JL Grant

JL Grant & Co. provides a wide variety of audit, accountancy, tax and consultancy services to charities and the not-for-profit sector. We currently provide services to over 200 charities in both the UK and Ireland.

As a firm we have a firm commitment to the not-for-profit sector and a wealth of experience in finance, accounting and governance.

When we work with charities we:

• Strongly believe in being experts in our field
• Are working in a sector about which we are passionate
• Empower those we work with
• Provide tools and building blocks by sharing our knowledge and expertise
• Create networks for sharing good practice
• Offer value for money, professionalism and quality
• Doing far more than just an audit
• Working ethically and responsibly
• Supporting local businesses where possible
  

"We believe that charities and social enterprise really do make a difference."

Audit & Assurance | Accounts Preparation | Management Accounts | Payroll | Training & Mentoring | Tax & Gift Aid | Consultancy | Internal Audit

Audit & Assurance

A charity could require an audit for a number of reasons: it might be a statutory requirement, it might be a constitutional requirement set out in the charity’s trust deed, it might be a funder’s requirement, or it might simply be that the trustees would like the extra peace of mind that an audit provides.

Whatever the reason, JL Grant & Co. provides a comprehensive audit service specifically tailored to charities. We have extensive experience of charity accounts and legislation, and are familiar with SORP requirements. We are committed to best practice in charity financial reporting. We believe that a charity’s annual report and accounts are a useful fundraising tool and are committed to helping our clients improve the presentation of this information to maximise fundraising potential.

We see the audit as a process that can really add value to an organisation. So instead of simply meeting our statutory requirements as auditors, we endeavour to identify areas within your systems, controls and governance where improvements and efficiencies can be implemented.

We like to keep in touch with our clients throughout the year – not just during the audit. We will keep you up to date with changes in legislation affecting your organisation, as well as being on hand to help with anything from minor queries to big projects. We can perform independent examinations or accountants’ reports for charities below the audit threshold. We also regularly carry out grant audits for funders.

Accounts Preparation

For charities who manage their own bookkeeping during the year but just need a bit of help at the year end, we can prepare annual accounts from your trial balance or bookkeeping records. We will prepare all the necessary year end adjustments, such as depreciation, accruals and prepayments, and convert your figures into a format that complies with SORP and Companies Act requirements.

Management Accounts

Small charities inevitably have small finance departments — often made up of just one person. Whilst they can perform the bookkeeping and day-to-day accounting functions, they often do not have the time or the expertise to produce regular management accounts or budgets. We can help you to overcome this by preparing your monthly management accounts and/or budgets and, if required, presenting them to the trustees.

Payroll

A charity may decide to outsource its payroll function for a number of reasons. Often charities do not want the burden of keeping up to date with changing legislation and tax rates, or they don’t have the expertise or capacity in-house to manage the payroll. Sometimes it is simply more cost effective to outsource.

We provide outsourced payroll services to a number of charities. This involves calculating the monthly wages, tax and other deductions for your staff, producing payslips and payroll reports, and completing your annual payroll returns.

Training & Mentoring

We strongly believe in empowering those we work with so that they can build their own skill-set and become less reliant on outside support.

We offer a variety of services to develop the skills of charity staff and trustees. We offer bespoke training to groups or individuals including: trustee workshops on risk management, reserves policies, trustee responsibilities; one-to-one training with finance staff covering issues such as SORP compliance, preparing charity accounts, developing robust systems and controls. We also offer finance training to non-finance staff to develop their understanding of financial issues and increase their confidence in dealing with numbers.

We can also be commissioned to deliver training at external seminars or workshops.

Our mentoring scheme has been particularly effective. This scheme is designed for finance staff who are new to the charity sector or finance staff who are taking on new areas of responsibility (such as financial strategy or management accounting). The process starts by identifying the individual’s training and development needs and setting objectives and timescales. The training and development objectives are achieved through a series of regular sessions. Throughout the process we are also available by phone or email to troubleshoot on specific issues.

Tax & Gift Aid

We can provide advice and consultancy services for all aspects of tax, including VAT, gift aid, corporation tax, PAYE and national insurance. We can also help you to complete your VAT and corporation tax returns and gift aid claims.

We have supported several charities through VAT inspections and gift aid audits. In the event of a visit from HMRC we can help you to prepare the necessary information, ensure you understand the implications of HMRC findings, and if necessary negotiate on your behalf. We have an established track record of reducing financial penalties in VAT inspections and gift aid audits.

We also specialise in providing advice on meeting gift aid requirements, such as record-keeping, donor benefits, and maximising gift aid potential.

Consultancy

We are happy to undertake ad hoc consultancy projects across a variety of disciplines. Here are some examples of projects we have done recently: fraud investigations, recruitment of finance personnel, acting as interim Finance Director, a review of financial systems and controls, and writing financial procedures manuals.

If you have a project that you would like some help with, please call us to arrange an initial consultation to discuss the scope of the work.

Internal Audit

Internal audit can help you to assess whether your current systems and procedures are adequate and whether they are being properly implemented. Regular internal audits can help charities to operate more efficiently and mitigate the risk of fraud and error. We offer a variety of internal audit services. We can work with you to help you develop your own internal audit programme. Alternatively, we can conduct the audit on your behalf, reporting our findings and recommendations to you.