The following terms of business apply to all engagements accepted by Black Fox Advisers Limited. All work
is carried out under these terms except where changes are expressly agreed in writing.
1. APPLICABLE LAW
1.1 Our engagement letter, the schedules of services and our standard terms and conditions of
business are governed by and should be construed in accordance with, English law. Each party
agrees that the courts of England will have exclusive jurisdiction in relation to any claim, dispute
or difference concerning this engagement letter and any matter arising from it on any basis. Each
party irrevocably waives any right to object to any action being brought in those courts, to claim
that the action has been brought in an inappropriate forum, or to claim that those courts do not
have jurisdiction.
1.2 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice previously given by us without first confirming
with us that the advice is still valid in light of any change in the law or in your circumstances. We
will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law, or the interpretation thereof, that
occur after the date on which the advice is given.
2. CLIENT IDENTIFICATION
2.1 As with other professional services firms, we are required to identify our clients for the purposes
of the UK anti-money laundering legislation. We may request from you, and retain, such
information and documentation as we require for these purposes and/or make searches of
appropriate databases. If we are not able to obtain satisfactory evidence of your identity, we will
not be able to proceed with the engagement.
2.2 If you undertake business that requires you to be supervised by an appropriate supervisory
authority to follow anti-money laundering regulations including if you accept or make a high value
cash payments of €10,000 or more (or equivalent in any currency) in exchange for goods you
should inform us.
2.3 Any personal data received from you to comply with our obligations under The Money Laundering,
Terrorist Financing and Transfer for Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017)
will be processed only for the purposes of preventing money laundering or terrorist financing. No
other use will be made of this personal data unless use of the data is permitted by or under
enactment other than the MLR 2017, or we have obtained the consent of the data subject to the
proposed use of the data.
3. CLIENTS’ MONEY
3.1 We may, from time to time, hold money on your behalf. The money will be held in trust in a client
bank account, which is segregated from the firm’s funds. The account will be operated, and all
funds dealt with, in accordance with ICAEW’s Clients’ Money Regulations.
3.2 If the total sum of money held on your behalf is enough to give rise to a significant amount of
interest or is likely to do so, we will put the money in a designated interest-bearing client bank
account and pay the interest to you. Subject to any tax legislation, interest will be paid gross.
3.3 We will promptly return monies held on your behalf as soon as there is no longer any reason to
retain those funds. If any funds remain in our client account that are unclaimed, and the client to
which they relate has remained untraced for five years, or we as a firm cease to practise, we may
pay those monies to a registered charity.
4. COMMISSIONS OR OTHER BENEFITS
4.1 In some circumstances we may receive commissions or other benefits for introductions to other
professionals or in respect of transactions which we arrange for you.
4.2 If this happens, we will notify you in writing of the amount and terms of payment and receipt of
any such commissions or benefits. The same will apply if the payment is made to, or the
transactions are arranged by one of our associates. The nature of the engagement and
professional judgement would determine the frequency and detail required to ensure compliance
with the code of ethics The fees you would otherwise pay will not be reduced by the amount of the
commissions or benefits.
5. CONFIDENTIALITY
5.1 Unless we are authorised by you to disclose information on your behalf, we confirm that if you give
us confidential information we will, at all times during and after this engagement, keep it
confidential, except as required by law or as provided for in regulatory, ethical or other
professional pronouncements applicable to us or our engagement.
5.2 You agree that, if we act for other clients who are or who become your competitors, to comply with
our duty of confidentiality it will be sufficient for us to take such steps as we think appropriate to
preserve the confidentiality of information given to us by you, both during and after this
engagement. These may include taking the same or similar steps as we take in respect of the
confidentiality of our own information.
5.3 In addition, if we act for other clients whose interests are or may be adverse to yours, we will
manage the conflict by implementing additional safeguards to preserve confidentiality.
Safeguards may include measures such as separate teams, physical separation of teams, and
separate arrangements for storage of, and access to, information.
5.4 You agree that the effective implementation of such steps or safeguards as described above will
provide adequate measures to avoid any real risk of confidentiality being impaired.
5.5 We may, on occasion, subcontract work on your affairs to other tax or accounting professionals.
The subcontractors will be bound by our client confidentiality terms.
5.6 We will inform you of the proposed use of a subcontractor before they commence work, except
where your data will not be transferred out of our systems and the subcontractor is bound by
confidentiality terms equivalent to an employee.
5.7 If we use external or cloud-based systems, we will ensure confidentiality of your information is
maintained.
5.8 This applies in addition to our obligations on data protection in section 7.
6. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
6.1 We will inform you if we become aware of any conflict of interest in our relationship with you or in
our relationship with you and another client, unless we are unable to do so because of our
confidentiality obligations. We have safeguards that can be implemented to protect the interests
of different clients if a conflict arises. If conflicts are identified which cannot be managed in a way
that protects your interests, we regret that we will be unable to provide further services.
6.2 If there is a conflict of interest that is capable of being addressed successfully by the adoption of
suitable safeguards to protect your interests, we will adopt those safeguards. In resolving the
conflict, we would be guided by ICAEW’s Code of Ethics, which can be viewed at
icaew.com/en/membership/regulations-standards-and-guidance/ethics. During and after our
engagement, you agree that we reserve the right to act for other clients whose interests are or may
compete with, or be adverse to, yours subject, of course, to our obligations of confidentiality and
the safeguards set out in the paragraph on confidentiality above.
7. DATA PROTECTION
7.1. In this clause 7, the following definitions shall apply:
‘client personal data’ means any personal data provided to us by you, or on your behalf, for the
purpose of providing our services to you, pursuant to our engagement letter with you;
‘data protection legislation’ means all applicable privacy and data protection legislation and
regulations including PECR, the UK GDPR and any other applicable national laws, regulations and
secondary legislation in the UK relating to the processing of personal data and the privacy of
electronic communications, as amended, replaced or updated from time to time;
‘controller’, ‘data subject’, ‘personal data’, and ‘process’ shall have the meanings given to them in
the data protection legislation;
‘UK GDPR’ means the Data Protection Act 2018 as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and
Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020; and
‘PECR’ means the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (SI
2426/2003) as amended by the Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications
(Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
7.2. We shall each be considered an independent data controller in relation to the client personal
data. Each of us will comply with all requirements and obligations applicable to us under the data
protection legislation in respect of the client personal data.
7.3. You shall only disclose client personal data to us where:
a) you have provided the necessary information to the relevant data subjects regarding its use
(and you may use or refer to our privacy notice) ;
b) you have a lawful basis upon which to do so, which, in the absence of any other lawful basis,
shall be with the relevant data subject’s consent; and
c) you have complied with the necessary requirements under the data protection legislation to
enable you to do so.
7.4. Should you require any further details regarding our treatment of personal data, please contact
7.5. We shall only process the client personal data:
a) in order to provide our services to you and perform any other obligations in accordance with our
engagement with you;
b) in order to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations; and
c) where it is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests and those interests are not
overridden by the data subjects’ own privacy rights. Our privacy notice contains further details as
to how we may process client personal data.
7.6. For the purpose of providing our services to you, we may disclose the client personal data to our
regulatory bodies or other third parties (for example, our professional advisors or service
providers). The third parties to whom we disclose such personal data may be located outside of
the United Kingdom. We will only disclose client personal data to a third party (including a third
party outside of the UK) provided that the transfer is undertaken in compliance with the data
protection legislation.
7.7. We may disclose the client personal data to other third parties in the context of a possible sale,
merger, restructuring or financing of or investment in our business. In this event we will take
appropriate measures to ensure that the security of the client personal data continues to be
ensured in accordance with data protection legislation. If a change happens to our business, then
the new owners may use our client personal data in the same way as set out in these terms.
7.8. We shall maintain commercially reasonable and appropriate security measures, including
administrative, physical and technical safeguards, to protect against unauthorised or unlawful
processing of the client personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to,
the client personal data.
7.9. In respect of the client personal data, provided that we are legally permitted to do so, we shall
promptly notify you in the event that:
a) we receive a request, from or on behalf of a relevant data subject, to exercise their data subject
rights under the data protection legislation or a complaint or any adverse correspondence in
respect of our processing of their personal data;
b) we are served with an information, enforcement or assessment notice (or any similar notices),
or receive any other material communication in respect of our processing of the client personal
data from the Information Commissioner’s Office or any other supervisory authority); or
c) we reasonably believe that there has been any incident which resulted in the accidental or
unauthorised access to, or destruction, loss, unauthorised disclosure or alteration of, the client
personal data.
7.10. Upon the reasonable request of the other, we shall each co-operate with the other and take such
reasonable commercial steps or provide such information as is necessary to enable each of us to
comply with the data protection legislation in respect of the services provided to you in
accordance with our engagement letter with you in relation to those services.
8. DISENGAGEMENT
8.1. If we resign, or are asked to resign, we will normally issue a disengagement letter to ensure that
our respective responsibilities are clear. For non-audit clients, if we have no contact with you for
a period of two years or more, we may issue to your last known address a disengagement letter
and thereafter cease to act.
9. ELECTRONIC AND OTHER COMMUNICATION
9.1. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we may, if appropriate, communicate with you and with third
parties by email or other electronic means. The recipient is responsible for virus checking emails
and any attachments.
9.2. With electronic communication, there is a risk of non-receipt, delayed receipt, inadvertent
misdirection or interception by third parties. We use virus-scanning software to reduce the risk of
viruses and similar damaging items being transmitted in emails or by electronic storage devices.
Nevertheless, electronic communication is not totally secure and we cannot be held responsible
for damage or loss caused by viruses or for communications which are corrupted or altered after
despatch. Nor can we accept any liability for problems or accidental errors relating to this means
of communication, especially in relation to commercially sensitive material. These are risks you
must bear in return for greater efficiency and lower costs. If you do not wish to accept these risks,
please let us know and we will communicate by paper mail, other than when electronic
submission is mandatory.
9.3. Any communication by us with you sent through the postal system is deemed to arrive at your
postal address two working days after the day the document was sent.
10. FEES AND PAYMENT TERMS
10.1. Our fees may depend, not only upon the time spent on your affairs, but also on the level of skill
and responsibility and the importance and value of the advice we provide, as well as the level of
risk.
10.2. If we provide you with an estimate of our fees for any specific work, the estimate will not be
contractually binding unless we explicitly state that will be the case. Otherwise, our fees will be
calculated on the basis of the hours worked by each member of staff necessarily engaged on your
affairs, multiplied by their charge-out rate per hour, VAT being charged thereon.
10.3. If requested, we may indicate a fixed fee for the provision of specific services or an indicative range
of fees for a particular assignment. It is not our practice to identify fixed fees for more than a year
ahead as such fee quotes need to be reviewed in the light of events. If it becomes apparent to us,
due to unforeseen circumstances, that a fee quote is inadequate, we reserve the right to notify you
of a revised figure or range and to seek your agreement thereto.
10.4. In some cases, you may be entitled to assistance with your professional fees, particularly in
relation to any investigation into your tax affairs by HMRC. Assistance may be provided through
insurance policies you hold or via membership of a professional or trade body. Other than where
such insurance was arranged through us, you will need to advise us of any such insurance cover
you have. You will remain liable for our fees regardless of whether all or part are liable to be paid
by your insurers.
10.5. We will bill periodically and our invoices will be due for payment within 14 days of issue. Our fees
are exclusive of VAT which will be added where it is chargeable. Any disbursements we incur on
your behalf, and expenses incurred in the course of carrying out our work for you, will be added to
our invoices where appropriate.
10.6. Unless otherwise agreed to the contrary, our fees do not include the costs of any third party,
counsel or other professional fees. If these costs are incurred to fulfil our engagement, such
necessary additional charges may be payable by you.
