Contents A.1A GuidanceA.1 ContentsA.2 Getting started guide for new manual usersA.3 What's changed

B CommentaryB.1 Commentary on Charities Independent Examination Toolkit

C Example lettersC.1 Covering letterC.2 Standard terms of businessC.3 Limited company (England and Wales) Independent ExaminationC.4 Unincorporated charity and CIO (England and Wales) Independent ExaminationC.5 Limited company, unincorporated charity and SCIO (Scotland) Independent ExaminationC.6 Limited company (Northern Ireland) Independent ExaminationC.7 Unincorporated charity (Northern Ireland) Independent ExaminationC.8 Schedule of professional services – Independent Examiner also performs compilation servicesC.9 Management representation letter

D Example reportsD.1 Limited company (England and Wales)D.2 Unincorporated or CIO charity (England and Wales) accrualsD.3 Unincorporated or CIO charity (England and Wales) receipts and payments basisD.4 Limited company (England and Wales) small groupD.5 Unincorporated or CIO charity (England and Wales) small groupD.6 Charity (Scotland) both accruals and receipts and payments basisD.7 Limited company (Northern Ireland)D.8 Unincorporated charity (Northern Ireland) accruals and receipts and payments basisD.9 Balance sheet audit exemption statement (UK except Scotland)D.10 Report to management

E Accounts Disclosure ChecklistsE.1 Checklist summaryE.2 SORP 2015 (periods commencing before 1 January 2019)E.2A SORP 2019 (periods commencing on or after 1 January 2019)E.3 Receipts and payments basis

F Work Programme

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Contents A.1F.1 Work programme

G.1 Commentary on accounting and reporting requirements flowcharts

Copyright@ Mercia Group Ltd. The guidance notes and / or checklists can be photocopied as many times as you like, or installed on an intranet or network, provided they are used solely within the purchasing firm.  Alternatively, additional copies are available from Mercia Group Ltd.

A.2 Getting started for new manual users

Introducing a new and improved way to access some of our productsWe are delighted to present to you our new online platform, found within our existing website, from which you can access some of our methodology and compliance products which you subscribe to.To access your methodology and compliance products all you need to do is log into the Mercia Group website and click on My methodology and compliance products under Dashboard on the right hand side, as before. For My methodology and compliance products please ensure you click View more and download:

Once within My methodology and compliance products for one of the products listed above, please click Open Manual and the manual will automatically open:

Once clicked Open Manual, this allows you to navigate, view and download the entire manual, or parts of it, via our website.

There are two ways of consuming the manuals:

Charities Independent Examination Toolkit Manual September 23

• Browse;• Customise.

BrowseOur easy to use Browse function allows you to view the entire manual online and also gives you the ability to target specific parts of the manual more efficiently. One way this can be done is by clicking on the orange underlined text (typically on a contents page or embedded within the text of the manual where a related section is referenced), this will take you directly to the section referred to.  It should be noted that using the ‘back’ button within your browser will not return you back to the section where you clicked the link, as you have been navigated internally on the same web page.

Alternatively, you can use the menu on the left-hand side to access specific areas, pressing the “+” or “-” icons to expand or collapse sections then clicking on the section you wish to read. Should you click a section which has subsections within it (as indicated by the “+” or “-” icons being shown) then all the subsections will also be loaded (for example clicking ‘B1 Accounts preparation’ would load that section, plus ‘Contents’, ‘B1.1 Introductions’, ‘B1.2 Planning and Control’ etc.).

Where a “>” icon is displayed, this indicates you are not able to expand this section further. 

By selecting either the Word or PDF icons within the menu, you will be able to download specific areas in your desired format (as above, this will also include any subsections of the area you have selected).

In addition, there is an Expand all and Collapse all tool located at the bottom to aid with navigation using this option.

Where the manual includes attachments (typically templates, forms and other documents), you are able to access and download these through several methods:

1. Expanding the Attachments section within the left-hand menu under each chapter and clicking the icon.2. Clicking the Attachments highlighted in the blue box within each section (where there are a large number of attachments you may need to click the

Show all option for these to be displayed on screen).3. In addition, where attachments have been referenced within the content of the manual the Attachments are also hyperlinked in orange throughout the

manual. Clicking on any of these options will automatically download the relevant attachment.

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When viewing content in the browse tab, you have the option Maximise the page, which will remove the standard website boarders and allow more content to be displayed on screen.

Selecting the Minimise option will then return you to the normal website view.

CustomiseYou can also use the Customise tab to download the manual in its entirety, or specific parts of it, by using the tick boxes next to the relevant section select the areas you wish to download.  As in the browse tab , pressing the “+” or “-” icons will expand or collapse sections, where a “>” icon is displayed, this indicates you are not able to expand this section further and there is an Expand all and Collapse all tool located at the bottom to aid with navigation using this option.

When selecting a section of content which has subsection (as indicated by the “+” or “-” icons being shown) all the subsections will be preselected to be included within the download, although users have the option to deselect any sections they wish to exclude by clicking on the tick box against that section. You also have the option to select all or specific Attachments by ticking or unticking these as desired. 

