A VAT review will reduce the high risk of errors.  However, a prudent business must consider risk management as a broader issue, in particular:

• when it needs to take advice;

• how it recruits and trains staff;

• how it records review procedures;

• the processes it needs to deal with unexpected events (e.g. procedure manuals to allow an unexpected illness to a key member of staff to be covered);

• when it needs to seek an HMRC clearance.

A failure to deal adequately with these issues significantly increases the risk errors and as a result, penalties and surcharges. You can read more about managing the risk of penalties in our leaflet Penalties for careless and deliberate VAT accounting errors.

Have you addressed all these areas within your organisation? If not and you need assistance Constable VAT is able to help.