10.7. We reserve the right to charge interest on late paid invoices at the rate of 8% above bank base
rates under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. We also reserve the right
to suspend our services or to cease to act for you, having given written notice, if payment of any
fees is unduly delayed. We intend to exercise these rights only if it is fair and reasonable to do so.
10.8. If you do not accept that an invoiced fee is fair and reasonable, you must notify us within 21 days
of receipt, failing which, you will be deemed to have accepted that payment is due.
10.9. If a client company, trust or other entity is unable or unwilling to settle our fees, we reserve the
right to seek payment from the individual (or parent company) giving us instructions on behalf of
the client, and we shall be entitled to enforce any sums due against the group company or
individual nominated to act for you.
11. HELP US TO GIVE YOU THE BEST SERVICE
11.1. We are committed to providing you with a high-quality service that is both efficient and effective.
If, at any point you would like to discuss with us how our service to you could be improved, or if
you are dissatisfied with the service you are receiving, please let us know by contacting the
engagement principal.
11.2. We will consider carefully any complaint you may make about our service as soon as we receive
it and do all we can to explain the position to you. We will acknowledge your letter within five
business days of its receipt and endeavour to deal with your complaint within eight weeks.
11.3. If we do not answer your complaint to your satisfaction, you may, of course, take up the matter
with our professional body, ICAEW.
11.4. For consumer agreements, should we be unable to resolve your complaint you may also be able
to refer your complaint to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider to try and reach a
resolution. We will provide details of an ADR provider if we cannot resolve your complaint using
our internal procedures. This is in addition to your ability to complain to ICAEW.
12. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND USE OF OUR NAME
12.1. We will retain all intellectual property rights in any document prepared by us during the course of
carrying out the engagement except where the law specifically states otherwise.
12.2. You are not permitted to use our name in any statement or document you may issue unless our
prior written consent has been obtained. The only exception to this restriction would be
statements or documents that, in accordance with applicable law, are to be made public.
13. INTERPRETATION
13.1. If any provision of our engagement letter or terms of business is held to be void, that provision will
be deemed not to form part of this contract. In the event of any conflict between these terms of
business and the engagement letter or appendices, the relevant provision in the engagement
letter or schedules will take precedence.
14. INTERNAL DISPUTES WITHIN A CLIENT
14.1. If we become aware of a dispute between the parties who own the business or who are in some
way involved in its ownership and management, it should be noted that our client is the business
and we would not provide information or services to one party without the express knowledge and
permission of all parties. Unless otherwise agreed by all parties, we will continue to supply
information to the normal place of business for the attention of the directors/ partners/trustees.
If conflicting advice, information or instructions are received from different directors/partners/
trustees in the business, we will refer the matter back to the board of directors/the partnership
and take no further action until the board/partnership has agreed the action to be taken.
15. INVESTMENT ADVICE (INCLUDING INSURANCE DISTRIBUTION SERVICES)
15.1. Investment business is regulated by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. If, during the
provision of professional services to you, you need advice on investments, we may have to refer
you to someone who is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority or licensed by a Designated
Professional Body, as we are not. However, as we are licensed by ICAEW, we may be able to
provide certain investment services that are complementary to, or arise out of, the professional
services we are providing to you. In the unlikely event that we cannot meet our liabilities to you,
you may be able to claim compensation under the Chartered Accountants’ Compensation
Scheme in respect of exempt regulated activities undertaken. Further information about the
scheme and the circumstances in which grants may be made is available on ICAEW's website:
www.icaew.com/cacs
15.2. The following statement is required by the FCA for insurance distribution services only, which
includes fee protection insurance. In relation to the conduct of insurance distribution activities,
we are an ancillary insurance intermediary. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct
Authority. However, we are included on the register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority
so that we can carry on insurance distribution activity, which is broadly the advising on, selling,
and administration of insurance contracts. This part of our business, including arrangements for
complaints or redress if something goes wrong, is regulated by ICAEW. The register can be
accessed from the Financial Conduct Authority’s website at www.fca.org.uk/register.
16. LIEN
16.1. Insofar as we are permitted to so by law or by professional guidelines, we reserve the right to
exercise a lien over all funds, documents and records in our possession relating to all
engagements for you until all outstanding fees and disbursements are paid in full.
17. LIMITATION OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
17.1. The advice and information we provide to you as part of our service is for your sole use, and not for
any third party to whom you may communicate it, unless we have expressly agreed in the
engagement letter that a specified third party may rely on our work. We accept no responsibility
to third parties, including any group company to whom the engagement letter is not addressed,
for any advice, information or material produced as part of our work for you which you make
available to them. A party to this agreement is the only person who has the right to enforce any of
its terms, and no rights or benefits are conferred on any third party under the Contracts (Rights of
Third Parties) Act 1999.
18. PERIOD OF ENGAGEMENT AND TERMINATION
18.1. Unless otherwise agreed in our engagement letter, our work will begin when we receive implicit or
explicit acceptance of that letter. Except as stated in that letter, we will not be responsible for
periods before that date.
18.2. Each of us may terminate our agreement by giving not less than 21 days’ notice in writing to the
other party except if you fail to cooperate with us or we have reason to believe that you have
provided us or HMRC with misleading information, in which case we may terminate this
agreement immediately. Termination will be without prejudice to any rights that may have accrued
to either of us before termination.
18.3. We reserve the right to terminate the engagement between us with immediate effect in the event
of: your insolvency, bankruptcy or other arrangement being reached with creditors; an
independence issue or change in the law which means we can no longer act; failure to pay our
fees by the due dates; or either party being in breach of their obligations if this is not corrected
within 30 days of being asked to do so.
18.4. In the event of termination of our contract, we will endeavour to agree with you the arrangements
for the completion of work in progress at that time, unless we are required for legal or regulatory
reasons to cease work immediately. In that event, we will not be required to carry out further work
and shall not be responsible or liable for any consequences arising from termination.
19. PROFESSIONAL RULES AND STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS
19.1. We will observe and act in accordance with the Bye-laws, regulations and Code of Ethics of ICAEW
including Professional Conduct in Relation to Taxation and will accept instructions to act for you
on this basis. In particular, you give us the authority to correct errors made by HMRC if we become
aware of them. We will not be liable for any loss, damage or cost arising from our compliance with
statutory or regulatory obligations. You can see copies of these requirements in our offices. The
requirements are also available online at icaew.com/en/membership/regulations-standardsand-guidance.
19.2. We confirm that we are statutory auditors eligible to conduct audits under the Companies Act
2006. When conducting audit work, we are required to comply with the Ethical and Auditing
Standards issued by the FRC, which can be accessed online at www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/CodesStandards/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/Standards-and-guidance-forauditors.aspx. We are also required to comply with the Audit Regulations and Guidance which can
be accessed at icaew.com/en/technical/audit-and-assurance/working-in-the-regulated-area-ofaudit.
20. QUALITY CONTROL
20.1. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide a quality service, our files are periodically reviewed
by an independent regulatory or quality control body. These reviewers are highly experienced
professionals and are bound by the same rules of confidentiality as our principals and staff.
20.2. When dealing with HMRC on your behalf we are required to be honest and to take reasonable care
to ensure that your returns are correct. To enable us to do this, you are required to be honest with
us and to provide us with all necessary information in a timely manner. For more information about
‘Your Charter’ for your dealings with HMRC, visit
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-charter. To the best of our abilities, we will
ensure that HMRC meet their side of the Charter in their dealings with you.
21. RELIANCE ON ADVICE
21.1. We will endeavour to record all advice on important matters in writing. Advice given orally is not
intended to be relied upon unless confirmed in writing. Therefore, if we provide oral advice (for
example, during the course of a meeting or a telephone conversation) and you wish to be able to
rely on that advice, you must ask for the advice to be confirmed by us in writing. Advice is valid as
at the date it was given.
22. RETENTION OF PAPERS
22.1. You have a legal responsibility to retain documents and records relevant to your financial affairs.
During the course of our work we may collect information from you and others relevant to your tax
and financial affairs. We will return any original documents to you if requested. Documents and
records relevant to your tax affairs are required by law to be retained as follows:
Individuals, trustees and partnerships:
a) with trading or rental income: five years and 10 months after the end of the tax year
b) otherwise: 22 months after the end of the tax year.
Companies, Limited Liability Partnerships, and other corporate entities:
c) six years from the end of the accounting period.
22.2. Although certain documents may legally belong to you, we may destroy correspondence and
other papers that we store electronically or otherwise that are more than seven years old, except
documents we think may be of continuing significance. You must tell us if you wish us to keep any
document for any longer period.
23. THE PROVISION OF SERVICES REGULATIONS 2009
23.1. We are registered to carry on audit work in the UK by ICAEW. Details of our audit registration can
be viewed at www.auditregister.org.uk, under reference number C011005162
23.2. Our professional indemnity insurer is Prosure Solutions Limited, of 150 Minories, London, EC3N
1LS. The territorial coverage is worldwide, excluding professional business carried out from an
office in the United States of America or Canada, and excludes any action for a claim brought in
any court in the United States or Canada.
24. TIMING OF OUR SERVICES
24.1. If you provide us with all information and explanations on a timely basis in accordance with our
requirements, we will plan to undertake the work within a reasonable period of time to meet any
regulatory deadlines. However, failure to complete our services before any such regulatory
deadline would not, of itself, mean that we are liable for any penalty or additional costs arising.
PREPARATION OF STATUTORY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE
COMPANIES ACT 2006
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR FINANCIAL STATEMENTS PREPARATION SERVICES
1.1. Your responsibilities as directors/members
1.1.1. As directors/members of the company, you are responsible for preparing financial statements
which give a true and fair view and which have been prepared in accordance with the Companies
Act 2006 (the Act) (where applicable as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts
and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1911)). As directors/
members you must not approve the financial statements unless you are satisfied that they give a
true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company.
1.1.2. If you have instructed us to prepare abridged accounts under The Small Companies and Groups
(Accounts and Directors’ Report) Regulations 2008 as amended, as directors, you are responsible
for obtaining the necessary consents from all shareholders/members and for delivering the
required statement to the registrar.
1.1.3. For LLPs, if you have instructed us to prepare abridged accounts under The Limited Liability
Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 as
amended by The Limited Liability Partnerships, Partnerships and Groups (Accounts and Audit)
Regulations 2016, as designated members, you are responsible for obtaining the necessary
consents from all members and for delivering the required statement to the registrar.
1.1.4. In preparing the financial statements, you are required to:
a) select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
b) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
c) prepare the financial statements on the going-concern basis unless it is inappropriate to
presume that the company will continue in business.
1.1.5. You are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that set out with reasonable
accuracy at any time the company’s financial position, and for ensuring that the financial
statements comply with applicable accounting standards and with the Companies Act 2006
(where applicable, as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit)
(Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1911) and give a true and fair
view. By approving the financial statements, you will be acknowledging this responsibility.
1.1.6. You are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking
reasonable steps to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
1.1.7. You are also responsible for deciding whether, in each financial year, the company meets the
conditions for exemption from an audit, as set out in section 477, 479A or 480 of the Companies
Act 2006 (where applicable as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit)
(Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1911)), and for deciding whether
the exemption can be claimed that year.
1.1.8. You are responsible for ensuring that the company complies with the laws and regulations that
apply to its activities, and for preventing non-compliance and detecting any that occurs.
1.1.9. You have undertaken to make available to us, as and when required, all the company’s accounting
records and related financial information and explanations, including minutes of management
and shareholders’/directors’/members’ meetings, that we need to do our work. This is required to
be confirmed in the directors’ report along with an acknowledgement that the financial
statements have been prepared on an appropriate accounting basis. The Directors report not
required for a micro-entity.
