Statutory audit

In certain circumstances, smaller companies may require an audit, whether to reassure a bank, or external shareholders, or to comply with the company’s internal regulations.

A qualified accountant, who is an audit specialist, leads all our audits. We can deal with the most complex reporting requirements. Many of our audit clients are subsidiaries of foreign holding companies.

However, at James Todd & Co an audit is about more than just numbers. We work to make your audit a positive experience, focused on your needs and not just a pre-defined set of procedures.

Our audit team stays up-to-date with developments in laws, practices, regulations and procedures. We identify issues from the audit affecting those responsible for governance. We also identify ways to make your financial team more efficient.

While small companies  are generally exempt, many subsidiary companies, charitable organisations and  commercial companies must conduct a mandatory audit, verify that their accounting records present a true and fair view of the organisation’s finances and activities, and comply with legal and regulatory obligations.

The below organisations are normally expected to have a statutory audit conducted on their reported financial statements:

• • Any company that exceeds the small companies threshold. This is where a company meets two of the following three criteria for two or more consecutive years or in the first year; more than £10.2m turnover, more than £5.1m gross assets and more than 50 employees. 
  • Public companies and any subsidiary company unless they are dormant or otherwise exempt.
  • Corporate organisations with shares traded via a regulated market.
  • Any Markets in Financial Instruments Directive investment firm.
  • Charities and not-for-profit organisations with an annual turnover of £1 million or above or where gross assets exceed £3.26 million and gross income is above £250,000.
  • Companies involved in banking or financial services, including those providing e-money transactions or electronic money services.
  • Insurance providers, or other companies that provide services related to insurance market activity.

While a statutory audit may be mandated, there are multiple benefits to having a coordinated audit plan that can address key issues, priorities, opportunities and risks to your organisation, giving your decision-makers useful information they can leverage to make informed choices.

The primary objective of an external audit is to ensure that published financial statements are accurate and present a true picture of the organisation’s finances. This feeds into greater investor or stakeholder confidence, and a reputation for integrity and honesty that may be valuable for  not for profits and charities alongside companies.

Managers, directors and senior leadership team members often rely on the outcomes of a statutory audit to affirm that they have upheld their duties and responsibilities while verifying that corporate governance requirements have been fully adhered to.

The insights a team of Chartered Accountants acting as your auditors provides are insightful and can help test and assess internal controls, evaluate how well a corporate body protects itself from risk, and ensure transparency about which processes are performing well and which are not.

Should your auditing process identify controls that are not satisfactory, this isn’t necessarily a negative. Instead, a fully independent statutory audit will deliver recommendations within the auditor’s report, designed to support the organisation and help managers improve performance going forward.

As your auditors, James Todd & Co will run through the auditing standards, expectations and requirements before beginning a statutory audit so you know how the audit will be structured and where your workforce may be able to assist.

Statutory audits will normally meet the following criteria:

• • Collating an overview of financial accounts and records, including financial statements issued within recent trading periods, and the outcomes of an internal audit or a published accountant’s report.
  • Evaluating how the entity  implements financial controls, operational controls and processes, and assessing how well these fit the organisation’s needs.
  • Creating a customised report, prepared by the audit team, setting out the findings, stating whether the financial position of the entity  is shown correctly and adding real value to shareholders and stakeholders.

For more information about the statutory audit process, whether this is relevant to your company, charity or not for profit, or why an audit may be beneficial, please get in touch at any time with our Audit Services team.