Surely it is the case that all audits are equal? Whilst to some extent that may be the case due to the audit process being required to fulfil stringent statutory requirements, at Williamson & Croft we have designed our audit service to provide more to our clients as we see our relationship with our clients as a business partnership.

Read on to see how we are different from other auditors and how we aim to ensure that our clients are not just satisfied with the annual audit but that are delighted that from working together with our team they can see tangible benefits to their business.

If you want more information on how we can assist your business with our audit and other services then please contact our office on 0161 399 0121 or our Audit Partner directly at tor.stringfellow@williamsoncroft.co.uk.

Partnership with FD/CFO

We aim to work closely in partnership with the management and key financial personnel of our clients and this starts with the Financial Director or Chief Financial Officer of the business who is usually our main day-to-day contact for the audit and other services.

Our role is not to check up on or be in conflict with the finance function within the business but to assist them in any way possible to ensure that the business is operating effectively in terms of its financial systems and controls, reporting accurate and timely information and to advise them on industry best practice, general accounting and taxation and any other areas in which we can help.

We want to build a strong and positive relationship with our clients and their finance staff and to work together for the benefit of you, your business and its continued growth and success and your individual goals.

Two-way dialogue to assist our clients

We encourage our clients to bring any matters with which we may be able to assist to our attention throughout the year. We never want to be in the position where we have a meeting after the year-end and are left saying “if only we knew about that at the time”.

We also keep our clients updated on any services we provide to them as they progress and in particular will not wait until the end of the audit to discuss issues with you but will bring them to your attention immediately and ensure that we understand the issue fully and agree on how to resolve together with you and your finance team.

We will provide a detailed report at the end of the audit which will include matters already discussed (and resolved in so far as possible) with the FD/CFO and we then meet with other management to present and discuss our findings. Again, FD/CFO must have input into this report as these are your numbers and it is your business. We are here to work with you to provide a report which will highlight the key financial information from the year and provide agreed, practical recommendations for improvements that will benefit the business.

Partner-led on-site audit fieldwork

Your key contact with us will be with our Audit Partner and it is our aim that you have access to his experience and business knowledge as much as possible and develop a strong and positive working relationship together.

With this in mind, we plan our audits to ensure that the Partner is involved throughout, communicating with and meeting with you in advance of the audit, onsite during the audit fieldwork and reporting to you directly on the audit findings both during and after the completion of the audit work.

Ongoing year-round support

We don’t want to just hear from you once a year at the annual audit. If we are to work in partnership with you then we want to encourage an ongoing dialogue throughout the year so that you can get all the support you need when you need it.

If you have any query, whether on the correct accounting treatment or tax implications of a transaction, the impact of changes in legislation, available financial support or even if you just want to discuss the latest news or the fact that your favourite football team has won against our Audit Partner’s team (this will happen a lot) then get in touch. We are here to assist you and work with you for the benefit of your business.

Specialist Knowledge

It is vital both in terms of providing an effective audit and in ensuring that we can add value throughout the audit process that we understand your business. A key part of this is having specialist knowledge of the sector in which your business operates.

Our Partners and staff have a wealth of experience in both audits and in advising clients more broadly across a range of business sectors in the UK and internationally. We have worked with clients in the following sectors (to name just a few):

We know that sector knowledge is only the start of understanding your business and we will work with you to ensure that we are fully aware of all the key risks and opportunities unique to your business by learning from the people that know it best – you and your staff.

Business advice/Added value

Our Audit Partner, Tor Stringfellow FCA, has over 15 years of experience in both audit and general practice accounting (business advisory, taxation and forensic accounting amongst other services) which means that he has the skills and knowledge necessary to add value throughout the audit process in terms of providing beneficial advice in areas such as improvements to internal controls, potential corporation and personal tax savings and identifying opportunities for growth or cost savings for your business.

Business Network

Our Partners and staff have developed a strong network of trusted contacts as well as having strong relationships with our existing clients who work across several sectors. If you could benefit from an introduction to one of our contacts or clients then we will be pleased to introduce you to them to your mutual benefit.

Costs and Efficiency

We know that you don’t want to pay over the odds for your audit and accountancy services and so when reviewing our costs we will seek to understand your unique business and its requirements and then provide the services which will benefit you in the most cost-efficient way possible.

We also understand that audits themselves can be time and resource-heavy for businesses and so we will work with you to ensure that only key information is requested, queries are resolved quickly and effectively and that any disruption to your key day-to-day activities (which after all are what your business is about) is minimised.

We are confident that we can provide the highest standards of client service in the most cost-efficient and time-efficient manner.

Tailored audit approach

We utilise the latest cloud-based audit technology to ensure that your audit is completed in the most efficient possible way whilst still maximising the benefits to the business whether we are onsite meeting face-to-face, working remotely with video conferencing systems or most often a combination of both.

The audit is a service which we are providing to you and so we will agree with the approach with you in advance and with your input to ensure that we can complete our work effectively and efficiently and whatever ways work best with your schedule and commitments.

This allows us to provide the best possible service to our clients and to minimise our audit fees, saving our clients both time and money.

Ad-hoc advice

We will never raise a fee for any work which we do for you without first agreeing on this in advance.

Ad-hoc queries and discussions throughout the year are part of the audit service and the audit fee and so we will never charge you for answering your telephone call or responding to an email as we want you to come to us for assistance and advice without worrying about costs.

If a query leads to a more substantial piece of work or advice then we will let you know the options and any potential fees before we do any work so that you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

Get In Touch

We can’t wait to start the audit process with you and your business. If you’re a business owner operating in Manchester, Liverpool, the surrounding areas of Salford, Bolton, Birkenhead, St Helens, Sale or anywhere else in the UK and want an accountancy firm that will ensure your audits are in-depth, clear and hit your objectives then give us a call or drop us an email and let’s get started.

Our audits are undertaken by Williamson & Croft Audit Limited who are registered to carry out audit work in the UK by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (reference number C008141319).