1.1.10. If financial information is published on the company’s website or by other electronic means which
includes a report by us or otherwise associated with us, you must inform us of the electronic
publication and get our consent before it occurs and ensure that it presents the financial
information and chartered accountants report properly. We have the right to withhold consent to
the electronic publication of our report or the financial statements if they are to be published in
an inappropriate manner.
1.1.11. It is your responsibility to set up controls to prevent or detect quickly any changes to electronically
published information. We are not responsible for reviewing these controls or for keeping the
information under review after it is first published. You are responsible for the maintenance and
integrity of electronically published information, and we accept no responsibility for changes
made to information after it is first posted.
1.2. Our responsibilities as accountants
1.2.1. You have asked us to help you prepare the financial statements in accordance with the
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (where applicable as applied by The Limited Liability
Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 (SI
2008/1911)), and for preparing accounts for filing with the Registrar of Companies as well as to
enable profits to be calculated to meet the requirements of current tax legislation and to provide
sufficient and relevant information to complete a tax return. We will compile the financial
statements for your approval based on the accounting records that you maintain, the information
and explanations that you give us and in accordance with FRS 102/FRS 102 Section 1A/FRS 105
the accounting framework agreed and applicable to you.
1.2.2. We will plan our work on the basis that no report on the financial statements is required by statute
or regulation for the year, unless you inform us in writing to the contrary. We will make enquiries of
management and undertake any procedures that we judge appropriate but are under no obligation
to perform procedures that may be required for assurance engagements such as audits or
reviews. If an assurance or agreed-upon-procedures engagement is to be undertaken, full details
of what is to be undertaken and the result of that work need to be agreed in writing.
1.2.3. Non-audit clients, you have told us that the company is exempt from an audit of the financial
statements. We will not check whether this is the case. However, if we find that the company is
not entitled to the exemption, we will inform you.
1.2.4. Non-audit clients, our work will not be an audit of the financial statements in accordance with
International Standards on Auditing (UK), so we will not be able to provide any assurance that the
accounting records or the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether
caused by fraud, other irregularities or error, or to identify weaknesses in internal controls.
1.2.5. Non-audit clients, since we will not carry out an audit, or confirm in any way the accuracy or
reasonableness of the accounting records, we cannot provide any assurance whether the
financial statements that we prepare from those records will present a true and fair view.
1.2.6. We will advise you on whether your records are adequate for preparation of the financial
statements and recommend improvements on anything we come across during the course of our
work.
1.2.7. We have a professional duty to compile financial statements that conform with generally
accepted accounting principles from the accounting records and information and explanations
given to us. The accounting policies on which the financial statements have been compiled will
be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements and will be referred to in our accountants’
report. We will not compile financial statements if the accounting principles, or the accounting
policies selected by management, are inappropriate.
1.2.8. We also have a professional responsibility not to allow our name to be associated with financial
statements which we believe may be misleading. Therefore, although we are not required to
search for such matters, if we become aware, for any reason, that the financial statements may
be misleading, we will discuss the matter with you with a view to agreeing appropriate
adjustments and/or disclosures in the financial statements. In circumstances where the
adjustments and/or disclosures that we consider appropriate are not made, or if we are not
provided with appropriate information and, as a result, we consider that the financial statements
are misleading, we will withdraw from the engagement.
1.2.9. As part of our normal procedures, we may ask you to confirm in writing any information or
explanations given to us orally during our work.
1.2.10. Where appropriate, [You have instructed us to convert the financial statements into the iXBRL
(inline eXtensible Business Reporting Language) format which is required by HMRC. We will use
professional software to create the tagged financial statements and you therefore agree that we
can process any standard data tags without your prior approval, only referring back to you for any
non-standard or judgemental areas. It remains your legal responsibility to provide the information
in the iXBRL format and we will therefore issue a tagging report for your approval.
1.3. Form of the accountants’ report. Non audit clients only
1.3.1. We will report to the Board of Directors/members as appropriate that, in accordance with this
engagement letter and to assist you to fulfil your responsibilities, we have not carried out an audit
but have compiled the financial statements from the accounting records and from the information
and explanations supplied to us. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or
assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s Board of Directors,
as a body/the members for our work or for this report. If you wish to share this report with third
parties, before doing so, you must discuss this with us, receive our consent and follow any
stipulated conditions.
CORPORATION TAX
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR CORPORATION TAX SERVICES
1.1 Recurring compliance work
1.1.1 For the purpose of the delivery of the company’s tax return, we will use commercial software to
apply iXBRL tags to items in the accounts as we consider appropriate for the purposes of
submission of the accounts in iXBRL via the relevant official gateway for tax purposes.
1.1.2 We will, to the extent we consider necessary, manually amend or apply tags if the software has
not applied automatic tagging or if we consider any automatic tagging to have been inappropriate.
1.1.3 We will provide you with detailed information about the tagging applied for your approval if
requested to do so.
1.1.4 We will prepare the company’s corporate tax self-assessment (CTSA) return. After obtaining your
evidenced approval and signature, we will submit it to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
1.1.5 We will prepare the corporation tax computation and supporting schedules required for
preparation of the company tax return from accounts, information and explanations provided to
us on your behalf.
1.1.6 We will tell you how much tax the company should pay and when. Where appropriate, we will
initiate repayment claims when tax has been overpaid. We will advise on the interest and penalty
implications if corporation tax is paid late.
1.1.7 We will inform you if instalment payments of corporation tax are due for an accounting period, and
the dates they are payable. By the date agreed, we will calculate the quarterly instalments which
should be made on the basis of information supplied by you.
1.1.8 We will advise you on possible tax-return-related claims and elections arising from information
supplied by you. If instructed by you, we will make such claims and elections in the form and
manner required by HMRC.
1.1.9 The work carried out within this engagement will be in respect of the company’s tax affairs. Any
work to be carried out for the directors on a personal basis will be set out in a separate letter of
engagement.
1.2 Excluded, ad hoc and advisory work
1.2.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above and all other services which
we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation, ad hoc
and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the subject
of a separate engagement letter at our option. Where appropriate, we will agree with you a
separate fee for any such work you instruct us to undertake. Examples of such work that you may
wish to instruct us to undertake include:
a) advising you on ad hoc transactions (for example the sale or purchase of assets);
b) advising you when corporation tax is due on loans by the company to directors or shareholders
or their associates, and calculating the payments due or the amount repayable when the loans
are repaid;
c) advising you on and preparing enhanced expenditure claims and reliefs, including those
relating to research and development;
d) advising you on, and preparing analyses of, expenditure and detailed capital allowance claims
for renovation of buildings;
e) preparation and submission of a group allocation allowance statement in relation to losses
carried forward by a group of companies;
f) preparation and submission of a corporate interest restriction return;
g) assistance with country-by-country reporting notifications, senior accounting officer reporting
obligations, and the company tax strategy document;
h) dealing with any enquiry, information request, inspection, compliance check or other
intervention opened into the company’s corporate tax affairs by HMRC; and
i) preparing any amended returns which may be required, calculating any related tax liabilities and
corresponding with HMRC as necessary.
1.2.2 For personal service companies, or where you are engaging with a personal service company.
Where appropriate, we will agree with you a separate fee for any such work you instruct us to
undertake. Examples of such work that you may wish to instruct us to undertake include:
a) helping you determine deemed employment status under IR35 rules for work undertaken for
clients by the company (subject to 1.2.3 below)
b) where deemed employment status under the IR35 rules applies to work undertaken for clients
by the company, calculating the deemed employment payment and accounting through payroll to
HMRC for the tax and NIC etc;
c) where the off-payroll working rules apply and your company pays deemed employees’ personal
service companies, accounting via payroll for tax and NIC etc on the payments;
d) where you have contractors working for you via their own personal service companies, helping
you to determine whether you are “small” under the off-payroll working rules and, if you are large
or medium sized, helping you to determine the deemed employment status of those contractors
(subject to section 1.2.3 below) and assist you in preparing employment status determination
statements to give to labour supply agencies and those contractors;
1.2.3 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.3 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.3.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.3.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.4 Your responsibilities
1.4.1 Even though you are engaging us to help you meet your corporation tax obligations, the directors
on behalf of the company are legally responsible for:
a) ensuring that the CTSA return (including iXBRL tags and iXBRL file) and any other returns
submitted are correct and complete;
b) filing any returns by the due date; and
c) paying tax on time.
Failure to do any of the above may lead to penalties and/or interest.
1.4.2 Legal responsibility for approval of the return cannot be delegated to others. You agree to check
that returns that we have prepared for the company are correct and complete before approving
them.
1.4.3 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.4.4 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) where pre-tagged accounts are provided, to provide us with approved accounts for the
company prepared by you or by others in an iXBRL format; you accept full responsibility for the
existence, accuracy, consistency and completeness of iXBRL tagging within the accounts; we will
not carry out any procedures to check the existence, accuracy, consistency and completeness of
the iXBRL file;
b) that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure of all sources of income, charges,
allowances and capital transactions;
c) to provide full information necessary for dealing with the company’s affairs; we will rely on the
information and documents being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information
or those documents;
d) to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to deal with the company’s affairs;
e) to provide us with information in sufficient time for the company’s CTSA return to be completed
and submitted by the due date following the end of the tax year; if feasible, we may agree to
complete your return within a shorter period but may charge an additional fee for so doing;
f) to provide information on matters affecting the company’s tax liability for the accounting period
in respect of which instalments are due at least four weeks before the due date of each instalment;
this information should include details of trading profits and other taxable activities up to the date
the information is provided, together with estimates to the end of the accounting period; and
g) to provide us with information on advances or loans made to directors, shareholders or their
associates during an accounting period and any repayments made or write-offs authorised within
three months of the end of the relevant accounting period.
1.4.5 You will keep us informed of material changes in circumstances that could affect the tax liabilities
of the company. If the directors are unsure whether the change is material, please tell us so that
we can assess its significance.
1.4.6 HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code which expires within 30 days of issue. Please
send this to us as soon as you receive it. This code will enable us to register as your agent with
HMRC.
1.4.7 You will forward to us HMRC statements of account, copies of notices of assessment, letters and
other communications received from HMRC, in sufficient time to enable us to deal with them as
may be necessary within the statutory time limits. Although HMRC have the authority to
communicate with us when form 64-8 has been submitted, it is essential that you let us have
copies of any correspondence received because HMRC are not obliged to send us copies of all
communications issued to you.
1.4.8 You are responsible for monitoring the monthly turnover to establish whether the company is
liable to register for VAT, if it is not already registered. If you do not understand what you need to
do, please ask us. If the company turnover exceeds the VAT registration threshold, and you wish
us to assist in notifying HMRC of the company’s obligation to be VAT registered, we will be pleased
to assist in the VAT registration process. You should notify us of your instructions to act in relation
to the company’s VAT registration in good time to enable a VAT registration form to be submitted
within the time limit of one month following the month in which the current VAT registration
turnover threshold was exceeded. We will not be responsible if we are not notified in time and a
late registration penalty is incurred.
1.4.9 Where you are importing relevant goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable persons (final
destination of the goods being within the EU), the IOSS can be used by both EU and non-EU
established suppliers. If you are importing goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable
persons but do not or cannot use the IOSS then you will probably have to VAT register in the
Member State of importation.
1.4.10 If you are making distance supplies of goods within the EU, eg France to Germany (B2C), you can
use the Union One Stop Shop (OSS). The non-Union OSS can be used for any services where the
place of the supply of the service is in the EU and the supplier is non-EU established (B2C again).
1.4.11 There may be other circumstances where the Union or non-Union OSS can be used, eg domestic
supplies of goods by deemed suppliers, but, broadly, If you are not within any of the above, you
may need to VAT-register in the Member State in which you make the supply of the goods or
services,
1.4.12 You are responsible for employment taxes, pensions (including auto-enrolment) and the
assessment of the employment status of your workers. If your business is not small, you are
responsible for assessing the employment status under the off-payroll working rules of any
contractors providing services to your business and for employment taxes if they are deemed
employees. If you do not understand what you need to consider or what action you need to take,
please ask us. We will not be in a position to assist you in complying with your responsibilities if
we are not engaged to provide such a service. We are not responsible for any penalty that is
incurred.
1.5 Personal service company
1.5.1 We shall help you to determine deemed employment status under the IR35 rules for work
undertaken for clients by the company.
1.5.2 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.6 Groups and consortia
1.6.1 In relation to groups and consortia of which your company is a member, and in respect of which
you have instructed us to act, if instructed, we will provide the following additional services:
a) we will advise on the tax treatment of intra-group payments of dividends, interest and royalties
and similar liabilities.
b) in respect of dividends, interest, and royalties received, we will advise on the applicability of
the relevant double-tax treaty to the withholding tax rate and assist with obtaining a UK certificate
of tax residence. For dividends, we will make any necessary election to tax the dividends in the UK
in order to obtain treaty relief.
1.6.2 We will deal with all communications relating to elections addressed to us by HMRC.
1.6.3 If instructed, in respect of claims for group and consortium relief:
a) we will advise as required on claims for group and consortium relief and the interaction with
other reliefs;
b) we will prepare and submit to HMRC appropriate claims;
c) we will adjust corporation tax computations and returns to reflect the surrender and receipt of
group and consortium reliefs;
d) we will prepare and submit to HMRC necessary documentation regarding the allocation of
losses via group relief and the annual loss allowance;
e) we will advise on arrangements for the payment of tax and the surrender and set-off of tax
refunds within the group; and
f) we will advise on claiming eligible unrelieved foreign tax (EUFT) or the surrender of any amount
of EUFT.
1.6.4 If instructed, in respect of intragroup payments of interest:
a) we will advise on withholding tax obligations;
b) for cross-border payments we will prepare and submit to HMRC applications to account for no
or a reduced amount of withholding tax under the EU Interest and Royalty directive and doubletax treaties, as applicable;
c) where withholding tax is due, we will complete form CT61 and advise on payment; and
d) we will adjust corporation tax computations and returns to reflect interest payments and
associated withholding tax, if any.
1.6.5 If instructed, in respect of intragroup payments of royalties and similar liabilities:
a) we will advise on withholding tax obligations;
b) where withholding tax is due, we will complete form CT61 and advise on payment;
c) we will adjust corporation tax computations and returns to reflect royalty and similar payments
and associated withholding tax, if any, and make such additional disclosures in form CT600-H as
are appropriate.
Your responsibilities
1.6.6 If a parent company is required to prepare both individual and group accounts, and it is required
to file both of these as part of its online company tax return, you accept full responsibility for the
existence, accuracy, consistency and completeness of iXBRL tagging within the accounts and to
file the individual accounts as an iXBRL document with the relevant iXBRL tags embedded.
1.6.7 Where applicable, we will need to be authorised to contact other group member accountants to
ensure that all necessary information and explanations are available. It is the responsibility of the
parent company directors to ensure that such information and explanations are correct and
complete.
PREPARATION AND MAINTENANCE OF ACCOUNTING RECORDS
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR ACCOUNTING SERVICES
1.1. Your responsibility for the provision of information
1.1.1. You have undertaken to make available to us, as and when required, all the accounting records
and related financial information, including minutes of management meetings, which we need to
do our work. You will provide us with all information and explanations relevant to the purpose,
preparation and maintenance of the accounting records, and you will disclose to us all relevant
information in full.
1.1.2. You are responsible for ensuring that, to the best of your knowledge and belief, financial
information, whether used by the business or for the accounting records, is accurate and
complete. You are also responsible for ensuring that the activities of the business are conducted
honestly, and for safeguarding the assets of the business and for taking reasonable steps to
prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
1.1.3. You are responsible for ensuring that the business complies with the laws and regulations that
apply to its activities, and for preventing non-compliance with these and detecting any that occur.
1.2. Preparation and maintenance of accounting records
Our responsibilities
1.2.1. We have agreed to carry out the following accounting and other services on your behalf:
a) write up the accounting records of the business/company/partnership and;
b) complete the postings to the nominal ledger.
Your responsibilities
1.2.2. You have agreed that you / your staff will:
a) keep the records of receipts and payments;
b) reconcile the balances monthly with the bank statements;
c) post and balance the purchases and sales ledgers;
d) extract a detailed list of ledger balances;
e) prepare details of the annual stocktaking, suitably priced and extended in a form which will
enable us to verify the prices readily by reference to suppliers’ invoices, provide us with a copy of
the valuation report produced by your independent stocktakers
f) prepare details of work-in-progress at the accounting date and make available to us the
documents and other information from which the statement is compiled.
GREAT BRITAIN VAT RETURNS (MAKING TAX DIGITAL (MTD) FOR VAT)
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR VAT RETURN SERVICES
1.1 Initial registration
1.1.1 We will sign you up for MTD for VAT. By instructing us to sign up on your behalf you are agreeing to
HMRC’s terms of use. This may result in changes that may include changes to deadlines. You will
complete HMRC’s sign up process to enable submission of your VAT return
1.1.2 You will need to authorise us as an agent on the HMRC portal using your Business Tax Account.
This is completed online, and you will need your relevant official gateway ID. This authorises
HMRC to communicate with us as your agent, although they consider that you should still take
‘reasonable care’ over your tax affairs.
1.2 Recurring compliance work
1.2.1 We will prepare your MTD for VAT returns on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis as appropriate. The
first such return to be prepared by us will be stated in the engagement letter.
1.2.2 If we are engaged for bookkeeping services, we will keep all accounting records to meet the digital
record keeping requirements of MTD for VAT. You must ensure that the data provided to us is
complete and accurate.
1.2.3 If we are not engaged for bookkeeping services, We will check the digital accounting records
which you keep to meet the requirements of MTD for VAT and which you provide to us for
preparation of the MTD for VAT returns. You may be required to provide us with your data digitally
and we will tell you if/ when that is the case. If your software is incompatible with ours we will
agree with you an appropriate solution which might include the use of alternative third party
functionally compatible software and/or a spreadsheet(s) which satisfy the statutory requirement
for digital linkage. Where your digital records are incompatible with our software, we may require
an additional fee. You must also provide us with confirmation that your digital records are
complete and accurate.
1.2.4 Based on the information you provide to us, we will tell you how much VAT you should pay and
when. Where appropriate, we will initiate repayment claims if tax has been overpaid. We will
advise on the interest and penalty implications if UK VAT is paid late.
1.2.5 Where appropriate, we will include import VAT from any digital import certificates (postponed VAT
accounting) and/or C79s we receive from you.
1.2.6 Where appropriate, we will calculate the partial exemption annual adjustment.
1.2.7 Where appropriate, we will calculate the annual Capital Goods Scheme adjustment.
1.2.8 We are not responsible for considering or applying for any of the exemptions from MTD for VAT.
However, if you feel that you are eligible for exemption, please let us know. We are happy to
discuss this and may correspond with HMRC on your behalf if needed, or we can guide you on
whom you should contact for this. This may be subject to an additional fee.
1.2.9 We will advise you of any relaxations applicable in relation to the digital records of supplies made
and received.
1.2.10 We will submit the MTD for VAT return data online to HMRC after the data to be included therein
has been approved.
1.2.11 We will agree with you any supplementary information to be submitted on a voluntary basis with
the MTD for VAT returns prior to submission.
1.2.12 Where you are invoice (accruals) accounting for income tax, we will perform an annual
reconciliation of VAT outputs to turnover.
1.2.13 Ad hoc queries by way of telephone and email enquiries are not routine compliance and may
result in additional fees. As indicated below, where appropriate we will aim to discuss and agree
additional fees but it may not always be possible to agree these in advance and we reserve the
right to charge you an additional fee for these queries.
1.3 Ad hoc and advisory services
1.3.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above and all other services which
we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation, ad hoc
and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the subject
of a separate engagement letter at our option. Where appropriate, we will agree with you a
separate fee for any such work you instruct us to undertake. Examples of such work that you may
wish to instruct us to undertake include:
a) reconciling VAT outputs with turnover;
b) advising on ad hoc transactions;
c) reviewing and advising on a suitable partial exemption method to use in preparing the return;
d) dealing with all communications relating to your VAT returns addressed to us by HMRC or
passed to us by you;
e) processing import and export declarations including deferred import entries that require
postponed VAT accounting (at present we assume that these are handled by you or your customs
agent);
f) making recommendations to you about the use of cash accounting, annual accounting, flat-rate
and other suitable methods of accounting for VAT;
g) making recommendations to you about the use of the VAT One Stop Shop (OSS) Union and/or
non-Union schemes and/or the VAT Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) if you supply services or goods
to consumers in the EU;
h) advising on the VAT liability of supplies of goods or services to consumers outside Great Britain;
i) providing you with advice on VAT /Excise Duty/Customs Duty/Landfill Tax/Insurance Premium
Tax/Aggregates Levy/Climate Change Levy;
j) work required to rectify the position where your software is incompatible with our software; and
k) reviewing your record keeping processes and providing advice on potential improvements to
enable compliance with the MTD for VAT requirements, including digital links for the transfer of
data between different software.
Where the advice is provided in writing, the information that you have provided to us, and the query
raised will be set out with our response to you.
1.3.2 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.4 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.4.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice or
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.4.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.5 Your responsibilities
1.5.1 You are legally responsible for:
a) ensuring that your returns are correct and complete and in an appropriate digital format and
capture the appropriate level of data;
b) ensuring your record keeping is compliant with the new requirements for the digital recording
and transfer of data
c) filing any returns by the due date; and
d) paying VAT on time.
Failure to do any of these may lead to penalties, surcharges and/or interest.
1.5.2 Legal responsibility for approval of the return cannot be delegated to others. You agree to check
the returns that we have prepared for you are correct and complete before approving them.
1.5.3 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.5.4 Where we are keeping your digital accounts records, you are responsible for providing us with the
following information required for us to prepare the records:
• Access to your accounting records
• Sale invoices
• Purchase invoices
• Bank statements
• Details of bank and cash payments
• Details of bank and cash receipts
• Stock and work-in-progress details
We have also agreed that you will provide the following:
• A record of the amounts owed to the business
• A record of amounts owed by the business
• A list of accruals
• A list of prepayments
• Private use adjustments
1.5.5 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure;
b) that you are responsible for ensuring that the information provided is, to the best of your
knowledge, accurate and complete and that all digital links are in the manner prescribed; the
returns are prepared/reviewed solely on the basis of the information provided by you and we
accept no responsibility for any liabilities arising due to inaccuracies, omissions or breakdowns
in digital links concerning the information that you provide which may lead to a misdeclaration on
which penalties and interest may arise;
c) to authorise us to approach such third parties, as may be appropriate, for information we
consider necessary to deal with the returns;
d) to provide us with all the records relevant to the preparation of your monthly/quarterly/annual
returns as soon as possible after the return period ends; we would ordinarily need a minimum of
14 days before submission to complete our work. If the records are provided later or are
incomplete or unclear, thereby delaying the [preparation] [review] and submission of the return,
we accept no responsibility for any ‘default surcharge’ penalty that may arise; if feasible, we may
agree to complete your return within a shorter period but may charge an additional fee for so
doing; and
e) to inform us that you have made the tax payment based on your calculated return.
1.5.6 You will keep us informed of material changes in circumstances that could affect your VAT
obligations. If you are unsure whether the change is material or not please tell us so that we can
assess its significance.