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In those manuals aimed in assisting with client engagements, it is possible to create and download the documents as a client or firm-tailored pack. This can be done via Options menu on the right-hand side where you can enter client’s / firm’s name in the relevant input field and if applicable, the financial year end date. These are then displayed in the header of the downloaded documents.

Once you have finished selecting the areas you wish to include in the download, you then choose either a Word or PDF format, by selecting the relevant option in the Options menu on the right-hand side of the Customise tab.  It should be noted that the choice of Word or PDF is not applicable to any attachments and these will be downloaded in their pre-set format regardless of the option selected when choosing a download format.

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The customised documents are pulled into a zipped up folder for you to save in your preferred location, with any attachments selected being included within a subfolder.

We hope you find our new online platform useful and more efficient to navigate.

For details of the fully paperless versions of the manual available, where all programmes can be completed on screen and stored digitally please visit our website at https://www.mercia-group.com/.

 

Contact usAdministration or product related queries: technicalmanuals@mercia-group.com

IT related queries: David Hirst at david.hirst@mercia-group.com or Doris Vargas at doris.vargas@mercia-group.com

Mercia website login details requests: onlineservices@mercia-group.com

Telephone: 0330 058 7141

Charities Independent Examination Toolkit Manual September 23

What's changed A.3March 2021 changesRecent changes to this manual are set out below.

Updated area

Guidance

Contents - Contents page updated for the changes made in this update.

Guidance notes - Updated the accounts and scrutiny sections (including the appendices) for clarification of requirements.

- Updated the reporting to the regulator section for changes in the timing of reports and where to send reports based on the latest guidance.

- Other minor typographical and formatting updates.

What's changed - A copy of this guidance has been added.

Example letters

All - Updated language for gender neutrality.

Standard terms of business - Updated for changes in relation to Brexit.

Example reports

All- Updated for gender neutrality.

- Restructured reports for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Accounts disclosure checklists

All - Updated to reflect that some sections were not visible through our new method of delivery.

SORP 2019 (periods commencing on or after 1 January 2019) - Updated for the FRC’s Amendments to FRS 102: UK exit from the European Union and the requirement to disclose of early adoption of these amendments, where applicable.

- [Charitable companies only] Updated to show that disclosure of total contributions to non-UK political parties (rather than non-EU) is required for accounting periods commencing on or after 1 January 2021.

Work programme

C1 Planning checklist - Updated for references to PF1 New client checklist and confirmation that due diligence forms

C2 Audit exemption eligibility checklist - Minor update to clarify requirements

PF1 New client checklist - New client checklist added for completeness.

B15 Whistle blowing - Reporting to the regulator checklist - Updated for changes in the timing of reports.

Other recent changes to this manual are set out below.

Date Updated Version Why Updated?

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What's changed A.3December 2020 E.2A SORP 2019 Disclosure checklist

Updated for FRC's Amendments to FRS 102 - COVID-19-related rent concessions,  Amendments to FRS 102 – Interest rate benchmark reform and Amendments to FRS 102 - Multi-employer defined benefit plans.

July 2020 Throughout the manual Restructure throughout the manual to improve the user experience and to facilitate the new system of product delivery.

Minor amendments to wording, formatting and deletion of dead links throughout the manual due to the new system of product delivery and best practice amendments.

Guidance - Contents Contents page updated to reflect the new format.

Guidance - Getting started for new manual users New guide for the new system of product delivery.

Guidance - What's changed Updated this guide for the changes noted here.

Commentary Minor amendments to content, mainly to how the Charities SORP is referred to.

Example reports - Independent Examination reports

Example reports have been split further and reorganised to provide an example letter by country within the UK, split between incorporated / unincorporated charities and accruals / receipts and payments basis.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Cover letter

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular cover letter guidance updated to make it clear that the standard terms of the business should be reviewed and tailored to the specific circumstances of the engagement rather than firm/client.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Standard terms of business

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular applicable law paragraph updated to include the Contract (Third Party Rights)(Scotland) Act 2017.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Limited company (England and Wales)

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a change how the Charities SORP is referred to and to make reference to ICAEW TECH 09/13 AAF (Revised) within Limitation of liability section.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Unincorporated charity and CIO (England and Wales)

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a to change how the Charities SORP is referred to, to refer to SORP within 2.1 and to make reference to ICAEW TECH 09/13 AAF (Revised) within Limitation of liability section.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Limited company and unincorporated (Scotland)

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a change how the Charities SORP is referred to and to make reference to ICAEW TECH 09/13 AAF (Revised) within Limitation of liability section.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Limited company (Northern Ireland)

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a change how the Charities SORP is referred to and to make reference to ICAEW TECH 09/13 AAF (Revised) within Limitation of liability section.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Unincorporated charity (Northern Ireland)

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a change how the Charities SORP is referred to, to refer to SORP within 2.1 and to make reference to ICAEW TECH 09/13 AAF (Revised) within Limitation of liability section.

Example letters - Engagement letter - Independent examiner performing accounts compilation services

A number of amendments to reflect best practice and standardise engagement letters across the Mercia product range, in particular a change how the Charities SORP is referred to.

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