Social Purpose
Given the specific demands of operating a charity or social enterprise, you need a truly comprehensive knowledge of your financial position.
Beyond compliance, this clarity will help ensure survival and future success. HaysMac is on the case.
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Charities
It’s not just about how many clients we serve, but how well we serve you.
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Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies
We’re the leading provider of audit, accountancy and tax services for professional institutes and membership bodies, with a team of specialists who understand what really matters to you.
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Education
We work with over 100 independent schools, which range from smaller prep schools through to major public schools. We also support leading multi-academy trusts.
All bases covered: versatile specialists in audit, tax and advisory services
More than 800 UK and international charities and other social purpose organisations choose HaysMac for our variety and depth of support. We are well-known for our audit and advisory expertise; it’s a major part of what we are asked to do and often provided as a standalone service.
However, we also build on these robust fundamentals to offer pertinent, timely and practical support covering a broad range of topics. Think of us as the versatile specialists: people who know your specific challenges, often directly through volunteer work as trustees, yet who are equally at home supporting on ‘bigger picture’ taxation and advisory aspects.
Servicing Our Social Purpose Clients
Audit and assurance
We listen because we want to hear how we can help. By meticulously understanding your goals and challenges, we can offer you better insights and information. An audit from HaysMac is about more than numbers and simply meeting statutory requirements. It can help you solve problems, identify risk and reduce it, and improve your performance. It adds real value.
Every client is unique, so we don’t rely on standardised checklists. By using data analytics, we can focus on what matters most, making the process as relevant, useful and cost-effective as possible.
We’re dedicated to ensuring our clients are compliant, reassured and satisfied; consequently they’re happy to recommend us. In fact, much of our business comes from referrals.
Our range of audit and assurance services offer you technical excellence, transparency and a robust, painstaking approach:
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Statutory audits
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Voluntary audits
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Assurance reviews
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USAID audits
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Employer covenant reviews
Internal audit
Reputational risk is a threat to all charity and not for profit organisations. Our delivery of your internal audit function will be based around the overarching mission of protecting the integrity of your organisation and its status.
Our internal audit approach is all about adding real value, not just ticking boxes. We’ll build on your strengths, identify areas for improvement and provide practical solutions. We have extensive experience in reviewing governance structures and benchmarking against comparable organisations and can share the best practice ideas with you.
We can complete a range of reviews including, but not limited to:
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Remote working and IT security
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Supplier payments including international payments
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Compliance
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Financial resilience
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Financial governance
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IR35
Corporation Tax compliance
Our not for profit tax team aids in filing charity tax returns for charitable entities and annual returns for non-charitable entities. We leverage tax compliance to identify tax planning opportunities and future issues both in the UK and internationally.
Our tax compliance service for charitable entities includes:
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Accurate preparation of the tax computations and returns, including the charity supplementary pages.
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Detailed analysis of the statement of financial activities (SoFA) and balance sheet figures to HMRC definitions/requirements.
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Reviewing income streams and highlighting any areas of risk.
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Identifying opportunities to maximise Gift Aid on voluntary income.
Employment tax
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Advising on PAYE and National Insurance issues in respect of benefits in kind
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Advising on their compliance reporting obligations under the business expense payments regime
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Drafting and updating staff expense and travel expense policies
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Assisting with HMRC employment status reviews and helping to implement an internal review process
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Structuring termination payments
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Advising on National Living and Minimum Wage regulations
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Managing HMRC reviews
Non-charitable entities
Our tax compliance service for non-charitable entities includes:
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Accurate preparation of the tax computations and returns.
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Advice on Qualifying Charitable Donation (QCD) payments to charitable parent companies or other related charitable entities.
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Considering group matters to enhance worldwide tax efficiency where appropriate.
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The timely preparation of tax journals, deferred tax and accounting disclosure tax notes for the accounts.
Tax and advisory services
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Gift Aid: Our specialist tax team can assist with ensuring that Gift Aid is maximised for charities, enhancing voluntary income and mitigating tax risks. We also offer tailored in-house training and would be happy to advise on specific fundraising campaigns or events.
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Creative sector tax reliefs: We assist arts and culture businesses with claims for Theatre Tax Relief, Museums & Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief, and Orchestra Tax Reliefs. Our expertise includes preparing claims, providing templates, calculating methodologies, and ensuring claims are robust and compliant with HMRC standards.
