COMMON QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT VAT AND ACADEMIES
Helen Channer
7 minute read
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We work with a range of organisations across the NFP sector from academies and independent schools to charities and museums going beyond general compliance to understand the unique needs of your organisation.
Our work in the Not for Profit sector comes with one, simple ‘why’. We want to take any worries away from your world. So you can free up your time and people to keep making a real difference.
Now, more than ever, Not for Profit organisations need advisers who offer more than technical knowledge to keep them compliant. They need advisers who have real understanding of your challenges. Who respond quickly and with a depth of knowledge and experience. We can help. We have well-established connections throughout the UK that can benefit your organisation.
We’re proud to say we’ve built a long list of relationships across the whole Not for Profit spectrum – from academies, independent schools and student unions, to charities, museums and cathedrals. And it’s this experience we’ll use to keep you innovative, ahead of regulation, and never without an answer to “what’s next?”
We’re even prouder of what our work is helping our clients to achieve. Using our expertise to review and fine-tune your systems, processes and governance, you’ll be able to deliver maximum value to your beneficiaries and make strides towards your charitable aims.
We understand the Not for Profit sector is all about creating social value and helping others to reap the rewards. That’s why we love supporting organisations like yours – organisations who make a real difference to the world we live in.
We know every penny counts and any reductions in your income will have a serious impact on the way you deliver services and projects to those who need it most. So, now, more than ever, you want to make sure you’re using all your available resources correctly, smartly, and efficiently.
We know how to build teams and work with clients remotely. We’re committed to ensuring a seamless approach. We like to become part of your team – you’ll even think we’re in the same room as you. We can adapt our approach to suit your needs. Way before working from home was a thing because of Coronavirus we put in place our ‘WORKING FROM ANYWHERE.
ANYTIME. FOREVER’ policy. It goes beyond the traditional hybrid working that we’ve all become familiar with. We believe in our people and secure IT systems. They can be based anywhere and still deliver an excellent service for you. We do have some pretty cool offices even if we do say so ourselves. We’d love you to come visit.
Put simply, we know all about the ins and outs of the sector, and we’ll use that knowledge to form a partnership that adds real value for you. We have a dedicated and specialist Not for Profit audit team who are already working with organisations like yours.
Across Cooper Parry we have other tax specialists, particularly in VAT, who have worked closely with charities and educational organisations for many years. Helping them minimise and manage tax and VAT liabilities. There are many misconceptions about charities and tax. Not least of all that charities don’t have to pay VAT. It’s not that simple!
We can also advise on what to include in your trustees’ reports, plus interactive webinars and timely emails on sector developments and interpretation of government or sector funding and charity accounting guidance.
It all comes in our usual, jargon-busting style to make sure your staff, trustees and members understand the key themes. And if you’d ever like to have a chat or ask a few questions, we’re all ears, all year round – with no ‘ticking clock’ or pesky bills adding up.
Why? Because our award-winning culture is built on one, powerful premise: happy, engaged people produce the best work. And they always will.
Our people across Cooper Parry, not just our dedicated Not for Profit team, are committed to supporting the work of charities and educational organisations. Many of them volunteer their time and expertise locally. Giving back is part of our DNA at Cooper Parry, which is why we’ve joined forces with onHand the online volunteering app. As a company, we want to start doing more good in the local community and leaving a positive impact.
We’re committed to diversity and inclusion. As a company we want to create a workplace that’s free of discrimination and harassment. We try to ensure that diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we treat our people. It’s underwritten with an Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy. We value everyone’s contribution, no matter their age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion or belief, gender reassignment, marital status or pregnancy. We want everyone to have an equal opportunity to feel valued and respected. We want everyone to shine.
We’re passionate about doing our bit to reduce waste and pollution so we help protect the planet. We want to build our business so its sustainable and helps the earth flourish. The issue of climate change has been in the news a lot recently and more than ever businesses have no choice but to take responsibility for their contribution. We all need to properly take stock and change the way we work to benefit future generations.
We’re committed to using CP as a force for good. Measuring our impact at all levels, across all stakeholders, and holding ourselves to the highest standards – for our people, clients, communities, and the environment. That’s why we’re proud to be the UK’s largest accountancy B Corp, joining the business movement tackling society’s greatest challenges.
As well as taking a collaborative approach to how we work with our clients we’ve also built strong relationships within the Not for Profit sector. Here are some useful links including:
CFG the charity that inspires a financially confident, dynamic and trustworthy charity sector. We’re members and are signed up to their commitment to help champion best practice, nurture leadership and influence policy makers.
ESFA brings together the former responsibilities of the Education Funding Agency and Skills Funding Agency to create a single agency accountable for funding education and skills for children, young people and adults. We’re members of the ESFA
Auditor Forum, which provides direct interaction on financial reporting, regularity issues and sector developments.
ASCL represents and support more than 21,000 school and college leaders.
ISBL aims to provide the sector with confidence in the school business leadership community through a framework of qualifications underpinned by Professional Standards, linked to membership categories, and practitioners with the professional recognition and status they deserve.
IHE is the UK membership organisation and national representative body for independent providers of higher education, professional training and pathways.
We’re active partners of ASCL and ISBL, regularly taking part in their conferences, running webinars for their members, and sharing our knowledge on the issues the charity and education sectors face.
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“Andy and Dan established a comprehensive audit plan with realistic timelines. Their communication was professional and supportive throughout, resulting in a highly collaborative process. The AFR will support us in making improvements to our practices..”
“I have only had very limited time working together but it has all gone smoothly.”
“The audit this year was the best yet – intensive, efficient, proactive and felt like a true partnership – with not just an audit but assistance and support and completely open dialogue. Both parties are aware of the costs – they are high but this year went some way to make it justifiable and worthy.”
“Very responsive. Ensure that staff on audit have “not for profit experience”. It is harder for a client when the audit team are not based in the UK.”
“Good communication, timely input, available when we need you..”
“Communications were great and they helped me every step of the way. This was the first time doing an audit and Will and Andy helped me every step of the way. We also put a lot of pressure on Cooper Parry to help us get this submitted in time and they went above and beyond at every step.”
“We have been going through a difficult period at the school which made our 2023 audit very challenging. The team at Cooper Parry showed a high level of empathy and understanding and worked with us to help facilitate a smooth audit process which we are very grateful for. They have continued to offer support throughout the year following offering advise and alleviating any concerns that we have had regarding the financial impact of the school’s situation. We would highly recommend them.”
“Staff and management was very supportive throughout the Audit process. Communication process was vey simple and supportive to meet the deadlines.”
“Happy with the level of communication, which is sometimes difficult to get right.”
“I really like the inflo management system, it makes dealing with requests very easy and ensures that data is transferred securely. I like the visual details on the dashboard section to show how the audit is progressing.”