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Independent Accountants Reports - Standardised Terms of Engagement

Technical Release Audit 03 / 03, issued by the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (the ICAEW), provides guidance to accountants when they enter into special reporting arrangements for certain public sector grants.

The ICAEW expects accountants to generally follow its guidance and advises them to use professional judgement in its application. The guidance also reflects good practice for the sponsoring / grant paying bodies in relation to requests for accountants reports on grant claims.

The Department, with HM Treasury, has been engaged with the ICAEW over the guidelines for the independent accountants' reports on grants arising from offers of financial assistance to industry under programmes such as:

• Selective Finance for Investment in England (SFIE);
• Regional Selective Assistance (RSA);
• Enterprise Grant (EG) Scheme and various Research and Development Schemes.

Agreement has now been reached with the ICAEW on the Standard Terms of Engagement Letters in accordance with Appendix 3 of Audit 03/03 and Model Accountants Reports. These are for use by the BERR programme managers, project managers, the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and any organisations (public or private sector) engaged in administering the Department's grant aided projects, and by accountants when reporting on grant claims.