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These days, businesses have a myriad of issues to contend with. Accounting practices are no different. Regularly, we see accountants wrestling with escalating costs to provide services to their clients. Attracting and retaining qualified staff, complying with increased regulations, dealing with spiralling practice expenses, and managing risk in delivering services are common matters confronting accountants today. Whilst we cannot provide a solution to all these issues, we can assist accountants with the trusts they are involved with.
The services we provide see us become part of an accountant’s team. We remove the burden accountants suffer in managing trusts and all that entails, through the staff, systems, and processes we have. This negates the need to employ qualified people and spend capital implementing systems and processes to meet compliance obligations.
Our work permits accountants to save money and time. It also eliminates the need to employ qualified staff and implement systems and processes to manage clients’ trusts. This enables accountants to focus on their core business, growing their practices by offering more complex profitable services to clients, rather than being diverted into areas outside their core competencies. This is especially so where accountants carry out their functions whilst having us hold the role of independent trustee.
As professionals we know it’s not a legal requirement to have an independent trustee. We also know the value independent trustees can add to a trust is significant. Having an expert amongst trustees who specialises in this area is invaluable. An active independent trustee can strengthen the integrity of a trust, ensure appropriate timely decisions are made, matters are competently documented, and functions expected of trustees are carried out. These are the reasons independent trustees are appointed but these benefits are only conferred if independent trustees perform their function.
Many accountants act as independent trustees in their clients’ trusts. Increased regulation and compliance have, however, seen the role become more time-consuming. Certainly, most independent trustees would not have envisaged the time it now takes to competently administer a trust when initially taking up their role as independent trustees.
A raft of recently introduced legislation means trusts are facing more scrutiny than they ever have before. Consequently, the actions and omissions of trustees have a greater propensity to be revealed.
The accountant who acts in a dual capacity of accountant and independent trustee can encounter heightened risk. This is especially so if the independent trustee is held to exhibiting a higher standard of care and skill than their co-trustees as a consequence of the knowledge and experience they possess through being an accountant. Consequently, accountants who act as independent trustees in their clients’ trusts may find themselves exposed to risk they never contemplated.
Given the risk, potential liability and the amount of time now required to undertake this role, accountants often feel the role of independent trustee is best held by someone other than themselves who has the skills and time to dedicate to the position. This is understandable given duty and liability go hand in hand.
Black + White Trust Services Limited can help accountants manage their potential risk by taking up the reins of independent trustee should both accountant and client wish. We will only do this upon consent of all parties and only if trustees are willing to comply with our practices.
By Black + White Trust Services Limited acting as independent trustees, the interests of clients and accountants are served. The integrity of the trusts we manage becomes stronger through the work we complete. Accountants are freed from the burden of trust administration compliance and all that encompasses. Consequently, accountants’ risk is appropriately managed.
Ultimately, whether clients use our services to manage and administer their trusts, or whether we act as independent trustees, accountants are left to concentrate on what they do best – growing their practices and being great accountants for their clients.
Trust Management + Administration
Trust Management + Administration
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