Audit ripoff

An audit is a necessary requirement to be able to demonstrate to sundry stakeholders and funding bodies that the books are in order; but I think some audit firms are charging outrageous fees for what is very simple work.

Last financial year I constructed the whole set of SORP accounts (Balance Sheet, SOFA, Notes to the Accounts etc.) on an Excel spreadsheet with every figure linking to the appropriate line in the trial balance; these sundry spreadsheets were then pasted into the complete Annual Report and Accounts.

All the auditor had to do was check a few figures against original records, negotiate an acceptable conclusion to couple of issues and give us the OK.

The fee? £3,100 - and we submitted the return ourselves to Companies House and the Charity Commission. This fee is only slightly more expensive than that quoted from other auditors: a cartel perhaps?

This year we have amended our constitution to permit an independent examination instead of a full audit for which indicative quotes amount to about £1,000; not a vast figure but it could just make the difference between solvency and liquidation.