Audit and Assurance Services

Our clients do not view an audit as a formality and neither do we.

Providing independent,objective and rigorous financial risk assurance of your business and financial position is fundamental to improving performance and good corporate governance.

Our approach is based on developing an understanding of your business or organisation and the financial, operational and governance risks that it faces. We tailor our service to meet your unique circumstances and needs and, by agreeing expectations and responsibilities at the outset, we ensure that our performance and service meets your requirements.

Like our approach, our aim is straightforward - to help you serve your clients and stakeholders better.

MFH audit and assurance services continually evolve to meet the demands of our clients and to comply with regulatory and technical standards and best practice in financial reporting.

We advise a wide range of clients and their stakeholders, including:

• Fast growing and established businesses.
• Public and private companies.
• Charitable and not-for-profit organisations.
• Public sector organisations.

Our Audit and Assurance Services:

Statutory Audit

Our audit focuses on the commercial issues and business processes which impact your financial statements.

We have refined our audit approach to suit the diverse environments in which clients operate. This ensures that our audit addresses the risks that are unique to our clients' business, operations and market sectors.

We provide audit services to companies, public sector bodies, charities and not-for-profit organisations. We also provide pension scheme audit services, customising our approach to focus on the key activities and risk profiles of individual schemes.

Our audit approach:

Is designed to develop an all-round understanding of your business or organisation and the environment in which it operates to ensure that our audit is both practical, relevant and purposeful. Adds value by being constructive and progressive and by promoting best practice and governance.

Complies with professional best practice and uses the most up-to-date audit techniques, which are designed to assess key financial risks.

Provides regular communication with our clients so that they understand our work, our thinking and our recommendations.

Provides a combination of professional independence, integrity and robust quality controls.

What will our audit and assurance services give you?

Assurance on the financial performance, reporting and operations of your business or organisation. Value-added recommendations on financial processes, key controls and performance indicators. Increased awareness of accounting and regulatory changes.

Internal Audit

We can help to improve the quality and effectiveness of your internal audit processes to meet the changing needs of management, trustees and non-executive directors. We can provide you with advice and assistance on the development of your internal audit and risk management strategy and processes.

Understanding the pieces of the risk assurance jigsaw is key to defining the scope of your internal audit function. Whether your need is for an outsourced partner to support your Head of Internal Audit and/or in-house team, or the provision of a full outsourced internal audit service we can provide you with a solution that will be tailored to your specific needs.

What will our internal audit services give you?

The confidence that you have the full set of skills to determine best practice.

Access to the right people, tools and techniques when and where you need them.

A partner who understands the value of internal audit and brings expertise and experience from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors.

Regulatory Compliance

Regulatory compliance is an essential part of modern business; we can help to ensure that your business is suitably prepared. We can conduct compliance effectiveness reviews to provide your business or organisation with the assurance that your compliance function is operating within the appropriate regulatory framework.

We also have expertise in helping management teams in organisations that operate in regulated environments.

What will our regulatory compliance services give you?

Increased awareness of the likely regulatory impacts on your business or organisation. Help to minimise the risk of regulatory fines or penalties or enforcement action by regulators. Help to reduce the cost of compliance.

Performance Audit and Assessment

Helping our clients to maximise their potential.

MFH Accountants is committed to ensuring that we can support businesses and public sector bodies to maximise their potential. We set up our Performance Audit Team to provide support, experience and independent appraisals of the performance of our clients' services, targets and undertakings. We have brought together experienced individuals with skills, backgrounds and practical knowledge across a number of disciplines and market sectors.

The varied backgrounds of our team enable us to gain an understanding of the environment within which you operate. Recognising your uniqueness and your specific goals, your aims and pressures that you face, our team will work with you to address your approach and position.

What can our Performance Audit Team do?

Our team is dedicated to helping your organisation to improve its performance. Working closely with your senior management we will undertake a review of your organisation (or certain services or projects) to identify its unique strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement.

Our performance audit studies can be tailored to consider a number of areas. At a strategic level they can include:

• Management processes.

• Planning structures.

• Performance outcomes.

• Management of resources.

• Best Value requirements.

All organisations have their own unique structures, attributes and approaches, which is why our work is tailored to your individual requirements. Through initial contact and introductory meetings, our reviews will be conducted to meet your specific needs.

Information Systems and Controls Audit

In organizations where computer based information systems play a significant role in achieving business goals and critical success factors, the effectiveness of general management and controls exercised over these information systems is critical to the success of the organization.

The prerequisites for effective management are appropriate plans, staffing structures, policies, standards, procedures, methods and controls within the IS environment. Without those, the risks of failure are greatly increased. In this framework, we assist companies in performing Information Systems and Controls Audit.

Application Controls Review - identification of the inherent risks of technology deployed in client's business processes and minimization of the company's exposure to such risks, by ensuring that the necessary controls and security are in place.

Application Controls ReviewGeneral Computer Controls - a review to assess the policies, standards, procedures, and general computer controls aimed at providing a secure and stable environment for the application systems running on various platforms within the company. General computer controls are defined as any IS control that falls into one of the following four categories but that is not specific to any particular application system:

• The implementation and monitoring of information security
• Controls over computer operations
• Controls over the acquisition, development and maintenance of systems
• Controls over information systems support.

Strong general computer controls constitute a prerequisite for the establishment of a reliable IS environment that effectively supports the business objectives of the company.