Sunday, September 1, 2013

Can a limited company use a bookkeeper rather than a chartered accountant?

Can a limited company use a bookkeeper rather than a chartered accountant?

Other - Business & Finance - 6 Answers
People Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
Answer 1 :
Sure, Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are an organization’s financial recordkeepers. They update and maintain one or more accounting records, including those which tabulate expenditures, receipts, accounts payable and receivable, and profit and loss. They represent a wide range of skills and knowledge from full-charge bookkeepers who can maintain an entire company’s books to accounting clerks who handle specific accounts. All of these clerks make numerous computations each day and increasingly must be comfortable using computers to calculate and record data.In small establishments, bookkeeping clerks handle all financial transactions and recordkeeping. They record all transactions, post debits and credits, produce financial statements, and prepare reports and summaries for supervisors and managers. Bookkeepers also prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to the bank. They also may handle payroll, make purchases, prepare invoices, and keep track of overdue accounts.In large offices and accounting departments, accounting clerks have more specialized tasks. Their titles, such as accounts payable clerk or accounts receivable clerk, often reflect the type of accounting they do. In addition, their responsibilities vary by level of experience. Entry-level accounting clerks post details of transactions, total accounts, and compute interest charges. They also may monitor loans and accounts to ensure that payments are up to date. More advanced accounting clerks may total, balance, and reconcile billing vouchers; ensure the completeness and accuracy of data on accounts; and code documents according to company procedures. These workers post transactions in journals and on computer files and update the files when needed. Senior clerks also review computer printouts against manually maintained journals and make necessary corrections. They may review invoices and statements to ensure that all the information appearing on them is accurate and complete, and they may reconcile computer reports with operating reports. Auditing clerks verify records of transactions posted by other workers. They check figures, postings, and documents to ensure that they are correct, mathematically accurate, and properly coded. They also correct or note errors for accountants or other workers to adjust.
Answer 2 :
I'm an engineer not an accountant but common sense tells me you can have bookkeepers on staff doing the day to day record keeping, payroll, accounts receiveable, etc. There will be some rule that says you must be audited by a certified accountant every year or second year??? Not bad for an engineer.
Answer 3 :
Yes - of course - however, at year end the "bookeeper" will have to issue statements - also for taxes purposes the government will want to see either audited or non audited statements for your company (and trust me on this one - been there done that) if the company statements are issued from a known & reputable chartered accountant's house - then the likelyhood of you ever being audited is just about zero....so for day to day of course a bookeeper or even yourself is good enough - but for income tax purposes/year end statements financials etc - go safe & hire a chartered accountant!
Answer 4 :
Yes, an LTD company can use a bookkeeper. However for the year end (and other "important" details they may choose to use an accountant's office. (would also depend on how qualified their bookkeeper is.
Answer 5 :
of cause it can. because if he employ the use of chartered accountant it will cost in more money to pay is salary.
Answer 6 :
It depends. As far a regulation, you need an accountant if you are registered With the Companies House or the Stock Exchange and need to file yearly statements. As far as good practice, depends how large is your turnover. If you must be VAT registered you really need to know the rules very well, so it would be sensible to have a qualified accountant or auditor to advise you. The key point is: any bookkeper can do your accounts however big or small you are; but in the situations above you should get professional advice and internal auditing to do it right.

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