I've been asked to independently examine accounts for a small local charity. I'm happy to do this and have read the guidance from the Charity Commission on what is required.
Is anyone that's done this before happy to give me a ballpark figure of what they would expect to charge - hourly or fixed fee? They guy is coming in later this morning so I shall find out what he's been charged in previous years and use that as guidance as well, but interested to see what others have done.
Thanks
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
I passed on a job like this recently to a local accountant in town who passes jobs to me which was eventually done for around £300.....the quotes the charity had been receiving were more around the £500 mark.
I suppose it depends on the amount of transactions, but I suppose you could estimate the time it would take.....say a day, day and a half, and multiply this by your hourly rate (for doing management accounts/tax returns rather than day-to-day bookkeeping).
They should have provided the accounts/returns for which you are examining and so it is a fairly quick audit job. Although it is important to be sure as you are putting your name to it......that comes at a cost too!
Presumably if the actual accounts haven't been prepared yet, only the bookkeeping, then the person doing the examination can't also prepare the accounts? Just trying to prepare myself for all possibilities of options being presented at this meeting!
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
I used to do this as part of a full time job I had previously as a community worker. For a community group operating as a charity we could normally complete everything in under a day. It's really a how long is a piece of string question. Each group is very different. Some have a treasurer who really doesn't have a clue, others are very on the ball and others have paid staff doing it who really do know what they're doing. Going out on a limb here, without seeing the level of work involved, for a small charity I'd be somewhere between £200 and £300.
Thanks Kris, they have a bookkeeper so I'm expecting everything to be pretty organised and easy to follow.
That said we used to do the books for a not for profit org some years ago which, due to the treasury committee, were possibly the most complicated things I have ever had the misfortune to see. They over analysed every 5p into 74 different catagories!
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
There should be accounts prepared or the document related to the charity return (forgot the terminology!)....otherwise you wouldn't be able to examnine and sign off.
So it really should be as clean and straight forward as you expect.
In my local area, I (and a few others) do it for free - but they are all really small charities or voluntary bodies, and they give us free publicity. If we are really lucky a voucher (about £25) to spend at the local garden centre!
