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Company Information
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Contents
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Directors' report
For the year ended 31 December 2024
The directors present their report and the financial statements for Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited ('the company') and its subsidary (together 'the group') for the year ended
The directors who served during the year were:
The directors are responsible for preparing the Directors' report and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'. Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the group and of the profit or loss of the group for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:
∙select suitable accounting policies for the group's financial statements and then apply them consistently;
∙make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
∙prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group will continue in business.
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Directors' report (continued)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
This report was approved by the board and signed on its behalf by:
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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited
For the year ended 31 December 2024
We have audited the financial statements of Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited (the 'company') and its subsidiary (the 'group') for the year ended 31 December 2024, which comprise the Consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the Consolidated statement of financial position, the Company statement of financial position and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council's Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's or the company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditor's report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited (continued)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
∙the information given in the Directors' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
∙the Directors' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors' report.
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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited (continued)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an Auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these Group financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
How the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities including fraud Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
∙the Senior Statutory Auditor ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence,
capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
∙we made enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, and their
knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
∙we identified the laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial
statements of the group and company through discussions with directors and other management at the planning stage;
∙the audit team held a discussion to identify any particular areas that were considered to be susceptible to
misstatement, including with respect to fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
∙we focused our planned audit work on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material
effect on the financial statements or the operations of the group and the company including the Companies Act 2006, employment legislation and taxation legislation.
We assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through:
∙making enquiries of management;
∙inspecting legal expenditure and correspondence throughout the year for any potential litigation or claims; and
∙considering the internal controls in place that are designed to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws
and regulations.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
∙determined the susceptibility of the group to management override of controls by checking the implementation of
controls and enquiring of individuals involved in the financial reporting process;
∙tested the completeness and accuracy of turnover by recalculating the expected turnover and obtaining confirmation from the parent company;
∙reviewed journal entries throughout the year to identify unusual transactions;
∙performed analytical procedures to identify any large, unusual or unexpected transactions; and
∙carried out substantive testing to check the occurrence and cut-off of expenditure.
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Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited (continued)
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included:
∙agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; and
∙enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Auditor's report.
This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
for and on behalf of
Chartered Accountants
130 Wood Street
EC2V 6DL
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Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
For the year ended 31 December 2024
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Consolidated statement of financial position
As at
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime and in accordance with the provisions of FRS 102 Section 1A - small entities.
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.
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Company statement of financial position
As at
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf by:
The notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Baker & O'Brien (UK) Limited is a private company limited by shares and is registered in England and Wales. Its company registration number is 06662181. The registered office is C/O Buzzacott LLP, 130 Wood Street, London, EC2V 6DL and the principal place of business is 53A High Street, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9RQ.
2.Accounting policies
The preparation of financial statements in compliance with FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise judgement in applying the company's accounting policies. The company has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of income and retained earnings in these financial statements. In the year ended 31 December 2024, the company made a profit of £58,768 (2023: £41,529). The following principal accounting policies have been applied:
The consolidated financial statements present the results of the company and its own subsidiary ('the
group') as if they form a single entity. Intercompany transactions and balances between group companies are therefore eliminated in full. The consolidated financial statements incorporate the results of business combinations using the purchase method. In the Statement of financial position, the acquiree's identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities are initially recognised at their fair values at the acquisition date. The results of acquired operations are included in the Consolidated statement of comprehensive income from the date on which control is obtained. They are deconsolidated from the date control ceases. The subsidiary, Baker & O'Brien (UK) LLP is exempt from the requirements of the UK Companies Act 2006 relating to the audit of the individual accounts by virtue of S479A of the Act. The outstanding liabilities at 31 December 2024 have been guaranteed by the company pursuant to S479A to S479C of the Act.
The directors have received confirmation from Baker & O'Brien Inc, the immediate and ultimate parent company, that it will provide financial support to the group company for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. The directors have no reason to believe that this
support will not be forthcoming. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.
Depreciation is provided on the following basis:
The assets' residual values, useful lives and depreciation methods are reviewed, and adjusted prospectively if appropriate, or if there is an indication of a significant change since the last reporting date.
Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in profit or loss.
The group only enters into basic financial instrument transactions that result in the recognition of financial
assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors and loans to related parties. Financial assets that are measured at cost and amortised cost are assessed at the end of each reporting period for objective evidence of impairment. If objective evidence of impairment is found, an impairment loss is recognised in the statement of comprehensive income.
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2.Accounting policies (continued)
The company's functional and presentational currency is GBP. Transactions and balances Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency using the spot exchange rates at the dates of the transactions. At each period end foreign currency monetary items are translated using the closing rate. Non-monetary items measured at historical cost are translated using the exchange rate at the date of the transaction and non-monetary items measured at fair value are measured using the exchange rate when fair value was determined. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of transactions and from the translation at period-end exchange rates of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are recognised in the profit and loss account. Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings and cash and cash equivalents are presented in the profit and loss account within 'administrative expenses'. All other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented in the profit and loss account within 'administrative expenses'.
The group operates a defined contribution plan for its employees.
A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the group pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the group has no further payment obligations. The contributions are recognised as an expense in profit or loss when they fall due. Amounts not paid are shown in accruals as a liability in the Statement of financial position. The assets of the plan are held separately from the group in independently administered funds.
The average monthly number of employees, including the directors, during the year was
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Subsidiary undertaking
At 31 December 2024, the following is the subsidiary undertaking of the company: Name Country of Class of Holding Principal incorporation shares activity Baker & England & Partnership 100% Provision of O'Brien (UK) LLP Wales capital professional consultancy services The registered address for Baker & O'Brien (UK) LLP is C/O Buzzacott LLP, 130 Wood Street, London, EC2V 6DL.
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
The group and the company had no contingent liabilities at 31 December 2024 or 31 December 2023.
The group and the company had no capital commitments at 31 December 2024 or 31 December 2023.
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Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 December 2024
The smallest and largest group of undertakings for which consolidated group accounts, which include the company, have been drawn up is headed by Baker & O'Brien Inc, a company incorporated in the USA. Its registered office and principal place of business is situated at 12001, North Central Expressway, Suite 1200 Dallas, Texas, 75243, USA.
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