1.5.7 You will forward to us HMRC statements of account, copies of notices of assessment, letters and
other communications received from HMRC, in sufficient time to enable us to deal with them as
may be necessary within the statutory time limits. Although HMRC has the authority to
communicate with us when form 64-8 or online authorisation has been submitted, it is essential
that you let us have copies of any correspondence received, because HMRC is not obliged to send
us copies of all communications issued to you and, in most cases, will not do so.
1.5.8 You are responsible for bringing to our attention any errors, omissions or inaccuracies in your VAT
returns that you become aware of after the returns have been submitted in order that we may
assist you to make a voluntary disclosure.
1.5.9 If you are involved with any other business which is not registered for VAT, you are responsible for
monitoring your monthly turnover to establish whether you are liable to register for VAT. If you do
not understand what you need to do, please ask us. If you exceed the VAT registration threshold,
and you wish us to assist you in notifying HMRC of your liability to be VAT registered, you must give
us clear instructions to assist you in the VAT registration process. You should notify us of your
instructions in good time to enable the VAT registration application form to be submitted within
the statutory time limit of one month following the month in which you exceeded the VAT
registration threshold in force at that time. We will not be responsible if you fail to notify us in time
and incur a late registration penalty as a result.
1.5.10 If you provide digital or any other services to consumers in the EU, you are responsible for either
registering for VAT in the Member State in which the supply takes place or registering for the OSS
(non-Union scheme).
1.5.11 If you import goods from third countries into the EU of a value not exceeding €150 (excluding
certain goods) for sale to a non-taxable person in the EU (destination country), you can use the
IOSS scheme. The IOSS can also be used for supplies from GB of low value goods to consumers
in Northern Ireland.
1.5.12 If you supply goods to non-taxable persons within the EU (eg France to Germany) then you will
have to register in the Member State of destination (there is no de minimis threshold) or use the
OSS Union scheme to declare the VAT due
PAYROLL SERVICES (NO OFF PAYROLL WORKING)
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR PAYROLL SERVICES
1.1 Recurring compliance work
1.1.1 We will prepare your UK payroll for each payroll period to meet UK employment tax
a) calculating the pay as you earn (PAYE) income tax deductions, including at the Scottish and
Welsh rates of income tax, if applicable;
b) calculating the employees’ national insurance contributions (NIC) deductions;
c) calculating the employer’s NIC liabilities;
d) calculating statutory payments, for example, statutory sick pay and/or statutory maternity pay;
e) calculating reclaims of statutory payments, for example, maternity payments
f) calculating employee and employer pension contributions for employees who are members of
workplace pension schemes (including those who are auto-enrolled) on the basis of the
information that you provide to us;
g) processing any employee and employer pension contribution refunds through the payroll [on
the basis of the information that you provide to us] Delete if you will be acting as agent with
delegated access to the pension scheme;
h) calculating other statutory and non-statutory deductions [including employment allowance,
apprenticeship levy]; and
i) submitting information online to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) under Real Time Information
(RTI) for PAYE.
1.2 Ancillary payroll services
1.2.1 Before the time of payment through the payroll or due date, we will prepare and send to you the
following documents for delivering information to HMRC:
a) payroll summary report showing the reconciliation from gross to net for each employee and all
relevant payroll totals;
b) Full Payment Submission (FPS) for taxable pay for each employee;
c) a payslip for each employee;
d) a form P45 for each leaver;
e) a report showing your PAYE and NIC liability, student loan repayments and due date for
payment; and
f) a workplace pension contributions report showing
i) any employee and employer pension contributions payable in respect of each
employee to the respective workplace pension scheme(s) of which they are members
and the due date(s) for payment;
ii) any employee pension contribution refunds payable to any employee; and
iii) any employer pension contribution refunds due to you for any employee who has
ceased membership of the scheme(s).
1.2.2 We will submit FPS online to HMRC after the data to be included therein has been approved/on
the basis of the data provided by you. (FPS must normally reach HMRC on or before the
contractual payday, ie, the date that employees are entitled to be paid) but we will file it for you
on, or before, the actual day that monies change hands if you have made us aware of that date in
orderto be compliant with PAYE regulations. You must ensure the data provided to us is complete
and accurate and your attention is drawn to your legal responsibilities as set out below.
1.2.3 For each tax month we will prepare, if appropriate, an Employer Payment Summary (EPS) from
the information and explanations that you provide to us. (Examples of EPS data include statutory
payments, employment allowance, construction industry scheme deductions, apprenticeship
levy allowance allocated to that PAYE scheme and apprenticeship levy payable to date and
confirmation that no payments were, or will be, made to employees during that tax month or for
future tax months.)
1.2.4 We will submit the EPS online to HMRC after the data to be included therein has been
approved/on the basis of the data provided by you. (The EPS must reach HMRC by the 19th of the
month following the tax month to which it relates.) You must ensure that the data provided to us
is complete and accurate and your attention is drawn to your legal responsibilities as set out
below.
1.2.5 At the end of the tax year we will:
a) prepare the final FPS (or EPS) and submit this to HMRC [after the data to be included therein
has been approved/on the basis of the data provided] by you; (the due date for submitting final
FPS is on or before the last actual payday of the tax year (however as made clear above we will
still require to know the contractual pay day too as that is held within the FPS), failing which, the
final EPS for the year must reach HMRC by 19 April following the end of the tax year;) you must
ensure that the data provided to us is complete and accurate and your attention is drawn to your
legal responsibilities as set out below;
b) prepare and send to you Form P60 for each employee on the payroll at the year-end so you can
give them to employees by the statutory due date of 31 May following the end of the tax year;
1.2.6 We will deal with any online secure messages sent to us by HMRC in respect of your payroll, for
example, code number notifications, student loan repayment notices, and generic notification
notices. Anything that you receive in your PAYE online account should be forwarded to us for
action.
1.2.7 We will submit national insurance number (NINO) verification requests as appropriate to verify or
obtain a NINO for a new employee.
1.2.8 Any enquiries from individual employees regarding their pay or other payroll details will be
referred back to you.
1.3 Excluded, ad hoc and advisory work
1.3.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above, and all other services
which we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation,
ad hoc and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the
subject of a separate engagement letter at our option. Where appropriate, we will agree with you
a separate fee for any such work you instruct us to undertake.
1.4 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.4.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.4.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.5 Your responsibilities
1.5.1 Even though you are engaging us to help you meet your payroll obligations, you are legally
responsible for:
a) ensuring that the data in your payroll submissions is correct and complete;
b) complying with auto-enrolment obligations;
c) making any submissions by the due date; and
d) paying tax and NIC on time.
Failure to do any of the above may lead to penalties and/or interest.
1.5.2 Employers cannot delegate these legal responsibilities to others. [You agree to check that
submissions we have prepared for you are correct and complete before approving them.] Delete
if returns are being submitted on the basis of information provided rather than following client’s
approval.
1.5.3 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.5.4 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) that all information required to be delivered online is submitted on the basis of full disclosure;
b) to provide full information necessary for dealing with your payroll affairs and workplace
pension scheme contributions and refunds; we will rely on the information and documents being
true, correct and complete and will not audit the information or those documents;
c) to agree with us the name(s) of the person(s) authorised by you to notify us of changes in
employees and in rates of pay and other information relevant to the services provided under this
schedule; we will process the changes only if notified by that/those individual(s);
d) to advise us in writing of changes of payroll pay dates;
e) to notify us at least 5 working days or such other period as agreed with us before the payroll
pay date of all transactions or events which may need to be reflected in the payroll for the period,
including details of:
• all new employees (including starter checklist showing full names, address, date of birth,
gender, national insurance number, start date, etc) and details of their remuneration
package;
• For employees who are active pension scheme members, name of pension scheme,
pensionable pay, employee and employer contribution rates, dates from/to which
contributions and qualifying earnings are payable;
• names and dates of birth of all apprentices aged under 25;
• names and dates of birth of all employees aged under 21;
• all changes to remuneration packages;
• information necessary to enable us to calculate statutory payments, ie, statutory sick
pay, statutory maternity pay, statutory adoption pay, statutory paternity pay, statutory
shared parental pay, statutory parental bereavement pay;
• irregular and/or ad hoc payments and the dates to be paid; and
• all leavers, their annual salary before any salary sacrifices, how often paid, unworked
notice period, contractual payment in lieu of notice (PILON), date of termination of
employment, age, number of years’ service, the last payment prior to termination and
when paid, and the components parts of the termination package, including statutory
redundancy pay, compensation for loss of office, any bonus payable on termination and
any payments made after the leaving date.
f) to confirm that you have reviewed your entitlement to the employment allowance and confirm
that you wish us to make the legal declaration claim on your behalf – indicating insert where there
are multiple and/or associated payrolls [payroll name(s), PAYE scheme reference(s) and] industry
sector;
g) to notify us within 5 working days or such other period as agreed with us of your receiving or
becoming aware of any opt-out notices or any other requests to cease membership of a scheme,
so that we can cease to calculate any relevant pension contributions and process any required
refunds;
h) to register with HMRC in advance of the tax year, to notify which benefits-in-kind are to be
payrolled for which employees (as agents, we cannot do this);
i) to keep us informed of changes in circumstances that could affect the payroll; if you are unsure
whether a change is material, please tell us so we can assess its significance;
j) to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to deal with your payroll;
k) to approve:
• in-year and final FPS by at least 3 working days before contractual pay dates so that they
can be submitted on or before payday, or as agreed with us;
• in-year and final EPS by at least 5 days before the 19th of the month following the tax
month;
• revised year to date FPS for an earlier year within 5 days of notifying you of the data
therein.
1.5.5 If we do not hear from you by the above deadlines, subject to any other agreement between us,
we will take your silence as your approval for us to submit the return.
1.5.6 If the information required to complete the payroll services set out above is received later than
the dates specified above or agreed with us, we will still endeavour to process the payroll and
returns to meet the filing deadlines; but we will not be liable for any costs or other losses arising
if the payroll is late or the returns are filed late in these circumstances. We may charge an
additional fee for work carried out in a shorter time period.
1.5.7 If you require us to make a correction after the FPS or EPS has been submitted, you will let us
know as soon as possible and, ideally, before the next payroll run. This will be subject to a
separate fee.
1.5.8 HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code which expires within 30 days of issue. Please
send this to us as soon as you receive it. This code will enable us to register as your agent with
HMRC.
1.5.9 You will forward to us any communications received from HMRC, in sufficient time to enable us
to deal with them as may be necessary within the requisite time limits. Although HMRC has the
authority to communicate with us when form 64-8 has been submitted, it is essential that you let
us have copies of any correspondence received, because HMRC are not obliged to send us copies
of communications issued to you and, in most cases, will not do so. You should also keep a note
of any telephone communication you have with HMRC’s tax credits helpline or DWP’s universal
credits helpline, including the date and time of the call, and the name of the helpline operator(s).
BENEFITS-IN-KIND RETURNS
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR BENEFITS-IN-KIND RETURN SERVICES
1.1 Recurring compliance work
1.1.1 We will prepare form P11D as may be required for each employee, including directors, based on
the accounts, information and explanations provided to us on your behalf.
1.1.2 We will prepare form P11D(b) [to include the Class 1A NIC on benefits-in-kind and expenses, both
on forms P11D and included in payroll.
1.1.3 We will submit the form P11D for any benefits/employees for whom benefits are provided but not
payrolled with the form P11D(b) after the form P11D(b) has been approved by you.
1.1.4 We will prepare and send to you the P11D information for you to forward to your employees and
directors by the statutory due date of 6 July following the end of the tax year.
