Assurance and advice are at the heart of what we do. Services such as audit, financial reporting and risk management advice give your business the stability you need to manage effectively and achieve your goals.

Is SJ the choice for you?
Our assurance and advisory team provides an expert service to many different organisations, both in the private and public sectors.

What do we offer?
In simple terms, here is what our assurance and advisory (A&A) team will do for you.

Assurance
When you are a decision maker, you need to be sure you are acting on reliable information. You need to be aware of your business risks and know that they are managed effectively. You need faith in your underlying systems and controls, and the certainty that you are compliant with key legal requirements. Moreover, you need to be able to instil your shareholders, investors and customers with the same confidence. We can give you the assurance you need.

Advisory
Whatever your vision, your accounting and control systems need to be tailored to suit it. We can help you design and improve your systems and arrangements to meet your needs, anticipating problems and finding solutions. We help ensure that your creative ideas make sense financially.

Statutory audit and Non-statutory audit
A robust audit process is vital in order to demonstrate the integrity and accuracy of reported financial information.


What do we offer?
SJ can perform both statutory and non-statutory audits.

Statutory audit is designed to provide a reasonable level of assurance to users of accounts. Most organisations are required to prepare at least annual financial statements to record their activities. Often other reporting is also required; for example, on the spend relating to individual grants, or to satisfy the needs of a regulator or other interested party. Our audit and supplementary audit services will help you meet regulatory requirements, as well as the particular needs of your organisation.

Organisations for which an audit is not a legal requirement may still decide to have an audit for a number of reasons (outlined below). 

How do you benefit?

Meeting regulatory requirements is, of course, paramount, and this is why a robust statutory audit is essential. However, even where audit is not a formal requirement, it is very valuable. It can:

• help you meet your stakeholders’ expectations
• help you identify and address financial and system issues
• facilitate effective governance
• give you reliable information on which to base critical decisions.

Business risk services - including internal audit and risk management
Managing risk, demonstrating performance and having effective management systems are all key to an organisation’s success. For many, they are now also a regulatory requirement.

What do we offer?
SJ’s objective risk assessment helps you spot and avoid potential problems. We can advise you on your approach check the reliability of your systems and evaluate the performance of your team and organisation.

How do you benefit?
We will work closely with you to achieve practical solutions that are focused on your objectives and ambitions. Our internal audit of your organisation provides not just a quick fix but a long-term supportive relationship that generates lasting value for your business.

Why choose SJ?
When conducting an internal audit, risk review or providing advice on internal control, we first get to know your organisation. We work towards understanding your goals, needs and regulatory requirements. In this way, we can provide services and solutions that are tailored and targeted to your circumstances.

A SJ internal audit comprises four different but interconnected areas:

• Risk
• Investigation
• Improvement
• Assurance.

Risk
Quite simply, we help you to avoid learning lessons the hard way. Through SJ, you can draw on the experience of many different organisations, to apply this wealth of knowledge and best practice to your specific case to help you identify and manage your risks successfully.

Assurance
We will test the operation of key controls and ensure your compliance with key procedures. Our comprehensive internal audit service also gives you an evaluation of your business continuity plans, combined code compliance, grant compliance and more.

Improvement
When we advise you – e.g. on control design and implementation, governance or efficiency – we find the best way to do it within your circumstances. We do not offer off-the-shelf solutions, as these can never match those that are made to measure. In SJ’s eyes, every organisation is unique.

Investigation
When systems, processes or units do not work as intended, we focus on finding the root causes of the failures. In other words, rather than apportioning blame, we discover what it was in the system that allowed an error to arise and cause damage. This approach helps to prevent such problems recurring.

What our clients say

"SJ's work was understood and appreciated by everyone." 

"Of all the consultants we have used, SJ would be our number one contractor." 

"Thorough, polite and professional."

"Many thanks for all your help and pragmatic advice. As always extremely to the point."