Brampton Rural Housing Society (BRHS) is a small charitable housing association, but plays an important role in the community of Brampton and its surrounding villages. BRHS is managed by a Members Board represented by a range of professional disciplines, including Accountancy, Architecture, Banking, and Housing, supported by key staff with appropriate experience in the field of housing, finance and administration.
The Board and its staff seek to comply with the highest standards of governance and accountability to its tenants, contractors, regulators, and the community it serves. And most importantly the Board wants the discharge of its functions and services to be challenged and judged externally and independently against those high standards.
This has been achieved by the appointment of the premier regional accounting and audit practice, Armstrong Watson, as it auditors, for a period extending beyond the 30 years involvement of the writer. Throughout that period Armstrong Watson has brought genuine independence, rigour, professionalism and wise advice to the audit of the Society’s arrangements and its reporting to the Board and its membership at the AGM. Not just in respect of the statutory accounts, but also in respect of its management and compliance arrangements.
Principals and lead audit staff are rotated at appropriate intervals and there is a strong liaison at Director level between the Practice and the Society, with informed meetings preceding the audit and after its conclusion. The field work supporting the audit is carried out on site to a pre-agreed timetable with a prior and full understanding of the documentation required to be made available and which is prepared for inspection by the Society staff in advance of the audit.
As one who has been a Board member since 1989 and voluntary treasurer of BRHS from 1995 to 2017, I would have no hesitation in commending Armstrong Watson to any prospective client whose aspirations, ideals and principles on behalf of the community which it serves, are similar to those which the Society has adopted and benefited from over many years.