1.1.5 We will calculate your Class 1A NIC liability on the benefits and expenses both returned in form
P11D and included in payroll that you are obliged to pay HMRC by the due date and send payment
instructions to you.
1.2 Excluded, ad hoc and advisory work
1.2.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above and all other services which
we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation, ad hoc
and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the subject
of a separate engagement letter at our option. Where appropriate, we will agree with you a
separate fee for any such work you instruct us to undertake. Examples of such work that you may
wish to instruct us to undertake include:
a) assisting you with calculating the values for tax and NIC of benefits-in-kind provided to
employees, including when provided by way of salary sacrifice and other optional remuneration
arrangements;
b) dealing with any compliance check or enquiry by HMRC into the benefits-in-kind returns
submitted;
c) preparing any amended returns which may be required and corresponding with HMRC as
necessary;
d) advising on PAYE settlement agreements and/or approved expenses scale rates; and
e) conducting PAYE and benefits and expenses health checks.
1.2.2 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.3 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.3.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.3.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.4 Your responsibilities
1.4.1 Even though you are engaging us to help you meet your end-of-year benefits-in-kind return
obligations, you are legally responsible for:
a) ensuring that your declaration on form P11D(b) is true to the best of your knowledge and belief
and therefore that the entries on the related form P11D and amounts of benefits-in-kind and
expenses in the payroll are correct and complete;
b) filing any returns by the due date after the end of the tax year; and
c) making payment of Class 1A NIC on time.
Failure to do any of the above may lead to penalties and/or interest.
1.4.2 A directorwill approve the company’s/partnership’s benefit in kind returns, having agreed with you
that they will represent the company/partnership/trust.
1.4.3 The approver of the return cannot delegate this legal responsibility to others. The approver agrees
to check that the forms that we have prepared for you are correct and complete before approving
them.
1.4.4 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.4.5 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure;
b) to provide full information necessary for dealing with your benefits-in-kind; we will rely on the
information and documents being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information
or those documents;
c) to notify us 31 May after the end of the tax year of all transactions or events which may need to
be reflected in the forms P11D for the period, including details of all employees during the year
and details of their remuneration packages;
d) to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate that we consider
necessary to deal with completing the benefits-in-kind returns; and
e) to approve the returns by 28 June so they can be submitted on or before the filing deadline of 6
July after the end of the tax year.
If we do not hear from you by the above deadline, subject to any other agreement between us, we
will take your silence as your approval for us to submit the returns.
1.4.6 If the information required to complete the benefits-in-kind returns set out above is received later
than 31 May after the end of the tax year, we will still endeavour to process the information onto
the BiK returns to meet the submission date but we will not be liable for any costs or other losses
arising if submission is late. In such circumstances, we may charge an additional fee.
1.4.7 You will forward to us any communications received from HMRC, in sufficient time to enable us to
deal with them as may be necessary within the requisite time limits. Although HMRC has the
authority to communicate with us when form 64-8 has been submitted, it is essential that you let
us have copies of any correspondence received, because HMRC are not obliged to send us copies
of communications issued to you and, in most cases, will not do so.
COMPANY SECRETARIAL
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR COMPANY SECRETARIAL SERVICES
1.1 Your responsibilities
1.1.1 A private company/limited liability partnership is required to file its financial statements at
Companies House within nine months of the year end. The company will be liable to a fine if it
fails to do so. We accept no responsibility for fines or regulatory action taken against the directors
if the statutory financial statements are not available for filing.
1.1.2 A private company/limited liability partnership is required to complete all the returns which are
required by law to be filed at Companies House, for example, the confirmation statement and the
notification of changes in directors.
1.2 Recurring compliance work
1.2.1 We have agreed to act as your agent, and to:
a) submit the financial statements to the Registrar of Companies;
b) complete and submit the company’s confirmation statement;
c) complete and submit any other forms which are required by law to be filed at Companies
House, provided that you keep us fully informed of any relevant changes or events which are
required to be notified to Companies House, within one week of the change or event;
d) maintain the statutory books.
ACTING AS AUDITORS UNDER THE COMPANIES ACT 2006
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1. RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR AUDIT SERVICES
1.1. Your responsibilities as directors/members
1.1.1. As directors/members of the company, you are responsible for preparing financial statements
which give a true and fair view and which have been prepared in accordance with the Companies
Act 2006 (the Act) (where applicable as applied by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts
and Audit) (Application of the Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008). As directors/members
you must not approve the financial statements unless you are satisfied that they give a true and
fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company.
1.1.2. In preparing the financial statements, you are required to:
a) select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
b) make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
c) prepare the financial statements on the going-concern basis unless it is inappropriate to
presume that the company will continue in business.
1.1.3. You are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that set out, with reasonable
accuracy, at any time, the company’s financial position and for ensuring that the financial
statements comply with applicable accounting standards and with the Companies Act 2006 and
give a true and fair view.
1.1.4. You are responsible for such internal control as you determine is necessary to enable the
preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement whether due to fraud
or error.
1.1.5. You are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable
steps to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
1.1.6. You are responsible for ensuring that the company complies with the laws and regulations that
apply to its activities, and for preventing non-compliance and detecting any that occurs. This is in
addition to the general duties required by directors under s.170-177 of the Companies Act 2006.
1.1.7. You have undertaken to make available to us, as and when required, all the company’s accounting
records and related financial information, including minutes of management and shareholders’
and directors’/members’ meetings, that we need to do our work. You have also undertaken to
provide us with unrestricted access to any persons from whom we deem it necessary to obtain
audit evidence. Individually, directors are required to take all steps that they ought to take as a
director to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that we are
aware of that information. This is required to be confirmed in the Director’s/Members’
responsibility statement along with acknowledgment that the financial statements have been
prepared on an appropriate accounting basis.
1.1.8. If audited financial information — which includes a report written by us or otherwise associated
with us — is published on the company’s website or by other electronic means, you must inform
us of the electronic publication and get our consent before it occurs and ensure that it presents
the financial information and auditor’s report properly. We have the right to withhold consent to
the electronic publication of our report or the financial statements if they are to be published in
an inappropriate manner.
1.1.9. You must set up controls to prevent or quickly detect any changes to electronically published
information. We are not responsible for reviewing these controls or for keeping the information
under review after it is first published. You are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of
electronically published information, and we accept no responsibility for changes made to any
audited information after it is first posted.
1.2. Our responsibilities as statutory auditors
1.2.1. We have a statutory responsibility to report to the members as a body whether, in our opinion, the
financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with applicable accounting
standards, whether they have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 and
whether they give a true and fair view. In arriving at our opinion, we are required to comply with the
International Standards on Auditing (UK) and to consider the following matters, reporting on any
that we are not satisfied with:
a) whether the company has kept adequate accounting records, and whether branches that we
have not visited have sent in returns adequate for our audit;
b) whether the company’s individual accounts are in agreement with the accounting records and
returns;
c) whether certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are made; and
d) whether we have obtained all the information and explanations which we consider necessary
for the purposes of our audit.
We also have a statutory responsibility to report:
• whether the company’s strategic report and directors’ report have been prepared in
accordance with applicable legal requirements and whether the information given in them is
consistent with the financial statements;
• whether, in the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment
that we have obtained in the course of our audit, we have identified any material
misstatements in the strategic report or directors’ report, giving an indication of the nature of
any such misstatements; and
• on the appropriateness of the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting and
whether a material uncertainty exists.
1.2.2. We may also need to deal with certain other matters in our report. For example, if the financial
statements do not give certain details of directors’ remuneration specified by law, the Companies
Act 2006 requires us to disclose such matters in our report. If the company prepares accounts in
accordance with the small companies’regime,for companies only or takes advantage of the small
companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a strategic report or in preparing the
directors’ report, when, in our opinion, it is not entitled to do so, we are required to state that fact
in our report.
1.2.3. We have a professional responsibility to report if the financial statements do not significantly
comply with applicable financial reporting standards, unless we believe there is a good reason for
the non-compliance. In deciding whether this is the case, we consider:
a) whether the non-compliance is necessary for the financial statements to give a true and fair
view; and
b) whether the non-compliance has been clearly disclosed.
1.2.4. We also have a professional responsibility to consider whether other information in documents
containing audited financial statements is consistent with those financial statements and our
knowledge acquired during the course of the audit.
1.2.5. The Senior Statutory Auditor under s504 Companies Act 2006 is Susan Thomas-Walls.
1.2.6. As noted in 1.2.1 above, our report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in
accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work will be
undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to
state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law,
we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s
members, as a body, for our audit work, the audit report, or for the opinions we will form. The audit
of the financial statements does not relieve you of your responsibilities.
1.2.7. Where appropriate, if the company is a subsidiary, we are required by ISA (UK) 600 to cooperate
with the group auditor, providing them with information, explanations and, where necessary,
copies of our working papers to allow them to form an opinion on the group financial statements
as a whole. You agree that we may communicate with the group auditors and respond to any
reasonable requests without any further consent from you.
1.2.8. Where appropriate, if we are required to report on consolidated financial statements, we are
required by ISA (UK) 600 to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to express an opinion on
the consolidated financial statements. We will be responsible for the direction, supervision and
performance of the group audit. You agree that we may communicate with the component
auditors without any further consent from you.
1.2.9. We will inform you on a timely basis of all significant facts and matters that may bear upon our
integrity, objectivity and independence.
1.2.10. If we cease to act as statutory auditors for the company, we are required by paragraph 9(3) of
schedule 1 of statutory instrument 2016/649 Statutory Auditors and Third Country Auditors
Regulations 2016 to make available, if requested, all relevant information concerning the most
recent audit of the company to our successors as statutory auditors. You agree to cover any
reasonable costs that we may incur in fulfilling our statutory duty in making such information
available.
1.3. Scope of audit
1.3.1. We will carry out our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK). These
standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatements, whether due to fraud or error. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain
audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures
selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material
misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. An audit also includes
evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies and whether they have been consistently
applied and adequately disclosed. The reasonableness of accounting estimates made by
management will be reviewed, and the overall presentation of the financial statements along with
adequate disclosure of the applicable financial reporting framework will be evaluated. We will
evaluate whether the information presented in the financial statements is relevant, reliable,
comparable and understandable as well as providing adequate disclosures and appropriate
terminology. Because of the test nature and other inherent limitations of an audit, together with
the inherent limitations of any accounting and internal control system, there is an unavoidable
risk that even some material misstatements may remain undiscovered.
1.3.2. We will review any other information to be presented with the financial statements to identify
material misstatements or inconsistencies with the audited financial statements or based on our
understanding of the company. If any such material misstatements or inconsistencies remain
unchanged, we will need to consider amending our audit report.
1.3.3. We will obtain an understanding of the accounting and internal control systems to assess their
adequacy as a basis for the preparation of the financial statements and to establish whether
adequate accounting records have been maintained by the company. We will expect to obtain
such appropriate evidence as we consider sufficient to enable us to draw reasonable
conclusions. In addition to our report on the financial statements, we will provide you with a
separate letter concerning any significant deficiencies in accounting and internal control systems
which come to our attention during our normal audit work.
1.3.4. The nature and extent of our audit will vary according to our assessment of the company’s
accounting system and, if we wish to rely on it, the internal control system, and may cover any
aspect of the business’s operations that we consider appropriate. Our audit is not designed to
identify all significant deficiencies in the company’s systems and internal controls but, if we
detect significant deficiencies, we will report them to you in writing. You may not show this report
to third parties without our prior written consent. We will grant consent on the basis that the report
is only prepared in the sole interests of the company and that we accept no duty or responsibility
to any other party as concerns the report.
