Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick

The need

You are looking to appoint a firm as your accountants or, in the case of a company, your auditors.

The core deliverable (the audit and/or the annual accounts and related tax and compliance returns) are increasingly seen as a commodity. This is a grave mistake. The real deliverable here is “financial advice”.

You may be:

An individual business person or tax payer needing tax, accounting or financial advice.
A company seeking to appoint or change auditors.
A business needing to build a relationship with a multi-disciplined specialist advisor to complement your accountant or auditor’s routine annual compliance work on an ongoing basis.

Either way, you are about to make a selection of a service provider which has the potential to have the most profound influence on your life in business.

In the past, the impact on the business of the auditor or accountant has often been quite minimal. Nowadays however, businesses need serious firms as their accountants or auditors.

The client-accountant/ auditor relationship should be the deepest and most mutual relationship that can be had with a third party. The measurement and planning of financial results and wealth reveals more about a business and its principals than any other engagement that you may have with an outside professional, advisor or supplier. More so than with a solicitor – who must rely on the accuracy of information and judgements supplied and made by the client in order to deliver good advice. More so than with a banker who is increasingly a sales-oriented employee who is liable to be moved to another branch with the next change of corporate banking strategy.

Your accountant or auditor sees the detail of how your business performs and of your wealth. Your business, like all others, is facing increased competition, increased regulation and compliance – as well as mobility of capital, pressure on margins, globalisation/ power of brands and chains, higher costs, logistical problems and the challenge from new business models, locations and products. No privately-owned business can have all the advice and experience it needs in-house.

If you are appointing an auditor, it is important that the auditors to your company are a recognised firm with national and international status as auditors because:

You and the other directors must have confidence that you are
complying with all appropriate regulations and that you will receive intelligent, practical advice in doing so.
Outside parties that deal with the Company need to have confidence in the financial statements and the management of the Company.

Horwath Bastow Charleton is a reputable brand with an unblemished
reputation in Ireland and abroad. It is a long established brand, known and recognised in financial circles for its independence, quality and reputation. As can be seen from the profile of the key members of the firm, the firm has the ability to deal with the technical issues and so much more.

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But whether or not you need an auditor, you need to appoint an external advisor who:

Can think strategically.
Will make specific and practical recommendations.
Has genuine world-experience of how business works.
Has genuine insight into your sector.
Is sensitive to your needs not just as a business person, but as an individual.
Is able to influence the people around you and bring deals together.
Can communicate clearly and persuasively.

You can only have one accountant or auditor relationship at a time. Do not waste the appointment of your accountant or auditor on someone who lacks the ability or the will to have this type of impact on your business.

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Our credentials

The Limerick firm of Horwath Bastow Charleton was founded in November 2003 by four of Limerick’s most successful financial professionals and 14 of their colleagues – with a view to building a national leading firm of advisors – from a base in the Mid-West. We have since grown in strength and number and currently have a staff complement of 30.

“Crowe Horwath” is in the top 10 of global accounting networks with more than 140 independent accounting and advisory services firms with 560 offices and 26,250 professionals and staff in more than 100 countries around the world.

The firm, originally established in Dublin as “Bastow Charleton”, is one of Ireland’s longest established and most venerable firms of chartered accountants. Horwath has 20 partners in Ireland and a staff in excess of two hundred in Dublin, Limerick and Belfast. The Limerick firm, along with its Dublin counterpart, form the Irish representative of Crowe Horwath International in the Republic of Ireland.

The team at Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick is led by some of the country’s foremost financial advisors. Although working across a range of industry sectors, the Limerick practice is built around a number of key sectoral specialisms. Our clients are from various sectors and of various sizes, from sole traders and small owner-managed companies, through to some of Ireland's leading national companies.

As a medium-sized practice we are ideally positioned to serve your needs. Our clients can draw on the national and international experience of our consultants who each have particular knowledge and expertise in specialised accountancy, business and advisory disciplines, while retaining the personalised service and approach of a smaller practice that is warm but efficient. Our international links enable us to ensure that our clients receive, in any country in which they decide to do business, the same quality of service as they have come to expect from us here in Ireland.

Our key staff and management group consists entirely of qualified professionals with a first class background in their specialised field. All of our audit team are University graduates in articles or qualified Chartered Accountants.

Horwath Bastow Charleton is and has always been known for its PROFESSIONALISM and INDEPENDENCE.

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Features of our service

We use the word “advisors” to describe our firm because that word most accurately describes our people, our mission, our professionalism, our business objective and our value to our clients. It distinguishes us from those that are merely accountants, or merely auditors, or merely brokers, or merely financial service firms, or merely technical experts. Or indeed those accountants who will seek to earn or enhance their income from commissions or fees based on the purchase of or participation in investment schemes by the very clients that they purport to advise.

Our approach is to understand your business and respond and adapt to changes that it may present. This is achieved by working closely and in partnership with clients.

By developing a close relationship we have familiarity with the plans and aspirations of the business and its owners and are well placed to advise on the best way forward.

We help clients to assess and manage risks and to identify areas for operational and financial improvement by specifically designing work programmes to the unique circumstances of each individual client.

Our team are highly trained and are continually updated on all developments in the profession. All our staff are committed to professional excellence and motivated to provide the highest standards of service.

Our team bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise in all aspects of financial and company law which will ensure that all clients are advised early and correctly on any aspects that may affect their business or themselves personally.

We take an interest in and value you and your business.

We can guarantee that we will provide an efficient, effective, professional and personal approach to the delivery of audit services that you require.

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Benefits to client of hiring us

We harness our expertise and reputation to provide you with:

The best commercially-based financial and business strategic advice you can get
The credibility of having one of Ireland’s leading professional firms as your advisors.

Our audit provides clients with an objective opinion on the reliability and fair representation of all types of information and ensures that clients are will represented with third parties who may be the Revenue Commissioners, the Companies Registration Office, investors or banks and financial institutions.

Working with Horwath Bastow Charleton Limerick you develop a sense of confidence. Confidence that you are receiving the best service and independent and objective advice on all your Accountancy, Audit and Taxation requirements. Confidence that you can make meaningful plans for the future based on an accurate and reliable picture of your business. Confidence that you are well represented to third parties. Confidence that you are receiving a practical, value added service that meets your specific needs and those of your organisation.

For further information contact:

Con Quigley

E: cquigley@hbcl.ie

Liam Hession

E: lhession@hbcl.ie