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“We recommend the Mercia Group to our contacts as we feel that the audit manual they provide is extremely comprehensive whilst being easy to follow.”
Richard Morris - Partner, Lovewell Blake

Lovewell Blake employs over 225 staff at 7 offices in order to manage a portfolio of clients that range from small businesses and tax clients to large companies. Richard Morris is technical partner at the firm, and is jointly responsible for the quality control of audits. He chooses the Mercia Group audit manual as part of the practice audit procedures, together with their file peer review service.

The firms handles between 350 and 400 audits each year which means that Richard has to ensure that tight procedures are in place within the audit departments. He explains: “We have been involved with Mercia Group for some time and chose to use their audit manual after evaluating other products on the market. Our findings during evaluation showed that the Mercia audit manual was easily the most comprehensive available. We have now also been invited to work with Jane Everingham at Mercia Group, who chairs the audit manual committee, to help both update and enhance the audit manual product as we use it extensively. We make the manual available to all of our staff who handle audits and of course, send our staff on the Mercia Group audit update courses. It’s very beneficial to have the team using the manual that’s referred to on these courses as you are able to get an instant handle on any changes or updates”.

Richard uses the audit manual as the practice audit procedure manual and has been able to add the firm’s own letters and style to the manual. Says Richard “because of the size of our firm it has been important for us to be able to get one to one consulting with the audit manual product”.

Asked about the possible raising of the audit threshold and the impact this would have on the firm; Richard felt that whilst they potentially could reduce their audits down to 200 per annum if the threshold was raised to £4.8 million, many businesses would still choose to have an audit. “Many companies that we deal with need to raise finance and report back to shareholders and other group companies. Having an audit prepared independently is, therefore important to them regardless of whether they have a statutory requirement for one. Many business owners and board members want peace of mind and an audit provides that to them”.

Richard readily recommends both Mercia Group’s audit manual and their training courses to the Moores Rowland International Network and has found the team at Mercia to be professional and efficient. “We recommend the Mercia Group to our contacts as we feel that the audit manual they provide is extremely comprehensive whilst being easy to follow. We know that the manual is accurate as it is constantly updated, which gives our practice total peace of mind. The thrust of the Mercia development plan is based on enhancing the electronic version which provides for on-screen documentation completion. This innovative approach is one we enjoy working with”.

Click here for more information about the Mercia Audit Manual.