Assurance and other accounting services

In recent years, we have seen a renewal of legislative obligations. From the Solicitors Accounts Regulation 2014, Client Monies Regulation 2012 to the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011, financial reporting for regulatory agencies can be quite demanding. Regulated entities need to ensure that their compliance standards are in line with that expected by their Regulatory body. Our dedicated team provides regulatory advice to organisations operating in the following sectors:

• Central Bank of Ireland
• Solicitors Accounts Regulation 2014
• Property Service Regulatory Authority ( Property Service Providers)
• Auctioneers

In the United Kingdom, SORP (Statement of Recommended Practice), Accounting and Reporting is mandatory for all charities over a certain size. Reporting to SORP standards is considered best practice for not-for-profit or “public benefit entities” in the Republic of Ireland. The Minister has not prescribed the content or form of charities accounts as yet however, it is anticipated that SORP or similar standards for reporting will be adopted.

Our extensive experience in the not-for-profit sector has provided a wealth of knowledge in reporting under SORP. We aim to make the transition to SORP as smooth as practicable and provide precise advice for best practice reporting. We provide a complete service for the conversion of financial statements, ensuring full compliance with SORP and best practice in the sector.

To maintain public confidence in the work carried out by charities, Charity Law will require most charities that fall under the audit threshold to have an external scrutiny of their accounts. Provided a charity is not required by the Charities Act 2009 or its governing document to have an audit, trustees may choose a simpler and less expensive form of external scrutiny called an independent examination.

Our not-for-profit sector experience gives us a depth of knowledge in undertaking such independent examinations. We provide a detailed examination with a comprehensive review of the results for the year and give recommendations to organisations on any weaknesses identified on our reviews.

Financial and contractual disputes are an inevitable part of today’s business environment. When such disputes deteriorate to the point where court resolution is necessary, there may be a requirement for the services of an expert witness. The primary role of an expert forensic witness is to effectively communicate the findings of financial investigations in a courtroom in such a way as it will withstand legal scrutiny.

Our vastly experienced team possess all the essential attributes to ensure your service is dealt with in a timely and confidential manner.

Our corporate finance team has extensive experience in providing credit verification services reviews, including asset searching and forensic reviews.

Each assignment is specifically tailored according to the required needs in order to assess the accuracy and completeness, or otherwise, of certain disclosures made.

We establish what are the true financial assets held through extensive asset searches. We can trace assets held by individuals and corporate entities by performing:

• Property, company and directorship searches to include offshore assets and banks
• Reviews of planning applications
• Social media and trade journal searches
• High court searches and onsite examination of public records
• Review of all financial publically available accounts
• Indentify asset transfers and undisclosed assets
• Interrogate data using IT forensic tools
• Extend searches with new found intelligence

An ever present business risk, fraud and criminality can have devastating effects on an organisation. Such fraudulent activity can occur at any time, in any business, in any sector.

With our experienced team in Ireland and through our international network, we can assemble an effective multi-disciplinary team to work in conjunction with you and your legal representatives. In choosing Crowe you will benefit from our extensive sector experience as well as our broad knowledge of the subject matter.

The complexity of financial reporting and the rapid pace of change has led to a significant demand for expert accounting advice. Furthermore, new financial reporting standards were published by the Financial Reporting Council, effective from 2015 onwards, leading to a major change for Irish GAAP reporters. As a result, businesses are presented with many challenging accounting concepts.

At Crowe we have significant knowledge and technical expertise which allows us to provide precise accounting advice, support tools, guidance and training that enables you to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your accounting function.

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is a language that allows the presentation of financial information in a computer readable format. XBRL is increasingly being adopted by both businesses and regulators world-wide. iXBRL, or ‘inline’ XBRL, is a more recent version of the language which allows human-friendly presentation of XBRL documents. Certain companies are obliged to submit their financial statements to Revenue in iXBRL format.

Who does iXBRL apply to?
Filing of financial statements in iXBRL format is mandatory for all corporation tax payers who do not meet all of the below requirements in the financial year:

Balance Sheet Total	≤ €4.4m
Annual Turnover	≤ €8.8m
Average Number of Employees	≤ 50

Crowe offers a timely, cost efficient iXBRL service. Our hands on, systematic approach assures an effortless conversion process.