You are told what you actually need
Many businesses pay for a review when a compilation would have satisfied the request. We check first.
Statements
The statements a bank will actually accept
There is a difference between a report printed from QuickBooks and a financial statement prepared to professional standards. Lenders know it.
When a bank, an SBA lender, a bonding company or a landlord asks for financial statements, they usually mean something specific: statements prepared by an accountant, with the appropriate report attached, in a recognised format.
We prepare compilations and reviews. A compilation presents your figures in proper form; a review adds analytical procedures and inquiry, and gives limited assurance. Which you need depends entirely on who is asking — and we will tell you which one that is before you pay for the more expensive option.
Scope
What’s included
Compiled statements
Balance sheet, income statement and cash flow presented in proper form with the accountant’s report.
Reviewed statements
Analytical procedures and inquiry applied, with limited assurance, where the lender requires it.
Notes and disclosures
The footnotes lenders look for — debt terms, commitments, related parties and subsequent events.
Comparative periods
Prior-year figures presented alongside, which is almost always what is actually requested.
Audit preparation
Where an independent audit is required, we prepare the schedules and work with the auditor.
Outcome
Why it matters
Prepared from books we trust
If we keep your accounting, the statements come straight from a reconciled ledger.
Independence respected
We do not audit clients whose books we keep. Where an audit is required we prepare you for an independent firm.
Process
How it works
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Establish the requirement
We read the lender’s actual request — compilation, review or audit — before quoting.
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Close the period
Books reconciled and adjusting entries booked so the figures are defensible.
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Prepare and report
Statements assembled with notes and the appropriate accountant’s report.
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Deliver
Issued to you and, where you ask, direct to the lender.
Suited to
Who this is for
- Businesses applying for a bank or SBA loan
- Contractors needing statements for bonding
- Companies signing a commercial lease
- Owners preparing a business for sale
FAQ
Questions
A compilation presents your own figures in proper financial statement form with no assurance. A review adds analytical procedures and inquiry and provides limited assurance. An audit is the highest level, requires independent verification and testing, and must be performed by a firm that does not keep your books. Most small business lenders ask for a compilation or a review.
Often needed alongside this
Other services
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Small Business Accounting
Reconciliation, statements, ledger and close — delivered on a published date each month, for less than a part-time bookkeeper costs.
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Bookkeeping & Catch-Up
We rebuild the periods in order, reconcile them properly, and then move you onto a monthly rhythm so it never happens again.
Let’s find out what you should actually be paying.
Thirty minutes with an Enrolled Agent, at no charge. Bring last year’s return and we will tell you plainly what we would do differently — and what it would cost.