These are based on: turnover of the company (or group of companies), total assets and average number of persons employed. Further details can be found on the gov website: Audit exemption for private limited companies - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) . A company might also require an audit for various other reasons including due to ownership structure, request by shareholders, articles of association requirements or banking covenants.

An accountant in our corporate services department can assist with: statutory accounts audits, preparation of statutory accounts, corporation tax compliance and other matters such as assisting with filings at Companies House, advice on accounting or tax treatment.

There are many benefits to an audit of statutory accounts – compliance being key where an audit is required for one of the reasons listed above. Other benefits include: an objective insight on the company or group’s finance function, processes and controls, identifying weaknesses in these areas or susceptibility to fraud, promoting best practices within your organisation, adding credibility to your financial statements which may assist with obtaining finance from lenders or grants, peace of mind provided for shareholders outside of day to day management.

In order to ensure an efficient audit process, we will have a planning meeting with you to discuss the key aspects of the audit, agree a timetable and provide a deliverables list via a secure online document exchange portal, so that your team and ours are well prepared in advance. The audit team will test a sample of transactions and ask for various back-up documents for transactions and balances within the financial statements as well reviewing your systems and internal control processes. This will require time and engagement from management, however our experienced team will work with you to minimise disruption and will use various audit tools at their disposal to improve the efficiency of the process. We can also provide some flexibility around a combination of on-site presence as well as remote working to facilitate what works most efficiently.

Each audit is tailored to that client’s needs; our quote may include accounts preparation services as well as corporation tax compliance services but could also be stand-alone audit of already prepared financial statements and tax returns if required. Our audits seek to address compliance but also add value. We’ll consider the risk areas of the individual business dependent on daily operations, group/ownership structure, sector and many other factors before tailoring our audit testing towards the relevant perceived risks. A findings report is produced alongside our audit report which may give recommendations on processes and controls, highlight errors identified and other key matters for discussion.

An audit could identify control weaknesses or fraud risks which could result in potential cost savings. An audit doesn’t seek to find all instances of fraud but confirm that the accounts present a true and fair view of the business. We may also make recommendations for cost saving practices and indirectly the oversight of auditors can sharpen the eye of internal bookkeepers/accountants.

We work closely with our clients to deliver a high quality and cost-effective service which not only meets compliance requirements but also adds value, tailoring our service to meet our client’s needs. In addition, we are continuously investing in data analysis tools and audit technology to provide the best service. Lovewell Blake can provide a wide range of services across the different teams and specialisms within the firm which can harmonise services provided (accounts and tax for example).