All organisations need to maintain records of day-to-day activities. Financial records are fundamental to this.
Tax legislation requires all businesses to maintain accurate accounting records. Additionally, specific legislation may affect particular types of business, such as:
If a business is registered for VAT, it will also be required to maintain records for VAT purposes.
Maintaining accounting records (commonly called “book-keeping”) is often considered to be a routine, low priority task. We do not share this view! This is because book-keeping represents the foundation of any accounting system. Reliable and accurate book-keeping enables efficient and accurate accounting, which enables management information and other reporting, such as VAT, to be performed accurately and in a timely manner. In our experience, insufficient attention is given to book-keeping, which in turn leads to inefficient processes and increased compliance costs in later stages of the accounting process.
We have an internal book-keeping function and a range of contacts to whom we can outsource book-keeping work. We consider current and predicted future requirements, before agreeing how best to proceed.
It is important to remember that book-keeping is not a fixed activity but will change over time, depending on a number of factors, of which common examples are legislation and turnover. It is preferable to consider current and future requirements in conjunction with the management accounting process and to derive a solution which will fulfil all functions.
If you need advice or would like to discuss how we might assist you, please do not hesitate to contact us.