Our compliance and audit team, which operates under the banner of Accurates, takes a retrospective view. We're not a rating agency. We don't negotiate to bring you better business rates for tomorrow. Instead we specialise in the past.
The Accurates team is made up of highly skilled, forensic rating compliance audit specialists. The majority are Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation qualified former local authority revenues officers. People who know the system from the inside. The other part of the team is made up of data and systems analysts, whose prime objective is to supplement your own existing cost management systems.
Our objectives
We forensically examine your historical payments record to identify instances when you have paid too much in rates. That could have been due to inaccurate calculation at the time, or through charges that were not compliant with the legislation in force.
Our services
Desktop assessment of liabilities
A first-step, desktop sample review of your portfolio, prior to a full forensic compliance audit review.
Liability and collection compliance
Our team scrutinises individual current and historical billing authority notices and levies, ensuring compliance with the various statutes, statutory instruments, cases and practice/guidance notes concerning the calculation and collection of local property tax liabilities. We then agree any allowances or credits and recover overpayments on our client's behalf.
Best practice and due diligence audits
Our emphasis is on computed liabilities demanded, liability provisions and payments over individual five-yearly rating revaluation periods. We can also advise on the modification of procedures for checking future liabilities.
Business rates health-check
Our 'health-check' was established by former local authority revenues officers to recover missing statutory and discretionary rate reliefs, allowances and exemptions.
Web-based compliance audit report
We can provide you with confidential web-based access to project status reports.
Business rate administration
We can advise organisations on the efficiency and effectiveness of their non-domestic rate administration and management processes so that a rational assessment of alternatives can be made.
