Charities & Not for Profit

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

"Peters Elworthy & Moore (PEM) has worked closely with the charity as Auditors and Advisers. The audit is carried out in a professional manner and we have regular contact during the course of the year. We operate with a wholly owned trading subsidiary and we have received advice concerning trading issues and gift aid requirements. Excellent support has also been provided in dealing with Trustee responsibilities and we have been kept fully informed on legislation changes. As advisers, PEM has built up a comprehensive knowledge of our charity and are always readily available to deal with our regular questions. This ensures that we are able to manage the Charity's affairs successfully."

Bressingham Steam Preservation Trust

"PEM are accountants and auditors for Bressingham Steam Preservation Trust. As a charity with a mix of heritage and leisure attractions, we have an unusual mix of VAT exemptions, zero-ratings and full VAT liability. During the last audit PEM suggested that we might be paying VAT on certain projects, where we should be eligible to reclaim the tax.

We therefore asked PEM VAT Services to take up the case for us for the refund of VAT. This was a complicated matter which required considerable research and the complication of a compelling case to be submitted to HMRC.

PEM VAT Services undertook this task with tenacity and the anticipated attention to detail. As a result, HRMC carried out an inspection during which PEM VAT Services were present and provided the technical answers required. The case was proved in our favour and a substantial refund paid within weeks.

This was an excellent example of PEM working closely with its client to ensure a highly satisfactory outcome."

Cambridge University Pension Scheme

"What we particularly like about working with PEM is that they provide continuity of experienced staff and partners who deal with our affairs. These individuals are experts in the pension scheme sector and provide us with a tailored audit that both meets all our statutory requirements and fits our needs. They always provide clear and constructive feedback to our Trustees."

DHIVERSE

"When I took over the running of the Charity last year, one of the first things I wanted to address immediately was financial accounting and project cost tracking. It seemed to me that running a charity was every bit as stringent as running a commercial business. In some ways it is even more stringent because every penny has to be accounted for by the charity for the fund providers and the clients we serve.

I turned to PEM because I had worked with the team before and knew they would be cost effective, efficient, attentive and above all accurate. In the first year, they have been excellent to work with and supported us through my first Charity Commission."

FORCE Cancer Charity

"We shall forever be indebted to PEM VAT Services for their successful negotiations on our behalf with HM Customs and Excise. We needed to build a new cancer support and information centre in Exeter and it was not clear whether the building work qualified for relief of VAT. The imposition of VAT at 17.5% would have meant postponing the project for at least 12 months. However, following lengthy and difficult negotiations with HM Customs & Excise over a period of 18 months, PEM obtained confirmation that zero rating was appropriate. PEM's help, forbearance and support in dealing with this matter during this difficult time was greatly appreciated. So far as local cancer patients, their carers and their families are concerned the favourable VAT position obtained by PEM will have a profound and beneficial effect on their lives."

School, Chairman of Governors

"We were hugely grateful for the help PEM gave the school during the period between bursars. It was targeted most intelligently, enabling both the Assistant Bursar to build on her grip of the detail and a bunch of anxious governors to satisfy themselves about the bigger picture."

The Burlington School

"The firm is very efficient and professional. Every client is dealt with as if they were a VIP. The staff are very helpful and knowledgeable and always check to see that returns are made on time. We are always kept fully informed about our tax and accounting matters. The Burlington School is a medium sized school based in Fulham, London. We were established in 1990, and until we instructed PEM in 1995, we had been dissatisfied with our accountants. With our international profile we have both local and international accounting requirements. We needed a firm of accountants who understood the needs of our business and Peters Elworthy and Moore impressed me with their aptitude and knowledge in this area. They have not disappointed me, and I can unreservedly recommend them."

The Cambridge Centre for Languages

"We have been using the professional services of PEM for many years because they are efficient, reliable and quick."

The Thomas Deacon Academy

"The Thomas Deacon Academy opened in September 2007 as the largest of the schools created by the Government's Academy Programme. With 2200 students aged 11-18, the Academy serves Central and Eastern Peterborough whilst drawing students from across the city.

PEM has acted as auditors for the Academy since 2005. In addition to the statutory audit PEM have assisted us in preparing the statutory financial statements as well as been on hand to deal with routine compliance work. Having substantial capital expenditure costs due to major construction work, the Academy had to follow a particularly complicated accounting process with time pressures added into the equation.

Led and managed throughout by PEM Audit Partner Roger Guthrie and his team who consisted of Manager Lee Gilbert and Assistant Manager Katie Webber, PEM was able to meet all the deadlines imposed upon us.

Being available for Board Meetings, offering a flexible and proactive service as well as having the experience and skills for a project of this nature, PEM has certainly exceeded our expectations of an independent firm of Accountants."