Accountant's Report

leonidas83

Accountant's Report that proper financial systems and controls are in place for the protection of clients’ money.

Hello guys,

I have come across this as a prerequisite for me starting a business in the area I intend to work in. Im assuming there is a fee required by the accountant for this. Does anyway have any idea how much cost is involved? What kind of documentation/letters is involved in proving this? does it entail me setting up a business account?
Any help is much appreciated

dbran

Hi

What sort of business are you involved in?

Kind Regards

dbran

leonidas83

dbran wrote: »

Hi

What sort of business are you involved in?

Kind Regards

dbran

Property services (Auct/Val/lettings)

Thanks

dbran

Hi Leonidas

It is a requirement in order to obtain a license to practice as an auctioneer or Estate Agent to obtain a certificate from a practicing accountant/auditor to state that the requirements of the Auctioneers and House Agent Act has been complied with.

This is to say that the business is solvent, has sufficient controls in place with respect to the keeping of accounts, the opening and closing of bank accounts now and in the future and that no person has suffered a loss in the case of a breach in these controls.

In the case of the first year of trading the accountant will normally provide an unqualified report just to say that a client account has been opened, and the business is solvent. Clearly one cannot trade at all without a license being granted by the court so this should not be too much work other then to confirm that the controls are in place.

As regards how much it would cost afterwards, it will depend on the level of work required and the size of the business. However you should be aware that you are entering into a highly regulated area which has requirements that need to be adhered to and cant be taken lightly.

If you need any further information please do not hesitate to PM me.

Kind Regards

dbran

NCG

This has all changed in the last year with the implementation of the Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011. The old system involved getting a licence through the courts and an accountant's certificate was required. This is now licencsed through the Property Services Regulatory Authority, who introduced (with some haste and little notice) a new format accountant's report. This sets out in detail the regulations to be complied with. A report for an initial application can opine that the regulations will be compled with in the future (as obviously procedures would not be in place yet). Future reports will require testing to form an opinion on compliance with the regulations. Therefore fees for the first report may be lower than subsequent reports.

You will get plenty of information at www.psr.ie - look particularly at the publications section (http://www.psr.ie/website/npsra/npsraweb.nsf/page/publications-forms-en).

Without knowing more about your business it is difficult to advise on bank accounts, but I would imagine you will be handling clients' money (deposits, rents, etc), in which case you will certainly need a client account.

It sounds like you are going to need an accountant anyway, so I suggest you start looking now. If you need any other information feel free to PM me.

JCYSHOW

As NCG said this all changed in July this year when the Property Services Regulatory Authority took over the licencing.

There are two versions of the Accountants report, A and B. You will need Form A completed - this covers general auctioneers and letting agents. Form B is only needed if you pay service charges and or sinking fund payments into an account held by the management company of a property.

The reports now don't need to be signed by an auditor as was the case under the old system. Instead the accountant must be a member of a recognised accountancy body, be in public practice and have public indemnity insurance.

The fee for these should be small enough if you are an existing client of an accountant. I wouldn't usually charge separately for this as I would know/have documented the procedures and controls as part of the annual accounts/audit requirements anyway.