Our rate compliance and audit division operates under the banner of Accurates. The team forensically examine historic rate liabilities, identifying overpayments and reclaiming them on behalf of clients from Billing Authorities.

The Accurates team is made up of highly skilled, forensic rating compliance audit specialists. The majority are Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation qualified former local authority revenues officers. The other part of the team is made up of data and systems analysts, whose prime objective is to supplement your own existing cost management systems. Accurates is the industry leader, due to its specialist expertise, in providing advice on whether or not rate liabilities (current and historic) demanded by billing authorities, are compliant  with current local tax collection/ enforcement legislation and best practice.

Our objectives

We forensically examine your historical payments record to identify instances of overpayments in rates, which can be as a result of inaccurate calculation at the time, or through charges that were not compliant with the legislation in force.

Our services

• Desktop assessment of liabilities
  A first-step, desktop sample review of your portfolio, prior to a full forensic compliance audit review.
• Liability and collection compliance
  Our team scrutinises current and historical billing authority notices and levies, ensuring compliance with the various statutes, statutory instruments, cases and practice/guidance notes concerning the calculation and collection of local property tax liabilities. We then agree any allowances or credits and recover overpayments on our client's behalf.
• Best practice and due diligence audits
  Our emphasis is on computed liabilities demanded, liability provisions and payments over individual five-yearly rating revaluation periods. We can also advise on the modification of procedures for checking future liabilities.
• Business rates health-check
  Our 'health-check' was established by former local authority revenues officers to recover missing statutory and discretionary rate reliefs, allowances and exemptions.
• Web-based compliance audit report
  We can provide you with confidential web-based access to project status reports.
• Business rate administration
  We can advise organisations on the efficiency and effectiveness of their non-domestic rate administration and management processes so that a rational assessment of alternatives can be made.