1.3.5. As part of our normal audit procedures, we may ask you to confirm in writing representations you
have made to us during the audit. In particular, if misstatements in the financial statements that
we bring to your attention are not adjusted, you must state your reasons. In connection with
representations and the supply of information to us generally, we draw your attention to section
501 of the Companies Act 2006 under which it is an offence for anyone to recklessly or knowingly
supply information to the auditors that is false or misleading and to fail to promptly provide
information requested.
1.3.6. To help us examine your financial statements, we will ask to see all documents or statements that
are due to be issued with the financial statements. We are also entitled to receive details of all
written resolutions that are to be circulated to members, to attend all the company’s general
meetings and to receive notice of them all.
1.3.7. In performing our audit procedures, we may make use of analytical tools. To facilitate this we may
request that you extract data, provide backups or provide alternative access (eg using an
Application Programming Interface) to your accounting systems. How we will use analytical tools
and any data will be set out in the communication of our planned approach with you.
1.3.8. You are responsible for safeguarding the company’s assets and for preventing and detecting fraud,
error and non-compliance with laws or regulations. We will plan our audit so that we can
reasonably expect to detect significant misstatements in the financial statements or accounting
records (including those resulting from fraud, error or non-compliance with laws or regulations),
but you cannot rely on us finding all such errors.
1.3.9. Where appropriate, we shall not be treated as having notice, for the purposes of our audit
responsibilities, of information provided to members of our firm (principals and staff) other than
those engaged on the audit (for example information provided in connection with accounting,
taxation and other services).
1.3.10. In respect of the expected form and content of our report, we refer you to the most recent bulletin
on auditors’ reports published by the Financial Reporting Council. The form and content of our
report may need to be amended in the light of our findings.
1.3.11. Once we have issued our report, we have no further responsibility in relation to the financial
statements for that financial year. However, we expect that you will inform us of any material event
occurring between the date of our report and the date the financial statements are sent out in
accordance with section 423 of the Companies Act 2006 which may affect the financial
statements.
1.3.12. To ensure that there is effective two-way communication between us and to comply with the
requirements of International Standards on Auditing (UK), we will contact you:
• before the audit to discuss any relevant matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit
and to agree any required action; and
• after the audit to discuss any matters arising from the audit and to confirm any agreed action.
We will, of course, contact you more frequently and regularly about audit and other matters during
the course of the audit.
1.3.13. The scope of the audit does not extend to providing assurance on the iXBRL tagging of the
financial statements submitted with the company tax return as there is no such requirement in
the International Standards on Auditing (UK). We therefore accept no responsibility for any tagging
inaccuracies identified by HMRC.
PERSONAL TAX – INDIVIDUALS, SOLE TRADERS AND COUPLES
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITY AND SCOPE FOR PERSONAL TAX SERVICES
1.1 Recurring compliance work
1.1.1 We will prepare your self-assessment tax returns including if you have been treated as a deemed
employee under the IR35/off-payroll working rules together with any supplementary pages
required from the information and explanations that you provide to us. After obtaining your
evidenced approval, we will submit your returns to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
1.1.2 We will prepare your business accounts in accordance with generally accepted accounting
practice or the cash-basis election that you have made as appropriate from the books, accounting
records and other information and explanations provided to us by you or by others on your behalf.
1.1.3 We will compute your property letting income and expenditure on the cash basis or in accordance
with the accruals election that you have made if appropriate from the books, accounting records
and other information and explanations provided to us by you or by others on your behalf.
1.1.4 We will calculate your income tax, national insurance contributions (NIC) and any capital gains
tax liabilities to be included on your self-assessment return and tell you how much you should pay
and when. We will advise on the interest and penalty implications if tax or NIC is paid late. We will
also check HMRC’s calculation of your tax and NIC liabilities and initiate repayment claims if tax
or NIC have been overpaid.
1.1.5 We will advise you on possible tax-return-related claims and elections arising from information
supplied by you, other than as regards tax credits and universal credit (see below). If instructed by
you, we will make such claims and elections in the form and manner required by HMRC.
1.1.6 We will review PAYE notices of coding provided to us and advise accordingly.
1.1.7 There is an in-year capital gains tax (CGT) reporting and payment requirement for disposals of UK
residential property and, if you are non-UK resident, UK non-residential property and investments
in property-rich entities. Where instructed and subject to a separate fee, we will prepare the inyear return for each disposal, calculate the CGT due and submit the return to HMRC. (Note: as
returns must be submitted within 60 days of sale completion, please see para 1.4.1.)]
1.2 Excluded, ad hoc and advisory work
1.2.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above and all other services which
we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation, ad hoc
and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the subject
of a separate engagement letter at our option. Where appropriate, we will agree with you a
separate fee for any such work you instruct us to undertake. Examples of such work that you may
wish to instruct us to undertake include:
a) advising on the extraction of cash/dividends from your personal service company if you have
been treated as a deemed employee under the IR35/off-payroll working rules;
b) advising on preparing business accounts on the cash basis and/or property letting income and
expenditure computations on the accruals basis and helping you to make the requisite
election(s);
c) advising on making tax digital for income tax self-assessment (MTD ITSA) which will require
digital accounting records and the submission of quarterly updates and annual returns to HMRC
using compatible software. MTD ITSA will be mandatory from 6 April 2026 for income from selfemployment and property;
d) advising on whether you should change your business accounting year end to align with the tax
year end and if so, helping you to make the transition including claiming overlap relief;
e) advising on the in-year capital gains tax (CGT) reporting requirements on disposals of UK
residential property, and, if you are non-UK resident, UK non-residential property and investments
in property-rich entities, preparing the in-year return and calculating the CGT due where required
and submitting the return to HMRC
f) advising on ad hoc transactions (for example pre-sale advice on the sale of assets);
g) advising on whether trusts – including any non-taxable trusts – should be registered on HMRC’s
trust registration service (NB the deadline for registering non-taxable trusts has been extended to
1 September 2022);
h) dealing with any enquiry opened into your tax return by HMRC;
i) preparing any amended returns which may be required and corresponding with HMRC as
necessary;
j) advising on the rules relating to and assisting with registration for VAT or equivalent non-UK
taxes; and
k) advising on tax credits and universal credit; these are, in effect, social security benefits, and
your entitlement or otherwise will depend not only on your own circumstances but also on those
of your household; we would require all relevant information to advise in this area.
1.2.2 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.3 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.3.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.3.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.4 Your responsibilities
1.4.1 You are legally responsible for:
a) ensuring that your self-assessment tax and CGT on UK residential property returns are correct
and complete;
b) filing any returns by the due date; and
c) paying tax on time.
Failure to do any of the above may lead to penalties and/or interest.
1.4.2 Legal responsibility for approval of the return cannot be delegated to others. You agree to check
that returns that we have prepared for you are correct and complete before approving them.
1.4.3 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.4.4 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure of all sources of income, charges,
allowances and capital transactions;
b) to provide all information necessary for dealing with your affairs; we will rely on the information
and documents being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information or those
documents;
c) to provide full details of all UK residential property disposals including associated costs/
valuations prior to disposal. Where you consider that you will be non-UK resident in the tax year of
disposal, full details of all UK property disposals, including disposals of shares in property rich
companies, must be advised prior to exchange of contracts on any property disposal. If
information is received after this, we cannot guarantee that we can provide advice on the amount
of capital gains tax due or submit an in-year return within 60 days after the completion of the
disposal;
d) to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to deal with your affairs; and
e) to provide us with information in sufficient time for your tax return to be completed and
submitted by the due date following the end of the tax year; to do this, we need to receive all
relevant information by 30 September; if feasible, we may agree to complete your return within a
shorter period but may charge an additional fee for so doing.
1.4.5 You will keep us informed of material changes in your circumstances that could affect your tax
liability. If you are unsure whether the change is material, please tell us so that we can assess its
significance.
1.4.6 HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code which expires within 30 days of issue. Please
send this to us as soon as you receive it. This code will enable us to register as your agent with
HMRC.
1.4.7 You will forward to us HMRC statements of account, copies of notices of assessment, letters and
other communications received from HMRC, in sufficient time to enable us to deal with them as
may be necessary within the statutory time limits. Although HMRC have the authority to
communicate with us when form 64-8 has been submitted, it is still essential that you let us have
copies of any correspondence received, because HMRC are not obliged to send us copies of all
communications issued to you.
1.4.8 You are responsible for monitoring your monthly turnover to establish whether you are liable to
register for VAT. If you do not understand what you need to do, please ask us. If you exceed the UK
VAT registration threshold and you wish us to assist you in notifying HMRC of your liability to be
VAT registered, we will be pleased to assist you in the VAT registration process. You should notify
us of your instructions to assist in your VAT registration in good time to enable a VAT registration
form to be submitted within the time limit of one month following the month in which you exceed
the VAT registration threshold in force at that time. We will not be responsible if you fail to notify
us in time and, as a result, incur a late registration penalty. The same applies for equivalent nonUK taxes.
1.4.9 Where you are importing relevant goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable persons (final
destination of the goods being within the EU), the IOSS can be used by both EU and non-EU
established suppliers. If you are importing goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable
persons but do not or cannot use the IOSS then you will probably have to VAT register in the
Member State of importation.
1.4.10 If you are making distance supplies of goods within the EU, eg France to Germany (B2C), you can
use the Union One Stop Shop (OSS). The non-Union OSS can be used for any services where the
place of the supply of the service is in the EU and the supplier is non-EU established (B2C again).
1.4.11 There may be other circumstances where the Union or non-Union OSS can be used, eg domestic
supplies of goods by deemed suppliers, but, broadly, If you are not within any of the above, you
may need to VAT-register in the Member State in which you make the supply of the goods or
services.
1.4.12 You are responsible for employment taxes, pensions (including auto-enrolment) and the
assessment of the employment status of your workers including domestic staff. If your business
is not small, you are responsible for assessing the employment status under the off payroll
working rules of any contractors providing services to your business and for employment taxes if
they are deemed employees. If you do not understand what you need to consider or what action
you need to take, please ask us. We will not be in a position to assist you in complying with your
responsibilities if we are not engaged to provide such a service. We are not responsible for any
penalty that is incurred.
1.5 You and your spouse/partner (if services are provided to a couple)
1.5.1 We will advise you and your spouse/partner on the basis that you are a family unit. You both agree
that, in all matters relating to your or your spouse’s/partner’s tax and financial affairs, we may deal
directly with either of you and we may discuss with either of you the tax liabilities and/or financial
affairs of the other. This will help us to streamline our service to you and enable us, for example,
to ascertain high income child benefit charge, transferrable marriage allowance, and CGT base
costs of assets disposed of which have been transferred between you, where applicable. If you
wish to make any change to these arrangements at any time, please let us know.
1.5.2 In order for us to act for you as a couple in respect of a joint claim, you undertake that all
instructions, information or explanations that either of you gives us will be on behalf of both of
you, unless you specifically tell us otherwise. Similarly, if one of you signs a document, it will be
on behalf of you both unless you instruct us to the contrary. If a conflict of interest should arise
between you in relation to any matter to do with your joint claim or entitlement, we reserve the
right to cease acting for both of you, or to advise one or other of you to obtain independent advice.
SPECIALIST OR AD HOC ACCOUNTANCY AND TAXATION ADVISORY SERVICES
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE IN RELATION TO ACCOUNTANCY AND TAX CONSULTANCY
1.1 Compliance work
1.1.1 We will provide ad hoc accountancy and tax advisory services as requested by you from time to
time.
1.1.2 Our services may include telephone conversations, attendance at meetings and written advice,
as and when requested by you.
1.1.3 We will not provide any other accountancy or tax services unless covered by a separate
engagement letter or another schedule to this letter.
1.1.4 If additional or specialist expertise is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, a
specialist.
