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We would be delighted to provide current References from any of our Clients upon request.
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- All companies have a duty to safeguard the shareholders investments and the company’s assets consequently a sound system of internal control contributes to this. We know that these systems must:
- Be embedded in the operation of the organisation and form part of the culture
- Be capable of responding quickly to evolving risks
- Include procedures for reporting any significant control failings immediately to appropriate levels of management.
- Once these systems are in place it is essential they are monitored to ensure these procedures are adhered to. There are other functions within the company that provide assurance and advice covering specialist areas, for example, Quality Control, Health & Safety, Fire Safety, regulatory and legal compliance and environmental issues.
- All employees have some responsibility for internal control as part of their accountability for achieving objectives. They, collectively, should have the necessary knowledge, skills, information, and authority to establish, operate and monitor the system of internal control.
- However, whilst a sound system of internal control reduces, it cannot eliminate the possibility of poor judgement in decision-making; human error; control processes being deliberately circumvented by employees and others; management overriding controls; and the occurrence of unforeseeable circumstances. A sound system of internal control therefore provides reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that a company will not be hindered in achieving its business objectives, it cannot protect against all material errors, losses, fraud or breaches of laws or regulations. The audit acts a consistent measurement of the standards of efficiency throughout the estate, as the measurement is common to all irrespective of volume or profitability.
- With the progression, development of software and the introduction of linked EPOS systems, back-office computers, EFT, the increased use of credit/debit card facilities and paperless audit trails have required a more sophisticated approach to the investigation. This is compounded by the increasing reluctance of banks to accept anything other than credit, debit or paperless transactions. Needless to say it is actually higher profile now to measure compliance to system then it was when manual or semi-automated systems were being applied.
- It is reasonable to accept that there have been significant advances and a dilution of manual processing in the administration of the restaurant but the skills and expertise of the auditor has needed to keep pace with these changes. Significant aspects of the audit are time consuming and require extensive knowledge and accuracy to monitor, measure, record and report the facts. The audit comprises of much more than a mini overview of checking floats, some stocks and the daily banking carried out by an operations/area manager.
- As a consequence of our background, knowledge, experience and understanding we can act as a totally independent assessor of the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal controls. The exit discussion at the end of the audit is immensely valuable as all aspects of the audit are discussed with the manager, giving the manager the opportunity to comment upon any contentious areas. The audit report allows the management team to consider the best way to react to and arrive at a workable solution to bring that restaurant up to the required standard.
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