Auditing – just how big do you need to be ?

In fact, most small companies will probably just employ a bookkeeper and use an accountant purely to prepare and sign off the annual accounts and file tax returns. Even then, the temptation is to head straight to the smallest accountancy firms in the neighbourhood in the often mistaken belief that their fees will be similarly modest.Entrepreneurs are often amazed just how reasonable the fees charged by larger firms are compared with those of a typical two partner firm around the corner. It is usually hugely advantageous to use as big a firm as possible within one’s resources.A set of accounts signed off by a regional practice or the local office of a national firm will carry far more credibility with bankers, prospective clients and the tax man etc. Furthermore, it is impossible for a one or two man band to know very much about anything whereas larger firms will have specialists in a range of areas. If you need to make a specific enquiry on a particular subject, a smaller practice may very often simply not know the answer.In terms of statutory auditing, this is not obligatory for commercial companies or limited liability partnerships with annual turnover of under £ 6.5 million excluding VAT or gross assets of under £ 3.26 million. The only exceptions are regulated organisations like law firms or charities. These limits are purely the ones used for statutory purposes and individual businesses will very often decide to have their accounts audited well before these limits are reached.There may be several reasons for this. If the business has sizeable borrowings, the lenders will certainly prefer to see audited accounts even if they don’t actually insist on them. Secondly, a history of audited accounts will stand the business in good stead if the owners decide either to sell out or to float on the Stockmarket. Finally, any firm with a multi-million pound turnover will find that an annual audit will very often highlight weaknesses in the organisation which might otherwise have been overlooked.Again, the size and quality of the auditing firm will carry a lot of weight. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the big four but, if possible, ought to be a recognised second tier practice with a national profileSee more on statutory audit