Our Audit Approach
At Bishop Fleming, we don’t like to think of the audit as just a necessity - for us it’s a way to increase our understanding of your charity, to identify potential weaknesses, and to determine how we can help, providing increased security for you and your beneficiaries.
VAT
One of the major issues for VAT registered charities is calculating how much of the VAT that they incur can be reclaimed from HM Revenue and Customs. Add to this that many charities have multiple income streams that may be taxable for VAT, exempt from VAT or outside the scope of VAT altogether, and this is one of the most complex areas that your organisation will face. Bishop Fleming has had a VAT department since the early days of the tax, and is unique amongst regional accountants in having a dedicated VAT Director who will be able to guide you through this most complicated subject.
Charitable Trading Subsidiaries and Corporate Tax
It may be that creating a trading subsidiary for your charity is the best way to mitigate your exposure - but corporate tax is a very complex area and if you’re not careful, this can easily backfire. Many of our prize-winning tax team members directly advise our charities department, so you can be sure that your organisation is always getting the very best company tax advice.
Creating a Reserves Policy
Many organisations can find it difficult to settle on the necessary level of funds to support their charity in lean times. We’ve helped many charities decide upon a policy that’s suitable and justifiable, with the right balance of reserved and unreserved funds.
Attending AGMs
We’ll always be happy to attend your charity’s AGM on request, to present our accounts to the Trustees, and to discuss any matters arising in the sector that may impact upon your organisation. In the first year that we work with you, we’ll gladly do this free of charge.
Strategic Planning
We have a great deal of experience in business planning, not only in our work with charitable organisations like yours, but also in successfully running a Top 50 accountancy firm for over 90 years. Our team can help you, your trustees and Chief Executive plan for the future, advising on the tough decisions in conjunction with your reported objectives.
Ad-hoc Technical Queries
We recognise that every charity is different, and can offer assistance with any and all of the peculiar and unusual situations that may affect your organisation, providing help with everything from Charity Commission Recoupment Orders, linked charities and registration in Scotland to accounting for heritage assets and more.
Help with Accounting Systems
You’re probably already using an accounting software system like Sage or QuickBooks for your charity. This is the right way to go, but we’ve found that not all charities are using these systems to their full capabilities. With a dedicated accounting systems expert in each of our offices, we’ll be able to help you make the most of whatever software you have.