Grant Audit

Most funding agreements make an independent accountant's report or grant audit a condition of payment. We verify that grant spending aligns with the conditions and restrictions in your agreement, and give funders the assurance they need to release the next tranche — without burying your project team in audit queries.

Who Requires Grant Audits

Grant assurance requirements appear in funding agreements from government departments and agencies, research and innovation funders, lottery distributors, EU and international programmes, local authorities and charitable foundations. The required format varies — from a full grant audit to an independent accountant's report against the funder's template — and the deadline is usually tied to your claim. We work to the funder's specific terms and reporting format, not a generic checklist.

What We Verify

Our grant audit scope typically covers: eligible expenditure — testing that costs claimed fall within the categories, rates and time period allowed; reconciliation of the claim to your accounting records; staff costs, timesheets and apportionment methodologies; procurement compliance where the agreement imposes tendering rules; match funding contributions and their evidencing; treatment of grant income, deferred income and clawback provisions in your accounts; and outputs and outcomes reporting where the funder requires it.

Reducing Your Grant Audit Workload

We reduce workload through three methods: minimising audit emails and queries using our specifically designed audit portal to streamline communication and document sharing; working remotely when able, reducing on-site time while maintaining quality standards; and working efficiently, focusing on the areas of highest compliance risk in your specific agreement.

Experienced Auditors

Acumon is a leading UK firm of Chartered Accountants. Our West London office has 20 experienced auditors, half having previously worked at leading international accounting firms, with capabilities spanning UK PLCs, limited companies, LLPs and Public Interest Entities. For charity and not-for-profit grant recipients, we bring comprehensive charity audit experience plus specialist charity VAT advice — exemption claims, zero-rating and partial exemption optimisation frequently pay for the audit several times over.

Grant Audit Process and Reporting

Our structured process: 1) planning and scoping against your funding agreement; 2) expenditure verification; 3) compliance assessment; 4) financial records review; 5) match funding and output verification; 6) reporting in the funder's required format; 7) follow-up on any findings.

Reports provide independent assurance to funders on grant utilisation and compliance, covering compliance with grant conditions, verification of expenditure and eligibility, match funding evaluation, identification of any breaches or ineligible costs, recommendations for strengthening grant management, and management responses with action plans.

What You Get With Acumon

• Grant audits and independent accountant's reports in your funder's required format
• Eligible expenditure testing and claim-to-ledger reconciliation
• Staff costs, timesheets and apportionment methodology review
• Match funding verification and procurement compliance
• Grant income, deferred income and clawback accounting advice
• Deadline-driven delivery aligned to your claim submission
• Dedicated audit portal and remote-first delivery

Why Acumon for Grant Audit?

• 20 experienced auditors in West London, half from leading international accounting firms
• PIE audit licence demonstrates capability in auditing Public Interest Entities
• Charity audit and charity VAT expertise for not-for-profit grant recipients
• Only £37k short of the top 100 in the Accountancy Age 50+50 list for 2024
• Grown organically and through strategic acquisitions

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.