accountancy & audit

Accountancy & Audit for many accountancy firms is simply taking your accounting records, raising a few questions and presenting you with the final accounts - and the bill!

At TASC we do all of the above in a timely and efficient manner, but with the following added features:

·         Provide feedback on the performance of the business, looking at various profit margins, liquidity, cost variances, etc.

·         Many people become blind to the numbers when reviewing the year-end accounts. We can provide graphs and other illustrative charts to make the numbers come alive.

·         To ensure that accountancy fees are kept to a minimum we will advise you of improvements you could make to your accounting records, which will reduce time in preparing the year-end accounts and carrying out the year-end audit.

Often, such improvements require no additional work to the bookkeeper but can dramatically reduce our time and consequentially, fees, in meeting your statutory requirements.

TASC is registered to carry on audit work by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

business consultancy & advice

Financial & management consultancy:

Small and medium sized businesses that require the support of a qualified and experienced accountant may not be able to afford or justify a full time accountant.

At TASC we are able to offer the services of a qualified and suitably experienced accountant to provide support on a weekly, monthly, quarterly or ad-hock basis. We can adopt the role of a financial controller or financial director, depending on the level of support required.

We can also manage projects that you feel require our skills; or assist in business decisions advising on the financial implications and various options available. For example, a change of accounting software, methods of financing, group restructure, employee incentives, etc

Risk analysis:

What risks does your business face?

We will carry out a due diligence exercise to establish what risks exist to your business, be it financial, commercial or legislative. We will then advise what action can be taken to protect against such risks.

Start ups:

Starting a business is an exciting but very hectic time. It is too easy to focus your energy on maximising sales and neglect other important issues that can result in unnecessary future costs.

We will help you set up your business to run efficiently and profitability by:

·         Establishing a suitable trading vehicle. For example, limited company, limited liability partnership, partnership, sole trader, etc.

We can discuss each entity’s tax regimes and associated risks to ensure you make the right decision.

·         Preparing a business plan is essential to establish the viability of your new venture and to identify any potential risk areas. We will provide as much or as little input as you require to prepare the business plan. Some clients simply ask us to review their work, others ask us to prepare their business plan in full.

·         Assist in raising and selecting the most suitable source of finance.

·         Advise on a suitable accounts system to record the transactions of the business.

·         Advise on the internal controls of the business. This is an area often overlooked, but essential in the prevention of fraud. Essentially, we will identify areas where employees have an opportunity to defraud the business and put controls in place to prevent such a fraud.

·         Register the new business with Companies House, Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise.

Whist no one enters into a new venture anticipating it to fail, it is important to have a ‘Plan B’. We will discuss the risks with you and look to find solutions to protect against the downside should the venture not succeed.

Corporate finance:

We can assist in raising finance from a variety of sources such as banks, finance houses, venture capitalist trusts, etc.

Different businesses require finance at different stages of their development, from start-up, to finance expansion, capital expenditure or may be a management buy out.

We can provide practical advice and support in choosing and securing a suitable source of finance. We can also provide forecasted accounts, prepare a business plan and attend any meetings with you.

Exit Route planning:

Exit route planning is an exercise to prepare for the sale of your business and should ideally be instigated 5 years prior to the anticipated sale.

We will pull your business apart, identifying any weaknesses or risks that the business is exposed to, both internally and externally.

Once the business’s risks and weaknesses have been identified, we can advise you on how to eradicate or protect against them.

Each project is specific to each business; listed below are some general examples of areas that are considered during an exit route planning exercise:

·         Depersonalising the business by giving the business its own identity.

·         Reducing dependence on key personnel. By introducing formal procedures and systems the business is able to exist in the absence of the owners / managers.

·         Tax planning to mitigate capital gains tax on disposal of the business.

·         Reviewing and updating internal controls of the business against fraud.

Recruitment:

TASC do not act as an employment agency, but work with your business in ascertaining the business’s needs in respect of its finance staff.

We can review candidates CV’s and sit in on interviews to establish if the candidates are suitably qualified and experienced to meet your business’s requirements.

Many businesses fail in their recruitment due to the recruitment responsibility being conducted by non-finance staff.