Statutory & External Audit

A statutory audit is a legal requirement for thousands of UK companies every year, but the difference between audit firms is not the opinion on the last page — it is everything before it. How much of your finance team's time the process consumes, whether questions arrive once or in five uncoordinated rounds, and whether anyone tells you what the audit actually found about your business.

Acumon runs audits the way they should run: planned early, scoped honestly, delivered through a digital portal with data analytics doing the heavy lifting, and closed with a partner conversation about what we saw — not just a signed opinion and an invoice.

Who Needs a Statutory Audit

UK companies need a statutory audit when they exceed two of three thresholds in consecutive years — for financial years beginning on or after 6 April 2025: £15m turnover, £7.5m total assets and 50 employees. Audits are also required regardless of size for many regulated businesses, for some group members, and where shareholders holding 10% or more demand one. Others choose audit voluntarily because lenders, investors or an approaching sale expect it. If you are unsure which side of the line you sit on, we will tell you — the group rules in particular catch companies that believe they are exempt.

What Our External Audit Involves

Every audit is planned around your risks, not a generic checklist: we agree scope, timetable and information requests before fieldwork starts, so nothing arrives as a surprise in the busiest week of your year. Fieldwork runs through our secure client portal with the Inflo analytics platform, which tests whole populations of transactions rather than small samples — meaning fewer follow-up requests for your team and better evidence for our opinion. You get a named partner and a consistent team who return year after year.

Audit Compliance Without the Drag

Audit compliance is cumulative: accounting standards move, disclosure requirements grow, and each year's file has to stand up to FRC-grade quality review. Because our team audits listed entities and Public Interest Entities, the methodology applied to every client is built to that standard — which in practice means fewer restatements, fewer late surprises and an audit file your next lender or buyer can rely on.

From Owner-Managed to Listed

The audit team acts for owner-managed companies, UK subsidiaries of overseas groups, charities and not-for-profits, regulated financial services businesses and ten London-listed entities. That breadth matters even if you are nowhere near a listing: the sector knowledge, the technical resource and the quality bar all come as standard, whatever your size.

An Audit That Tells You Something

The statutory opinion is the legal product; the insight is the value. We close every audit with a clear report to management and a partner-level conversation covering what the numbers show, where controls are weak, and what we would fix first. Where the audit surfaces tax, VAT or structural opportunities, the rest of the firm is in the same building — the finding does not die in a PDF.

What You Get With Acumon

• ICAEW-registered, FRC-authorised audit practice with a PIE licence
• Named audit partner and a consistent team, year after year
• Planning, timetable and information requests agreed before fieldwork starts
• Inflo data analytics — whole-population testing, fewer sample requests
• Secure digital portal instead of email chains and site disruption
• Experience from £1m owner-managed companies to London-listed groups
• Clear management reporting and a partner debrief at the end of every audit
• Tax, VAT and advisory specialists on hand when the audit finds something

Why Acumon for Statutory & External Audit?

• ICAEW-registered audit practice, FRC-authorised for PIE audits, Jersey and Isle of Man Recognised Auditor
• Team of 70 audit professionals, more than half from top-4 and top-5 firms
• Audit portfolio includes 10 listed entities including Sharp Electronics, Linguaphone and Kuoni
• Serves organisations with £1m-£500m UK turnover
• Uses the Inflo digital audit platform and a specialist client audit portal

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.