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Employment tax: Our experts navigate complex employment tax legislation, providing advice on PAYE and National Insurance, compliance reviews, health-checks, expense policies, salary sacrifice, termination payments, and off-payroll working.
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Charity tax reliefs: There are many direct tax reliefs available to a charitable company, subject to specific tax legislation requirements. Our team will help your charity to navigate specific legislation to ensure that valuable tax exemptions are preserved.
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Group structuring: We can assist with the complexities of the UK tax system for non-charitable group companies engaged in commercial activities for a charitable group. This relationship can be beneficial for the overall tax position of the group but it does bring additional tax compliance requirements. Our services include advising on optimal structuring to enhance overall tax efficiency while ensuring compliance with Corporation Tax and charity law requirements.
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VAT: Handling VAT complexities is our specialty. We prepare and file returns, manage inspections and HMRC enquiries, and advise on complex transactions. Our VAT services are comprehensive, covering compliance, exemption methods, cross-border transactions, and guidance on Making Tax Digital, ensuring practical and accurate solutions.
Governance and Risk
Governance, risk and control are increasingly important concerns for all types of boards. We can help you improve the leadership and control in your organisation so you can manage opportunities and avoid risk efficiently and effectively.
We look beyond the purely financial risks to assess how well your governance and control processes are working, and give you an independent view of your performance.
Our internal audit approach is all about adding real value, not just ticking boxes. We’ll build on your strengths, identify areas for improvement and provide practical solutions. We have extensive experience in reviewing governance structures and benchmarking against comparable organisations and can share the best practice ideas with you.
Also, as trustees, school governors and non-executive directors ourselves we have first-hand experience of the challenges of implementing good governance and we’ll give you the training and support you need to ensure the measures are successful.
We can give you independent and constructive advice and support through a wide range of services including:
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Financial benchmarking
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Risk register/maps
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Risk workshops and training
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Financial governance reviews, IT security, IT mapping
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Trustee training
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Financial management and information systems
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Business process improvements
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Fraud control reviews
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Internal audit
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Disaster recovery planning
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Trustee recruitment
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Governance reviews
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Governance benchmarking
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Facilitation of boards
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Internal audit testing for academies
Due Diligence
Mergers between charities are generally considered to strengthen shareholder value, enhance the organisation’s position in the market and accelerate its growth. However, such moves do need to be carefully positioned and managed to ensure success.
That’s why it’s essential to make an informed decision at the outset. The three key aspects to focus on when making an investment decision are:
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Ensuring you have a clear understanding of the other organisation
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Identifying and understanding the risks, potential issues and business drivers
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Ensuring your analysis allows you to draw detailed conclusions and decide whether to proceed
Why HaysMac?
How a blend of technology and human expertise combines to calculate the right advice
We use tools such as data analytics in areas where it can provide the requisite information quickly and accurately. This is complemented by the invaluable personal knowledge of our specialists, who draw on their sector experience to bring up-to-date insights and pragmatic advice.
We have an excellent reputation among social enterprise and not-for-profit organisations for advising on grant assurance, charity tax, structuring and VAT. We also provide outsourcing services to smaller charities. By working with numerous similar clients in the sector, we have the experience to add real value.
Revealing tangible opportunities for improvement within the figures and metrics
We believe social purpose accountancy is about more than numbers and simply meeting statutory requirements. The right support can help you solve problems, identify risk and reduce it, and improve your performance.
Alongside external audits, our team offers tax returns for charitable and non-charitable entities, as well as assistance on Gift Aid, tax relief and employment tax. We help boards to navigate governance, risk and control, looking beyond financial risks to review how processes are working. That attention to detail is also important in the due diligence we offer clients before and during mergers and investments.
Not sure what you need?
Our sector teams are equipped with specialists across all service lines, enabling them to assist you with all aspects of your business needs and challenges. Have a problem you need help with? Let us find the solution.
Our servicesIt’s unusual to find specialist sector know-how at every level of an accountancy firm. We like being a bit different at HaysMac. Meet the team member who’s ready to talk shop.
Key contact
Let's talk
Kathryn Burton Partner, Head of Professional Institutes & Membership Bodies