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Pensions sector : services |
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Moore Stephens’ dedicated pensions team provide a range of services directed specifically at our pension scheme clients.
Audit
The London and Guildford offices of Moore Stephens audit over 100 pension schemes, the majority being active self-administered occupational schemes.
Our current largest client, for which we now undertake internal audit work, has approximately £600m of assets. We have also recently been asked to undertake a specific audit assignment on a scheme with in excess of 100,000 members.
Accounting
Our dedicated team of pension accountants maintains the core accounting records, producing SORP compliant accounts for approximately 60 schemes on Solution Six software. Trustees and administrators therefore can be confident in receiving both a comprehensive bookkeeping service and a quality financial statements product.
Pensioner payroll
Some 5,000 pensioners are paid through our payroll service each month. Critical to its efficient operation is the close liaison with and timely processing of information from the trustees. We recognise the dependency and vulnerability of the end user and have an excellent track record in terms of reliability, which is of key importance to the trustees.
Banking
High interest current accounts are managed on behalf of trustees, operating on well-established instruction and confirmation processes. Trustees benefit from both an efficient management of, and financial return on, their funds.
Computer audit
On larger schemes computer audit is used to review large volumes of identical data fields, such as a pension payroll. This allows us to check for starters, leavers, duplicate bank accounts and unusual pension increases, investigating exceptions identified from the data provided.
Internal audit
Risk management is highly topical in the corporate sector, but equally important for pension scheme trustees. We have developed an internal audit service based on the key risks identified, with trustees benefiting from the monitoring of risk throughout the year, rather than in a concentrated exercise after the year-end.
Covenant Reviews
Trustees are now required to review their employer covenant, a daunting task when there is anything other than the simplest structure. We can provide a speedy specialist service advising trustees not only of the status of the employer covenant, but also on the courses of action available to the trustees.
Negotiating a Recovery Plan
We are able to assist trustees in negotiating with the employer, ensuring that the trustees act from a position of strength, with access to the appropriate information from the employer.
Forensic accounting
We are able to act in disputes involving pension schemes and have recently acted for some trustees in a dispute with their administrator. We also have considerable experience in dealing with OPRA (now the Pensions Regulator) over Pensions Act 1995 failings. Whilst OPRA had a reputation for being somewhat 'heavy handed', experience showed that an open dialogue led to a satisfactory resolution.
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