Accounting and finance

A finance function starts with reconciled records

Reporting quality depends on the completeness of source records and the consistency of accounting decisions. We establish the covered entities, systems, periods and closing responsibilities before work begins.

Start with the condition of your records and the decision or deliverable you need. A backlog, a reporting gap and a system migration can require different assignments even when they involve the same ledger. The scope should identify who supplies records, approves changes and owns ongoing follow-up.

Choose the level of support

Bookkeeping maintains the record. A monthly close reconciles it. Management reporting explains it. CFO support uses that information for planning and decisions. Audit readiness organises the evidence for an independently appointed auditor.

• Keep current records reliable: bookkeeping and monthly close, with payroll accounting and inventory or asset schedules where included.
• Resolve a historical backlog: accounting cleanup identifies evidence gaps and corrections before handing the records back to a recurring process.
• Understand results and plan: management reporting, cash-flow planning and a defined virtual-CFO engagement.
• Prepare year-end or group reporting: statement preparation, consolidation support and separately scoped audit readiness.
• Improve the process: controls review examines selected workflows; systems implementation addresses configuration, migration and handover.

Keep company audit and accounting support distinct

Section 144 of the Companies Act restricts services a company’s appointed auditor can provide directly or indirectly to that company, its holding company or subsidiaries. Prohibited categories include bookkeeping, internal audit, financial-information-system design and implementation, outsourced financial services and management services. Board or audit-committee approval does not permit a prohibited category.

Identify the appointed auditor and relevant firm or network relationships when scoping work; using a separate service name does not by itself resolve the indirect-service provisions. The engagement must establish who can provide the proposed work.

Companies Act, section 144 and its explanation — consulted 1 October 2026.

Prepare the first discussion

Bring the entity list, periods involved, accounting systems, recent reports and the problem you need to resolve. Describe the state of reconciliations, known missing records and the business team available to answer questions. An initial description is enough for the public enquiry; detailed accounting and employee records belong in an agreed private channel.

We use those facts to define outputs, responsibilities and exclusions. Recurring packages and assignment-specific proposals should be read alongside that scope; no audit opinion, filing, software subscription or historical reconstruction is assumed merely from the heading “accounting support”.