Larger organisations are required, by law, not only to submit formal accounts but also to have an audit of the organisation. Smaller organisations may choose to have an audit as this often helps when applying for loans or looking for investment.
One of the main jobs of the audit is to check that the accounts are free from errors or fraud; both rather important for directors and trustees of the organisation but also for a potential investor.
When we audit a company, we start with our tricky checklist of tests but then we also have a cunning series of random tests devised to peer right into the company’s systems and controls. If our checklist tests and random tests all show a clean bill of health, we could consider the audit done. In fact, many auditors would. But not us; we like to poke around a little more.
Every organisation is different so our poking around will vary from organisation to organisation. Perhaps another way of describing our professional poking around is that we look beyond the obvious; we don’t just take the figures at face value, we want to check how the figures were arrived at. We believe that it’s only through this attention to detail that we can provide our clients with a truly thorough audit.
Yes, we can be your accountant and still audit your company, but in this case, we would typically ensure a different member of staff does the accounts and the audit.
We are regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales whose role, as an improvement regulator, is to strengthen trust in Chartered Accountants and they do this by enabling, evaluating and enforcing the highest standards in the profession.