Have your accounts checked the way a lender or buyer will, before they do
For owners of established companies. I analyse up to five years of accounts, check the figures against your own records, and test the profit, cash and balance sheet a lender or buyer will rely on. With a 36-month business cash flow forecast built on what I find.
Limited scope. Due diligence on the records you provide, prepared for you. It is not an audit, and not a buyer’s full due diligence.
When you need one
- Before you borrow. A bank checks the same things. Go in with the answers.
- Before you sell or bring in investors. Know what their accountants will find, and fix it first.
- When the numbers don’t add up. Profit up but cash down, or balances no one can explain.
- When you want an independent check on your bookkeeping and management accounts.
What's in the report
- The financial and business analysis of up to five years of accounts
- The earnings, cash flow and balance sheet quality review, with a lender-style scorecard
- Due diligence on your records: management accounts agreed to the filed accounts, the bank against the ledgers, working capital and its normal level, net debt and debt-like items, cut-off, customers and suppliers, VAT and PAYE, director’s loans and payroll
- Trading since the year end
- A 36-month business cash flow forecast, built on the findings
- Recommendations in order of value, one follow-up email of questions and one round of changes
Don't have all of this? Most owners don't.
You need nothing to get a quote. Once you agree it, send what you have. The first draft is due 5 working days after I have your answers to the brief and your figures.
Essential
- Your last two or three years of filed accounts
- Management accounts for this year to date, and the last 12 months month by month
- Aged debtors and creditors
- A list of your loans and finance: lender, balance, repayments, end date and security
- Your top ten customers and their share of sales
- A payroll summary: headcount and monthly cost
Helpful
- Bank statements for the last three to six months
- Your last four VAT returns, if you are VAT-registered
- Your order book or sales pipeline
- Leases: property, vehicles and equipment
- Shareholders, and any shareholder agreement
- Key customer and supplier contracts
- What the owners are paid, and any one-off costs
No management accounts? You can still start. I work from your filed accounts and your last three months of bank statements, and the report says clearly what that limits.
What it costs
The fee depends on your size:
| Annual turnover | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Under £1m | £2,199 |
| £1m to £5m, or 10 to 24 staff | £3,549 |
| £5m to £15m, or 25 to 49 staff | £4,249 |
Find your band from your latest annual turnover, or your average number of employees if that puts you in a higher band. Over £15m turnover or 50 or more staff: a fixed quote on request. Groups: each extra trading company at half its band price, plus £649 for the group view.
Every quote is fixed in writing before I start. You pay nothing up front. When the report is ready I invoice, payable within 7 days, and send the final PDF once it's paid. Charities and CICs pay half price, to give back to the community.
The 5 in 1
This review plus a business plan and a sale readiness review, in one report: the financial and business analysis, the earnings, cash flow and balance sheet quality review, due diligence on your records, a business cash flow forecast, a business plan and a sale readiness review with an indicative value range.
| Annual turnover | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Under £1m | £4,949 |
| £1m to £5m, or 10 to 24 staff | £7,949 |
| £5m to £15m, or 25 to 49 staff | £9,349 |
About 38% less than buying all five separately, because they share one reading of your accounts and one forecast.
How it works
A free 10-minute call if you want one, or straight to the briefs by email. You send the standard brief and your records, most of which come straight from your bookkeeper. I send a fixed quote within 24 hours, then the first draft within 5 working days of receiving complete records. After delivery you can send one follow-up email with your questions.
Who can see it
The report is prepared for you. A lender, investor or buyer can see it once they have signed my standard release letter. Anyone who wants to rely on it agrees separate written terms with me first.
Selling in the next one to two years? See the sale readiness review →
Financial due diligence for a buyer
This review is for owners checking their own accounts. If you are buying a company, the buyer’s version checks the seller’s figures: quality of earnings, net debt and debt-like items, the normal working capital, tax and the questions to ask before you sign. From £2,699.
About this service
Is this an audit?
No. It is not an audit or any other assurance engagement. I test the records you provide, on a limited scope agreed in the engagement letter, and say what I checked and what I found.
What records do you need?
Monthly management accounts with a balance sheet, bank statements, aged debtors and creditors, sales by customer, VAT returns and payroll summaries, the year-end adjustments and tax computations from your accountant, and a few documents from you, such as contracts and leases. Most of it comes straight from your bookkeeper. Read-only access to your bookkeeping software is the quickest route.
Is this a valuation?
No. This review does not include a value. An indicative value range, not a formal valuation, is part of the sale readiness review and the 5 in 1.
Can a lender, investor or buyer rely on it?
The report is prepared for you. A lender, investor or buyer can see it once they have signed my standard release letter. Anyone who wants to rely on it must first agree separate terms with me in writing, including a limit on my liability.
How is this different from the business loan review?
That uses your filed accounts and the management figures you give me as you provide them. This review checks those figures against your records: the bank, the ledgers, working capital, debt, tax and payroll. It adds a list of what a lender or buyer will query.
Is my information confidential? Can you sign an NDA?
Yes. I am bound by the ICAEW Code of Ethics, which requires integrity, objectivity and confidentiality. Everything you send me stays between us, and I will sign an NDA before you share any documents, at no charge.
More questions, including fees, confidentiality and timing, in the main FAQ.