02 Audit and assurance
An audit your bank, board and buyer will trust.
Statutory audits under the national reporting standards, special purpose reviews for lenders and donors, and due diligence when you are buying. Partner led from planning to sign off.
What is included
The detail.
Statutory audit
The annual audit required for every limited company, planned in November, fieldwork in February, signed by April for a December year end.
Donor and grant audits
Project audits for foundations and non profits, to the funder's format, with fund by fund reporting.
Special purpose reviews
Agreed procedures for banks, landlords and regulators: revenue certificates, covenant checks and stock verifications.
Due diligence
Financial and tax due diligence when you are buying a company or bringing in an investor, with a clear list of what to negotiate.
Internal audit
Outsourced internal audit for boards that need independent eyes on controls, cash handling and procurement.
First time audits
For companies that have never been audited. We start with an opening balance review so the first year is not a shock.
At a glance
Typical timetable
Based on a December year end. Example details for this demo.
Audit readiness
The document list, as a checklist.
Tick what you already have. Companies that arrive with eight or more ready usually finish fieldwork a week early.
Start ticking to see how ready you are.
Inside the work
Working papers, not slide decks.
Every engagement is documented in a shared client folder you can open at any time.
The audit used to be a three month fight. Ledgerline sent the document list in November, and we signed in the first week of April.
FAQ
Questions we are often asked
The law sets thresholds for small companies, but banks, investors and many large customers will still ask for audited accounts. We will tell you honestly whether you need one.
For a company with clean books, fieldwork is two to three weeks. The whole cycle from planning to signed report is usually ten to fourteen weeks.
For many private companies, yes, with safeguards. For some regulated entities it is not allowed. We check independence before we accept.
A short report on weaknesses we found in your controls, with practical fixes. Boards find it the most useful part of the audit.
Related services
Most clients use more than one.
Tax advisory
Company income tax, VAT, withholding and PAYE planning, filed on time and argued well when the tax office writes back.
Read more 03Bookkeeping and payroll
Monthly books closed by the 7th, payroll and pension remittances handled, and a one page report you will actually read.
Read more 06The full list
Business set up, year end reporting and part time CFO support, all under one engagement letter.
All servicesStart with a forty minute conversation.
Tell us what is keeping you up at night: a tax letter, a late audit, a payroll that never balances. We will tell you plainly what we would do and what it would cost.