Audit & Assurance Services

In today's highly regulated marketplace, audit and assurance services add value to your organisation by:

• Providing independent credibility to financial statements;
• Professional advice to management; and
• Solutions to improve systems and performance.

Castletons audit approach is designed to:

• Focus on key financial areas;
• Adding value to your business by providing you with constructive ideas for improving internal controls and ongoing business systems;

The difference in Castletons approach is:

• Our people and their dedication to tailoring our service to ensure we meet your requirements.

Our partner-led assurance services team is committed to meeting your specific business needs:

• working closely with you but maintaining our independence to get to know your business;
• use of the latest computerised systems;
• conduct an in-depth review of your accounts to enable identification of key areas where additional support and attention will improve your business.

The Castletons team is trained in the utilisation of electronic audit work papers and a host of other tools to improve audit effectiveness. The benefit to you is an effective, cost efficient, independent audit, performed in a timely manner by experienced professionals.
Our team is qualified to deliver to your organisation efficient audit services  which comply with auditing standards and maintain ethical behaviour and independence for:

• small to large reporting and non-reporting entities;
• small listed and unlisted public companies; 
• local and interstate companies; and 
• subsidiaries of foreign entities.

You can draw upon over 50 years experience both our partners, who are registered ASIC Auditors, have in providing compliance / statutory audit to a wide range of clients in various industries.

With Corporate Law and Accounting Standards changing so frequently it is vital that you are kept right up to date with what’s changed. We keep you informed of the changes that will affect you, letting you concentrate on your core business.
Our audit process demands a robust understanding of your business, its industry and its environment. Based on this understanding we:

• assess the key business and the audit risks of material misstatement in the financial statements;
• identify key management and internal controls that may reduce these risks to acceptable levels;
• perform audit procedures to address risks to provide an independent opinion on the integrity of the financial information being presented and to establish reliability on the means by which it is reported;
• provide you with a management letter detailing what weaknesses we have found and recommend changes to ensure your business systems are financial robust.

We communicate closely and regularly with your Audit Committee, CFO, financial controller and accounting staff during the audit process. From our preliminary audit planning and interim work, through to the delivery of reports and communication of internal control related materials, we strive to keep you informed.
The team at Castletons can eliminate your compliance worries by ensuring that your financial statements comply fully with Corporate Law and applicable Accounting Standards.

Businesses holding a financial services license are required to have their financial affairs audit annually in accordance with the Corporations Act and lodge an audited financial report with ASIC. Financial services audit involves:

• full financial audit in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards; and
• compliance audit in accordance with the Financial Services License.

We have a wide range of experience in providing audit services to small and medium size financial services clients.
The Castletons can assist your entity in the design and conduct of a financial services audit so that you comply with the deadlines required by the Act and provide you with a management letter to assist in the strengthening of any weakness detected in your control procedures.

With an ever increasing emphasis on retirement planning, the establishment and maintenance of self- managed superannuation funds has become very popular. We assist by providing the Trustees and members of the fund with audited financial statements which are required by the Superannuation Industry Supervision Act (SIS).  In providing these services we ensure that all requirements and regulations of the SIS are met.

Superannuation fund auditing is a very specialised field. We have many years of experience in this area and are able to provide an independent audit service for SMSF Trustees.

Castletons can assist your fund in avoiding the harsh financial penalties that non-compliance with the SIS Act and Regulations can impose by providing you with an audit which will ensure that your Fund is in accordance with SIS or has taken steps to remedy any non-complying issues.

Generally the overall objective of an outgoings audit is:

• to provide assurance to the lessees the amount of outgoings expenditure attributable to them as per the lease contract.

The audit is conducted in accordance with the Australian Auditing Standards as an agreed upon engagement. An outgoings audit of an does not constitute financial audit of that entity.

We have significant experience in conducting outgoings audits of clients ranging from small to large shopping centres and corporate office buildings in major cities.

Our team at Castletons can assist your entity in determining the audit procedures and conducting the outgoings audit.

The overall objective of the audit of a Trust Account is:

• to evaluate in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards whether there is reasonable assurance whether the operation of the Trust Account has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of the a relevant State Act.
• Are you one of the professional that maintains a Trust Account:
• Solicitor: 
• Real Estate Agent; 
• Property Manager; 
• Travel Agent; or
• Accountant.

  
These services help ensure that your Trust Account operates according to industry specific regulations.
We have been performing audits of Trust Accounts for many years and one of our Partners has been appointed as an External Examiner of Legal Trust Accounts by the Law Society of New South Wales.
 
Our team at Castletons can assist your entity in determining the audit procedures and conduct your trust account audit.