1.2 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.2.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.2.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.3 Your responsibilities
1.3.1 You agree to provide full information necessary for us to advise in relation to your affairs. We will
rely on the information and documents being true, correct and complete and will not audit the
information or those documents.
1.3.2 If you require tax advice in relation to a proposed transaction, we recommend that you instruct us
sufficiently in advance so that we have time to give properly considered advice before the
transaction takes place.
1.3.3 You authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to provide the advice.
1.3.4 You will keep us informed of material changes in your circumstances that could affect the tax
advisory services we are providing. If you are unsure whether the change is material, please let us
know so that we can assess its significance.
SPECIALIST OR AD HOC TAXATION ADVISORY SERVICES
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE IN RELATION TO TAX CONSULTANCY
1.1 Compliance work
1.1.1 We will provide ad hoc tax advisory services as requested by you from time to time.
1.1.2 Our services may include telephone conversations, attendance at meetings and written advice,
as and when requested by you.
1.1.3 We will not provide any other tax services unless covered by a separate engagement letter or
another schedule to this letter.
1.1.4 If additional or specialist expertise is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, a
specialist.
1.2 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.2.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.2.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.3 Your responsibilities
1.3.1 You agree to provide full information necessary for us to advise in relation to your affairs. We will
rely on the information and documents being true, correct and complete and will not audit the
information or those documents.
1.3.2 If you require tax advice in relation to a proposed transaction, we recommend that you instruct us
sufficiently in advance so that we have time to give properly considered advice before the
transaction takes place.
1.3.3 You authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to provide the advice.
1.3.4 You will keep us informed of material changes in your circumstances that could affect the tax
advisory services we are providing. If you are unsure whether the change is material, please let us
know so that we can assess its significance.
TRUSTS AND ESTATES TAX RETURNS
SCHEDULE OF SERVICES
This schedule should be read in conjunction with the engagement letter and the terms of business.
1 RESPONSIBILITIES AND SCOPE FOR TRUST / ESTATE TAX RETURN SERVICES
1.1 Recurring compliance work
1.1.1 We will prepare:
a) the trust’s / estate’s self-assessment tax returns, together with any supplementary pages
required;
b) all inheritance tax returns required
from the information and explanations that you provide to us. After obtaining evidenced approval
from you, we will submit your returns to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
1.1.2 Where required, we will maintain the accounting records of the trust / estate on your behalf from
the information and explanations provided to us by you, or by others on your behalf, for the
purposes of preparing the annual trust / estate accounts and tax returns.
1.1.3 Where required, we will prepare the income and expenditure and capital accounts (together with
a balance sheet) of the trust / estate from the accounting records and other information and
explanations provided by you, or by others on your behalf, and will obtain your approval of the
accounts.
1.1.4 We will calculate the income tax and capital gains tax liabilities of the trust/ estate andwill advise
you how much you should pay and when. We will advise you on the interest and penalty
implications if tax is paid late. We will also check HMRC’s calculations of the tax liabilities and
initiate repayment claims if tax has been overpaid.
1.1.5 We will advise you on possible tax-return-related claims and elections arising from information
supplied by you. If instructed by you, we will make such claims and elections in the form and
manner required by HMRC.
1.1.6 There is an in-year capital gains tax (CGT) reporting and payment requirement for disposals of UK
residential property and, if the trust is non-UK resident, UK non-residential property and
investments in property-rich entities. Where instructed, and subject to a separate fee, we will
prepare the in-year return for each disposal, calculate the CGT due and submit the return to
HMRC. (Note: as returns must be submitted within 60 days of sale completion, please see para
1.5.1)
1.1.7 If the terms of the trust / will require income or capital payments to be made to the beneficiaries,
we will assist you in preparing all necessary forms relating to such payment.
1.1.8 Under anti-money laundering legislation trustees are obliged to maintain accurate and up-todate records in writing of beneficial owners and report specified information about the trust to
HMRC.
1.1.9 If the trust or estate is not already registered on HMRC’s trust register. We will register the trust
along with details of settlors, trustees and beneficiaries on the trust register maintained by HMRC
using the information provided by you. Provided the necessary information is supplied within 30
days of the deadline we will register the trust along with the appropriate details within the time
limits required.
1.1.10 If the trust or estate is already registered on HMRC’s trust register. We will update or confirm that
no change is required to the details of settlors, trustees and beneficiaries on the trust register
maintained by HMRC using the information provided by you. Provided that the necessary
information is supplied within 30 days of the deadline we will update/confirm the appropriate
details on HMRC’s trust register within the time limits required.
1.2 Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standards (CRS)
1.2.1 International Tax Compliance (United States of America) Regulations 2014 require the trust to
determine whether it is a Financial Institution (FI) or a passive or active Non-Financial Foreign
Entity (NFFE). If the trust is a Financial Institution, it must register with the US Internal Revenue
Service (IRS) and file annual returns with HMRC.
1.2.2 Similar arrangements have or will come into force with more than 90 other countries. This is, or
will be, based on Common Reporting Standards (CRS).
1.2.3 We will assist you with your responsibilities under the International Tax Compliance (United
States of America) Regulations 2013 as a result of the USA Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA).
1.2.4 We will assist with the categorisation of the trust into either a Financial Institution (FI) or a NonFinancial Foreign Entity (NFFE) that is either passive or active.
1.2.5 If the trust is determined to be a Financial Institution, we will assist in ensuring that the trust has
adequate systems to identify beneficiaries that are foreign citizens (either US or other countries
under Common Reporting Standards (CRS)), who are or who may become beneficiaries to whom
payments may be made. We can also assist you with the initial online registration with the IRS
1.2.6 You agree to provide us sufficient information to enable the annual return to HMRC to be
accurately completed. You must provide us with all the information that we may require from time
to time to enable us to advise you properly, and the provision of adequate systems shall always
remain your ultimate responsibility.
1.3 Excluded, ad hoc and advisory work
1.3.1 The scope of our services provided to you will be only as set out above and all other services which
we may offer are excluded. If you instruct us to do so, we will provide such other taxation, ad hoc
and advisory services as may be agreed between us from time to time. These may be the subject
of a separate engagement letter at our option. If appropriate we will agree with you a separate fee
for any such work that you instruct us to undertake
1.3.2 If specialist advice is required, we may need to seek this from, or refer you to, appropriate
specialists.
1.4 Changes in the law, in practice or in public policy
1.4.1 We will not accept responsibility if you act on advice given by us on an earlier occasion without
first confirming with us that the advice is still valid in the light of any change in the law, practice,
public policy or in your circumstances.
1.4.2 We will accept no liability for losses arising from changes in the law (or the interpretation thereof),
practice or public policy that are first published after the date on which the advice is given.
1.5 Your responsibilities
1.5.1 As trustees / executors you have legal responsibility for:
a) ensuring that the trust’s / estate’s tax returns are correct and complete;
b) filing any returns by the due date;
c) paying tax on time; and
d) ensuring that the trust is recorded on HMRC’s Trust Registration Service.
Failure to do any of the above may lead to penalties and/or interest.
1.5.2 Legal responsibility for approval of the return cannot be delegated to others. As Trustees /
Executors you agree to check that the returns that we have prepared are correct and complete
before approving them.
1.5.3 You are no less responsible for errors in unapproved returns, submitted on the basis of the
information provided to and processed by us, than if you had confirmed your approval of the
returns.
1.5.4 To enable us to carry out our work, you agree:
a) that all returns are to be made on the basis of full disclosure of all sources of income, charges,
allowances and capital transactions;
b) to provide all information necessary for dealing with the trust’s / estate’s taxation affairs; we
will rely on the information being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information;
c) to provide all information necessary for dealing with the trust’s / estate’s registration and
updates on HMRC’s trust register, eg details of settlors, beneficiaries and trustees; we will rely on
the information being true, correct and complete and will not audit the information;
d) to advise us of distributions made within 30 days of such an event;
e) to provide full details of all UK residential property disposals including associated
costs/valuations prior to disposal. Where you consider that you will be non-UK resident in the tax
year of disposal, full details of all UK property disposals, including disposals of shares in property
rich companies, must be advised prior to exchange of contracts on any property disposal. If
information is received after this, we cannot guarantee that we can provide advice on the amount
of capital gains tax due or submit an in-year return within 30 days of the completion of the
disposal;
f) to authorise us to approach such third parties as may be appropriate, for information that we
consider necessary to deal with the trust’s / estate’s taxation affairs;
g) to provide us with information in sufficient time for the trust’s / estate’s self-assessment tax
returns to be completed and submitted by the due date following the end of the tax year; to do
this, we need to receive all relevant information by 3 months prior. If feasible, we may agree to
complete your return within a shorter period but may charge an additional fee for so doing;
h) to provide us with information in sufficient time for the trust’s / estate’s inheritance tax returns
to be completed and submitted by the due dates;] and
i) to provide us with records of receipts & payments, records of invoices issued & received, and
all other information to enable us to prepare income & expenditure and capital accounts.
1.5.5 You will keep us informed of material changes in circumstances that could affect the income,
capital gains and inheritance tax liabilities of the trust / estate. If you are unsure whether the
change is material, please tell us so that we can assess its significance.
1.5.6 HMRC will send you an agent authorisation code which expires within 30 days of issue. Please
send this to us as soon as you receive it. This code will enable us to register as your agent with
HMRC.
1.5.7 You will forward to us HMRC statements of account, copies of notices of assessment, letters and
other communications received from HMRC by you in time to enable us to deal with them as may
be necessary within the statutory time limits. Although HMRC have the authority to communicate
with us when form 64-8 has been submitted, it is still essential that you let us have copies of any
correspondence received, because HMRC are not obliged to send us copies of all
communications issued to you.
1.5.8 If you carry on a business as trustees / executors and make supplies for VAT purposes, you are
responsible for monitoring the monthly turnover to establish whether you are liable to register for
VAT. If you do not understand what you need to do, please ask us. If the UK VAT registration
threshold is exceeded, and you would like us to assist in notifying HMRC of your liability to be VAT
registered, we will be pleased to assist in the VAT registration process. Please notify us of your
instructions to assist with the VAT registration in good time to enable a VAT registration form to be
submitted within the time limit of one month following the month in which the VAT registration
threshold in force at that time was exceeded. We will not be responsible if you fail to notify us in
time and, as a result, incur a late registration penalty. The same applies for equivalent non-UK
taxes.
1.5.9 Where you are importing relevant goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable persons (final
destination of goods being within the EU), the IOSS can be used by both EU and non-EU
established suppliers. If you are importing goods into the EU to be supplied to non-taxable
persons but do not or cannot use the IOSS then you will probably have to VAT register in the
Members State of importation.
1.5.10 If you are making distance supplies of goods within the EU, eg France to Germany (B2C), you can
use the Union One Stop Shop (OSS). The non-Union OSS can be used for any services where the
place of the supply of the service is in the EU and the supplier is non-EU established (B2C again).
1.5.11 There may be other circumstances where the Union or non-Union OSS can be used, eg domestic
supplies of goods by deemed suppliers, but, broadly, if you are not within any of the above, you
may need to VAT-register in the Member State in which you make the supply of the goods or
services.
1.5.12 You are responsible for employment taxes, pensions (including auto-enrolment) and the
assessment of the employment status of your workers. If your business is not small, you are
responsible for assessing the employment status under the off-payroll working rules of any
contractors providing services to your business and for employment taxes if they are deemed
employees. If you do not understand what you need to consider or what action you need to take,
please ask us. We will not be in a position to assist you in complying with your responsibilities if
we are not engaged to provide such a service. We are not responsible for any penalty that is
incurred.
1.5.13 You are reminded that, under the Trustee Act 2000, it is your responsibility to regularly review the
trust investments and to have a clear investment policy.
