Audits that are thorough, practical and on time
We are registered to carry out audit work by the ACCA. Our audits give your shareholders, lenders and investors confidence in your accounts, and give you findings you can use.
A company usually needs an audit once it is no longer small. For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a company is small if it meets two of three tests: turnover of no more than £15 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees. Some companies need an audit whatever their size, including many that are part of a group, and shareholders holding at least 10% can ask for one.
Many smaller companies choose a voluntary audit because a lender, investor or buyer asks for one. Either way, we plan the audit around your business, keep disruption to a minimum and report what we find in plain English.
- 1We confirm whether you need an audit
- 2We agree a fee and a timetable
- 3We plan the audit around your business
- 4We carry out the fieldwork
- 5We discuss our findings with you
- 6We sign our audit report
- 7We send you our recommendations in a management letter
Who benefits, and how
An audit is an independent opinion on whether your accounts give a true and fair view. The report is addressed to the shareholders, but the value of a good audit reaches everyone who relies on your figures, including you.
Shareholders
- Independent assurance that the accounts the directors present are reliable, which matters most where shareholders are not involved in running the business.
- Confidence when the owners and the management team are different people, for example in a family company or after a management buy-in.
- A route for minority shareholders: members holding at least 10% of the shares can require an audit, even where the company would otherwise be exempt.
Lenders, investors and buyers
- Many banks and investors ask for audited accounts as a condition of lending or investing, whether or not the law requires them.
- Audited figures carry more weight in due diligence, which can make a sale or fundraising quicker.
- A clean audit history shows that the numbers have been tested year after year, not just tidied up before a deal.
The board and management
- An outside view of your controls, systems and accounting judgements, from people who see many businesses.
- Problems found and fixed early, before they reach a lender, a buyer or HMRC.
- Practical recommendations in our management letter, ranked so you know what to tackle first.
- Directors meet their duty to keep proper records and present accounts that give a true and fair view.
Which audit applies
Whether you need an audit, and what kind, depends on the company's size, its ownership and whether it is part of a group. These are the situations we see most.
Statutory audit
Required by law for companies that are not small, and for some that are.
- Suits
- Companies above the small company limits, public companies, and some regulated businesses such as banks and insurers.
- What's involved
- An audit under International Standards on Auditing (UK), ending in an audit report that is filed with the accounts.
- Watch out for
- A company usually has to cross the size limits in two years in a row before it needs an audit, so we can see it coming and plan for it.
Voluntary audit
An audit the company chooses to have, although it is exempt.
- Suits
- Small companies with lenders, investors or a sale in view, and owners who want an independent check.
- What's involved
- The same standards and the same audit report as a statutory audit.
- Watch out for
- Shareholders holding at least 10% can require an audit. Their notice must be given during the financial year and at least one month before it ends.
Group audit
An audit of the consolidated accounts of a group, and usually its companies.
- Suits
- Groups that prepare consolidated accounts, and groups where a company is not small because the group as a whole is not small.
- What's involved
- We audit the consolidation and direct the work on each company in the group, whether we audit it ourselves or rely on another auditor.
- Watch out for
- A company in a group can only use the small company audit exemption if the whole group qualifies as small. Being small on its own is not enough.
Subsidiary exemption with a parent guarantee
A way for a UK subsidiary to avoid its own audit.
- Suits
- Subsidiaries of a UK parent that prepares audited consolidated accounts including them.
- What's involved
- All the subsidiary's members agree, the parent guarantees its liabilities at the year end, and the parent's group accounts and the paperwork are filed at Companies House.
- Watch out for
- The guarantee covers all the subsidiary's outstanding liabilities at the year end until they are paid in full, and creditors can enforce it against the parent. Some regulated companies cannot use it.
For financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025, a company is small if it meets two of: turnover of no more than £15 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £7.5 million, and no more than 50 employees. A group is small on the same limits, measured across the whole group after removing intra-group items, with slightly higher limits if they are not removed.
When you need an audit
Most small private companies are exempt from audit. The exemption is lost if the company is no longer small, if it is part of a group that is not small, if it is a public company, or if it carries on certain regulated activities such as banking or insurance. Members holding at least 10% of the shares can also insist on one.
Companies that claim the exemption make a statement on their balance sheet. From April 2028, Companies House will require a fuller statement confirming the company is eligible, so it is worth being sure of your position now. We check it with you every year, and tell you early if you are heading towards an audit.
How our audit runs
We aim to make the audit thorough without taking over your finance team's month.
- Planning: we meet you before the year end to understand what has changed, agree what we need and set dates that suit you.
- Fieldwork: we test the figures and your controls, on site or remotely, with one point of contact and a single request list.
- Completion: we discuss any adjustments with you before anything is final, so there are no surprises.
- Reporting: we sign our audit report on the accounts, in time for your filing deadline.
The management letter
An audit should leave you with more than a signed report. After every audit we send a management letter setting out what we found: weaknesses in controls, errors we corrected, and ways to make your finance function faster or safer.
Each point is explained in plain English, with a recommendation and a priority, so the board can act on it. We follow up on the points the next year.
Questions we’re often asked
Who can carry out our audit?
Only a registered auditor. We are registered to carry out audit work by the ACCA, which supervises our audit work.
Can the same firm prepare our accounts and audit them?
For many private companies, yes, with safeguards. Ethical standards limit what an auditor can do for an audit client, and we explain how we keep the two roles separate before we start.
We have just grown past the small company limits. When does the audit start?
A company's size usually changes only once it has crossed the limits in two consecutive years. We look at your figures with you and confirm which financial year will be the first to need an audit.
How long does an audit take?
It depends on the size of the business and how ready the records are. A well-planned audit with good records causes the least disruption. We agree a timetable with you at the planning stage.
Rules and limits checked 9 October 2026.
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