Menzies’ specialises in the audit of pension schemes. The pensions team includes dedicated partners and managers, supported by a strong team of pension specialists behind them.
Our pension team already provides audit, accounts and technical advice to a wide range of schemes including final salary, money purchase, hybrid and small self-administered schemes. These include services for the schemes of many household names and listed companies.
Added Value
As part of our audit process, we also look to highlight any issues to the Trustees where improvements could be made to the reporting or record keeping of the scheme.
Examples of issues that we have identified during the audit of pension schemes that we act for and which were raised to the Trustees in our management letter following the audits include:-
- The incorrect calculation of pension increases for a particular category of pensioners
- The incorrect commutation factors being used for the lump sum cash benefits calculated for retiring members
- Identification of members who have not responded to written confirmation of existence tests which subsequently led to a restatement of membership numbers
Menzies offer a variety of other services to pension schemes including :-
- Covenant reviews
- Preparation of monthly/quarterly management accounts for Trustees
- Advice on accounting systems
- Attending Trustees meetings to present the report and accounts and answer any questions that the Trustees may have regarding the accounts and audit process
- Pensions payroll.
The Team
Menzies only use staff who are specifically trained for pension scheme audits. All staff involved in pension scheme audits attend specialist pension CPD training courses run by external experts. There are regular pension team meetings to ensure that knowledge is shared.
Meet the Experts
“The transition was seamless, we agreed a package of deliverables and a timetable. In turn, Menzies set out the fee provision. Both parties worked together and the audit was completed by the end of September – earlier than we had achieved with the outgoing audit firm for several years with no cost overruns, which was an excellent result given that we did not complete the onboarding process until early July.
Not only did we achieve a much more efficient audit, the Scheme’s audit costs have been permanently reduced. A double win for the Scheme.
However, the most interesting and enjoyable aspect of the audit was that I felt a level of personal service. The timetable was agreed and met – I did not feel that the Scheme was one of many that had to wait its turn to be reviewed and signed off.”
David Kirkup, Company Secretary – MS International plC