Actually WinForecast will still work on more modern versions of Windows you just need to follow the instructions on the Sage help to faff about with certain registry files and install via the Command Prompt. Whilst you may not have the physical program you may actually still have this in your available downloads if you log into your original My Sage account as a legacy piece of software.
We experienced a similar issue. The IRIS welcome emails had all been blocked by the spam filter. Once we found these it was straightforward from there.
We are in the same boat having just transitioned over to IRIS Elements from Taxfiler. In the short term i.e. until the end of this tax return season we'll stick with Elements as its being maintained at the same price as Taxfiler for now and seems to be very similar in terms of user experience.
We are currently looking at Taxcalc as an alternative solution.
How have you filled in the calendar in BP? Have you entered one continuous period of sickness from the 2nd to the 12th or have you left the weekend out and effectively included 2 periods?
If you're serious about entering this area you need to familiarise yourself with the various rules that will apply and importantly be aware of the timescales and the auditor responsibilities. You may want to consider having a look at:
Its not black and white and you as the auditor need to make the call and be able to stand by it. Its all down to the nature of the work and the safeguards you have in place. The independence section of your audit planning should give you a steer on this.
There is a world of difference between giving some advice on say P11d benefits and helping the client implement a new accounting system and processes.
Actually for a one off like this I would just customise your own VT workbook template from a company template. You'll find the columns are all already set up you just need to move a few things around and you'll have space for your company figures and your consolidated figures side by side. The holding company data can read from the VT transaction file and the consolidated data can come in as a separate TB on your workbook. All you need are some basic excel skills and a reasonable understanding of VT.
Run a disclosure checklist to make sure you're picking up all the right narrative and notes and job done.
You might want to grab some model group accounts as a template if you need some additional comfort. I would recommend the "Deloitte Model Annual Report and Financial Statements for Unlisted Groups" as a good starting point.
Where solicitors are using Xero for the bookkeeping we tend to see them also utilising a separate package for the office and client matter side of affairs such as Leap or Actionstep which will link to Xero. This will make it much easier to ensure compliance with the accounts rules and I'd recommend this even if the level of client money transactions is low.
Where the client account is recognised within Xero to facilitate the practical day to day tracking of the transactions there should be a matching client funds nominal account and the accounts should always mirror one another. These then cancel one another out when you come to use the Xero data for the year end accounts preparation.
My answers
Actually WinForecast will still work on more modern versions of Windows you just need to follow the instructions on the Sage help to faff about with certain registry files and install via the Command Prompt. Whilst you may not have the physical program you may actually still have this in your available downloads if you log into your original My Sage account as a legacy piece of software.
David,
We experienced a similar issue. The IRIS welcome emails had all been blocked by the spam filter. Once we found these it was straightforward from there.
We are in the same boat having just transitioned over to IRIS Elements from Taxfiler. In the short term i.e. until the end of this tax return season we'll stick with Elements as its being maintained at the same price as Taxfiler for now and seems to be very similar in terms of user experience.
We are currently looking at Taxcalc as an alternative solution.
Just been confirmed by IRIS that this functionality does not exist in the current IRIS Elements system despite being available in Taxfiler.
How have you filled in the calendar in BP? Have you entered one continuous period of sickness from the 2nd to the 12th or have you left the weekend out and effectively included 2 periods?
Just had one of these this morning.
If you're serious about entering this area you need to familiarise yourself with the various rules that will apply and importantly be aware of the timescales and the auditor responsibilities. You may want to consider having a look at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/academies-accounts-direction
Its not black and white and you as the auditor need to make the call and be able to stand by it. Its all down to the nature of the work and the safeguards you have in place. The independence section of your audit planning should give you a steer on this.
There is a world of difference between giving some advice on say P11d benefits and helping the client implement a new accounting system and processes.
Actually for a one off like this I would just customise your own VT workbook template from a company template. You'll find the columns are all already set up you just need to move a few things around and you'll have space for your company figures and your consolidated figures side by side. The holding company data can read from the VT transaction file and the consolidated data can come in as a separate TB on your workbook. All you need are some basic excel skills and a reasonable understanding of VT.
Run a disclosure checklist to make sure you're picking up all the right narrative and notes and job done.
You might want to grab some model group accounts as a template if you need some additional comfort. I would recommend the "Deloitte Model Annual Report and Financial Statements for Unlisted Groups" as a good starting point.
Peter,
Where solicitors are using Xero for the bookkeeping we tend to see them also utilising a separate package for the office and client matter side of affairs such as Leap or Actionstep which will link to Xero. This will make it much easier to ensure compliance with the accounts rules and I'd recommend this even if the level of client money transactions is low.
Where the client account is recognised within Xero to facilitate the practical day to day tracking of the transactions there should be a matching client funds nominal account and the accounts should always mirror one another. These then cancel one another out when you come to use the Xero data for the year end accounts preparation.