Not for Profit (‘NFP’) is a key area for our Firm. We work with over 300 organisations in the sector of all types and sizes, ranging from small to the large as well as those with overseas operations. Our clients include charities, higher education institutions, independent schools, trade unions, membership organisations and trade associations.
Our specialist team has a thorough understanding of the sector challenges and opportunities and is on hand to provide practical and focussed solutions to help you and your organisation.
We have international reach through our membership of the Leading Edge Alliance (LEA). The LEA is the second-largest international professional association of independently owned accounting and consulting firms, and the largest in the US.
We are thoroughly committed to the sector. As part of this we:
Our head of NFP, Carol Rudge, is a member of the Charity SORP Committee, and as a Firm, we are members and supporters of a number of important bodies in the NFP sector including Charity Finance Group, Honorary Treasurers’ Forum, Charity Tax Group, British University Finance Directors’ Group, Independent Schools Bursars Association, Higher Education Policy Institute and regularly attend and speak at their events.
Audit
Financial Planning
CFO Services
Company Secretarial
Restructuring
Vat Advice
Tax Compliance and Advisory
Coaching
Contract Compliance and Royalty Auditing
Strategy and Execution
Charity Independent Examinations
Governance Reviews
Bookkeeping and Payroll
Our audit teams are partner-led and we adopt a personal, hands-on approach to our client relationships and use our sector-specific knowledge to bring value to the process.
We aim to make the audit process as straight forward and stress-free as possible, so our teams are always thoroughly briefed on your specific circumstances and have in-depth knowledge of your sector. Careful planning and open communication with our clients are key to our approach.
Well before the year end, we will discuss with you whether we should undertake the fieldwork at your offices or remotely. We will make sure the work accords with your timing preferences and meets your deadlines, enabling the accounts to be signed in accordance with your timetable.
We use Inflo software which allows us to automate the analysis of accounting data, and which also controls the flow of the information which we request. Our clients have been complimentary about Inflo and find that it is easy for them to use and means that they can plan in an efficient manner ahead of the audit and readily keep on top of information flows during the audit.
Financial planning, strategy and risk management are key elements for any NFP organisation. We can help you budget effectively, manage your cash, ensure your financial planning is robust and work with you to mitigate risk. We bring a commercial focus, helping you to generate a surplus, build up a financial reserve and go from strength to strength.
A part-time CFO is a cost-effective, agile solution that brings a valuable, independent perspective to organisations looking to provide quality and relevant financial information to their board.
Whether it is a specific project or a more regular assignment, our experienced part-time CFOs can help you to ensure you are able to report promptly on management accounts and budgets and to ensure regular cashflow forecasts.
Using our company secretarial services takes away the burden of aspects of the organisation that would normally fall to a company secretary. Our flexible offering can save you the cost of a full-time resource and keep your resources streamlined.
We undertake all routine company secretarial work, including preparation of minutes, resolutions, updating of statutory registers and filing of forms, if required. We also advise on and implement corporate structures.
As organisations look to maintain financial sustainability in times of economic difficulty, Boards may wish to explore if they can provide their services more efficiently by means of restructuring, joint ventures or mergers with other organisations. We have wide experience of corporate finance transactions and the knowledge to be able to apply these principles to the NFP sector in an intuitive and cost-effective manner.
We will work with you to make any ‘deal’ process as smooth as possible, providing clear, effective advice throughout. We offer an experienced, personal, expert service and are dedicated to delivering results. With strong attention to detail and a problem-solving mentality, we focus on speedily resolving any issues as they arrive and are always driven to deliver the best possible outcome for you.
We can undertake the financial due diligence for you, providing a written report on the historic financial information of the other organisation and its projections.
VAT is a very complex area for NFPs and it is easy to get it wrong. We are specialist advisers and understand that each organisation has different challenges which require tailored advice.
Our VAT team breaks down these complexities into clear, simple language to help our clients understand fully understand their position. We deliver straightforward solutions to complex questions with clarity.
Many of our experts trained with HMRC and have a thorough understanding of both the legislation and HMRC’s policies and procedures. This is invaluable when helping you understand the impact on you and your business in real terms.
Our expertise covers all aspects of VAT, but we are particular specialists in negotiating with HMRC on liability issues and agreeing partial exemption methods, providing VAT planning ideas for clients to improve cash flow, assisting clients through the maze of VAT law, and advising on EU and international transactions.
We deal with many transactional queries and conduct regular reviews. As well as helping you with areas of compliance such as VAT returns and VAT registration, highlighting the key risks and opportunities.
We understand NFPs and the tax issues that impact upon them. Our expert team works genuinely in partnership with our clients, taking time to understand their businesses and strategies, enabling us to offer proactive, commercial advice in addition to technical tax advice and compliance.
We provide business coaching to leaders of organisations through accredited coaches, working with them on areas they need to develop and grow as individuals. Using tried and tested business coaching techniques, we explore what’s important to you and what you feel you need support with.
We leverage our forensic heritage and skillset to identify financial recoveries, process and contractual weaknesses as well as operational improvement opportunities for organisations. We have developed a modern, technology-based approach that enable us to interrogate and understand the most complex contracts at a detailed level which not only helps identify recovery opportunities but also allows us to bring a greater level of contractual transparency for our clients.
As a rights owner, licensing means allowing your most valuable asset – your intellectual property – to be handled by a licensee. So it’s important to have a clear understanding of how your licensee is operating and your intellectual property is being used. An audit provides an opportunity for professional transparency and minimises the potential grey areas.
We have created an exceptional Business Planning workshop for senior leadership teams of NFPs to help them work through their strategies to create a future proof vision. It helps teams reflect and think differently to reinvent their strategy, and to capture it all in a One Page Business Plan which can then be shared across the organisation – literally bringing everyone together ‘on the same page’. In addition, to ensure that you are supported after the workshop, our accredited coaches and senior consultants will be on hand to help your leaders be the best in class. This can range from formal coaching sessions to informal discussions.
An Independent Examination is a lower level of scrutiny and less costly than an audit. For many smaller charities this is appropriate as they balance the needs of external scrutiny with the costs.
Our team can prepare the accounts and give guidance to ensure your trustees’ report is in accordance with the law. If your internal processes need to be more robust, we will identify any areas that need improving and make recommendations to ensure they become more effective.
Then if your charity grows, we can undertake an audit as and when needed.
The correct governance structure can free up decision making, encourage creativity, provide robust oversight, and simplify reporting. We can review your current governance to help you ensure that your structures comply with best practice guidance, is appropriate to your activities and size, and enable your organisation to be fit for the future.
We provide specialist accountancy outsourcing solutions, offering cost effective and reliable bookkeeping and payroll, services. Acting for a wide range of organisations, our experienced team has established accounting systems and reporting procedures for many NFPs providing concise and accurate management information which provides reassurance on these more technical areas.
We’d love to hear from you. To book an appointment or to find out more about our services:
