The members present their annual report together with the audited financial statements of Elkington and Fife LLP ("the LLP") for the year ended 30 April 2025.
The principal activity of the limited liability partnership continued to be that of European patent and trade mark attorneys.
There have been no changes in the objectives since the last annual report.
Each member's subscription to the capital of the LLP is determined by their share of the profit and is repayable following retirement from the LLP.
Details of changes in members' capital in the year ended 30 April 2025 are set out in the Reconcilliation of members' interests.
Members are remunerated from the profits of the LLP and are required to make thir own provision for pensions and other benefits. Profits are allocated and divided between members after finalisation of the financial statements. Members draw a proportion of their profit shares monthly during the year in which it is made, with the balance of profits being distributed after the year, subject to the cash requirements of the business.
The designated members who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The members are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008) requires the members to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the members have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Under company law (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008) the members 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 limited liability partnership and of the profit or loss of the limited liability partnership for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the members are required to:
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
make judgements 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 limited liability partnership will continue in business.
The members are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the limited liability partnership’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the limited liability partnership and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 (as applied by The Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008). They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the limited liability partnership and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
We have audited the financial statements of Elkington and Fife LLP (the 'limited liability partnership') for the year ended 30 April 2025 which comprise the statement of comprehensive income, the balance sheet, the reconciliation of members' interests, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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).
Basis for opinion
Conclusions relating to going concern
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the members' 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 limited liability partnership’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 members with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above and on the Financial Reporting Council’s website, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.
We obtain and update our understanding of the entity, its activities, its control environment, and likely future developments, including in relation to the legal and regulatory framework applicable and how the entity is complying with that framework. Based on this understanding, we identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. This includes consideration of the risk of acts by the entity that were contrary to applicable laws and regulations, including fraud.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, we designed procedures which included:
Enquiry of management and those charged with governance around actual and potential litigation and claims as well as actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
Assessing the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations considered to have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the entity through enquiry and inspection;
Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
Performing audit work over the risk of management bias and override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for indicators of potential bias.
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 of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the limited liability partnership's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 as applied by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the limited liability partnership'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 limited liability partnership and the limited liability partnership's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.
The notes on pages 13 to 22 form part of these financial statements.
Elkington and Fife LLP (the LLP) is a limited liability partnership domiciled and incorporated in England and Wales.
The address of its registered office and principle place of business is Prospect House, 8 Pembroke Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1XR.
The principal actvity of the limited partnership is that of patent and trademark attorneys.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland and the Companies Act 2006 and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice "Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships".
Monetary amounts in these financial statements are stated in pounds sterling and are rounded to the nearest whole £1, except where otherwise indicated. The functional currency is the same as the presentational currency used.
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 entity's accounting policies (see note 2).
At the time of approving the financial statements, the members have a reasonable expectation that the limited liability partnership has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Turnover is recognised to the extent that it is profitable that the economic benefits will flow to the LLP and the turnover can be reliably measured. Turnover is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.
Turnover is recognised as contract activity progresses and the right to consideration is earned. Fair value reflects the amount expected to be recoverable from clients and is based on the time spent and expenses incurred. Unbilled turnover on individual client cases is included as work in progress within debtors due within one year. Where individual on-account billings or bonuses exceed revenue recognised on client cases, the excess is classified as deferred income within creditors due within one year or over one year.
Tangible fixed assets under the cost model are stated at histroical cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses.
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:
Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised in profit or loss.
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.
The LLP only enters into basic financial instruments transactions that result in the recognition of financial assets and liabilities like trade and other debtors and creditors.
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 assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the limited liability partnership transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
Derivatives, including interest rate swaps and forward foreign exchange contracts, are not basic financial instruments. Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivatives are recognised in profit or loss in finance costs or finance income as appropriate, unless hedge accounting is applied and the hedge is a cash flow hedge.
Debt instruments that do not meet the conditions in FRS 102 paragraph 11.9 are subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. Debt instruments may be designated as fair value through profit or loss to eliminate or reduce an accounting mismatch or if the instruments are measured and their performance evaluated on a fair value basis in accordance with a documented risk management or investment strategy.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the limited liability partnership’s obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
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.
The LLP operates a defined contribution plan for its employees. A defined contribution plan is a penison plan under which the LLP pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. Once the contributions have been paid the LLP 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 Balance Sheet. The assets of the plan are held separately from the LLP in independently administered funds.
Rent paid under operating leases are charged to the Statement of Comprehensive Income on a straight line basis over the period of the lease.
The LLP's functional and presentational currency is GBP.
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 as fair value are measured using the exchange rate when fair value was determined.
Foreign exchnage 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 profit or loss except when deferred in other comprehensiveincome as qualifying cash flow hedges.
Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings and cash and cash equivalents are presented in the Statement of comprehensive income within 'finance income or costs'. All othe rforeign exchange gains or losses are presented in profit or loss within 'other operating income'.
Division and distribution of profits
A division of profits is the mechanism by which the profits of an LLP become a debt due to members. A division may be automatic or discretionary, may relate to some or all of the profits for a financial period and may take place during or after the end of a financial period.
An automatic division of profits is one where the LLP does not have an unconditional right to avoid making a division of an amount of profits based on the members' agreement in force at the time, whereas a discretionary division of profits requires a decision to be made by the LLP, which it has the uncoditional right to avoid making.
The LLP divides profits automatically, automatic divisions of profits are recognised as 'Members' remuneration charged as an expense' in the Statement of comprehensive income.
The LLP classifies distributions of profits as operating cash flows in the Statement of cash flows where they relate to payments to members with fixed profit share entitlements.
Discretionary allocations of profits are presented as financing cash flows in the Statement of cash flows.
Interest income
Interest income is recognised in profit or loss using the effective interest method.
Debtors and creditors
Short-term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment.
Short-term creditors are measured at the transaction price.
Estimates and judgements are continually evaluated and are based on histroical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
In determining the value of work in progress to recognise at the year-end, the members consider all relevant information, including but not limited to the stage of completion of contracts at the year-end and the recoverability of these contracts. The members estimate that a certain percentage of unbilled work in progress will be invoiced and recovered, based on historic experience, but it is possible that the eventual outcome may be different from the estimate. The carrying value of work in progress at the year-end is £463,282 (2024: £320,259).
An analysis of the limited liability partnership's turnover is as follows:
The average number of persons (excluding members) employed by the partnership during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
Loans and other debts due to members rank equally with debts due to ordinary creditors in the event of a winding up.
At 30 April 2025 the LLP had future minimum lease payments due under non-cancellable operating leases for each of the following periods:
At 30 April 2025 the limited liability partnership had capital commitments as follows:
Following a review of the presentation of the dilapidations provision, management consider that a prior year adjustment is appropriate and hence an adjustment has been made as below. The prior year adjustment has no impact upon opening memebrs' interests.