The members of the limited liability partnership have elected not to include a copy of the income statement within the financial statements.
Forrester Sylvester Mackett LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 61 St Mary Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire, SN15 3JH.
The limited liability partnership's principal activities are disclosed in the Members' Report.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships" issued in December 2021, together with FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime. The disclosure requirements of section 1A of FRS 102 have been applied other than where additional disclosure is required to show a true and fair view.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the limited liability partnership. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of certain assets. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The financial statements have been prepared for an 18 month period ending 31 March 2024, this is due to the partnership deciding to change their accounting period end. The comparative figures shown in both the financial statements and the notes are not comparable as they only cover a 12 month period.
Turnover is recognised at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts and value added tax.
Turnover includes amounts unbilled at the period end, which are included within stock.
Members' participation rights are the rights of a member against the LLP that arise under the members' agreement (for example, in respect of amounts subscribed or otherwise contributed remuneration and profits).
Members' participation rights in the earnings or assets of the LLP are analysed between those that are, from the LLP's perspective, either a financial liability or equity, in accordance with section 22 of FRS 102. A member's participation rights including amounts subscribed or otherwise contributed by members, for example members' capital, are classed as liabilities unless the LLP has an unconditional right to refuse payment to members, in which case they are classified as equity.
All amounts due to members that are classified as liabilities are presented within 'Loans and other debts due to members' and, where such an amount relates to current year profits, they are recognised within ‘Members' remuneration charged as an expense’ in arriving at the relevant year’s result. Undivided amounts that are classified as equity are shown within ‘Members' other interests’. Amounts recoverable from members are presented as debtors and shown as amounts due from members within members’ interests.
Where there exists an asset and liability component in respect of an individual member’s participation rights, they are presented on a gross basis unless the LLP has both a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts, and it intends either to settle on a net basis or to settle and realise these amounts simultaneously, in which case they are presented net.
Once an unavoidable obligation has been created in favour of members through allocation of profits or other means, any undrawn profits remaining at the reporting date are shown as ‘Loans and other debts due to members’ to the extent they exceed debts due from a specific member.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The LLP has adopted a policy to fully depreciate computer equipment to £nil after a period of 5 years and fixtures and fittings to £nil after a period of 10 years.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the income statement.
At each reporting period end date, the limited liability partnership reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any). Where it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, the limited liability partnership estimates the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.
Stocks relating to work in progress are for amounts due under contracts not yet invoiced. Work in progress is reviewed for recoverability and adjusted accordingly.
Cash and cash equivalents are basic financial assets and include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The limited liability partnership has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the limited liability partnership's statement of financial position when the limited liability partnership becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amounts presented in the financial statements when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.
Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through profit and loss, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting end date.
Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected. If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss.
If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in profit or loss.
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classified according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the limited liability partnership after deducting all of its liabilities.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors, bank loans, loans from fellow group companies and preference shares that are classified as debt, are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Provisions are recognised when the limited liability partnership has a legal or constructive present obligation as a result of a past event, it is probable that the limited liability partnership will be required to settle that obligation and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.
The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting end date, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value. When a provision is measured at present value, the unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in profit or loss in the period in which it arises.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to profit or loss on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where another more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the leased asset are consumed.
Business combinations
In the LLP financial statements, acquisitions of subsidiaries and businesses are accounted for using the purchase method. The cost of the business combination is the aggregate of the fair values, at the acquisition date, of the assets given, liabilities incurred or assumed, and equity instruments issued in exchange for control of the acquiree, plus any directly attributable costs.
Any excess of the cost of the business combination over the LLP’s interest in the net fair value of the identifiable assets and liabilities is recognised as goodwill.
The average number of persons (excluding members) employed by the partnership during the Period was:
The bank loan contains fixed and floating charges over the property and undertakings of the company.
In the event of a winding up the amounts included in "Loans and other debts due to members" will rank equally with unsecured creditors.
On 1 October 2022 the limited liability partnership acquired the trade and assets of Andrews Martin, an unincorporated business, for consideration of £85,997.
Costs of £2,954 were incurred by the LLP as part of the acquisition.
At the reporting end date the limited liability partnership had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, as follows: