Outline
We work with many charities across Scotland and pride ourselves on our specialism in the third sector.
Central to this work is our service as a charity independent examiner (‘IE’). An independent examination is carried out by and signed off by an individual, and in our firm the IE is David Nicholls. David is a Fellow of ACCA and is a Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners. In 2021, our firm acted for over 100 charities across Scotland in this capacity.
Independent examination is a form of external scrutiny which is less intrusive than a statutory audit, and in accounting jargon is a form of ‘negative assurance’ over the accounts of the charity. This means that a clean IE report will state that nothing has come to the attention of the examiner which would mean the accounts did not meet the requirements of the accounting rules, or prevent the accounts being understood.
Our work is therefore not carried out to the same depth as a statutory audit, however we take our role seriously and carry out many audit techniques during the independent examination. We ensure that every balance sheet item is reconciled and can be evidenced, providing complete working papers for each item, and that expenditure against restricted funds has been correctly accounted for and is in line with the award letter from the funder.
Our Service
We are sometimes asked to carry out a ‘pure IE’ of statutory accounts which a client or their advisors have prepared. We tend not to take this work on, as our experience tells us that it is more efficient for us to prepare the accounts and process any adjustments or additional disclosures.
We are happy to prepare and independently examine accounts for the various forms of charities and accounts which are listed below. We are not an audit registered practice.
- Accrued accounts for a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) or CIO
- Accrued accounts for an unincorporated charity
- Accrued accounts for an incorporated charity (joint registration with the Charity regulator and Companies House as a Company Limited by Guarantee)
- Receipts and Payments accounts for a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO)
- Receipts and Payments accounts for an unincorporated charity
Please get in touch with us if you would like to obtain a quote for the preparation and independent examination of your charity’s accounts.