The members present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The principal activity of the limited liability partnership continues to be that of solicitors.
The members' drawing policy allows each member to draw a proportion of their profit share, subject to the cash requirements of the business.
A member's capital requirement is linked to their share of profit and the financing requirement of the limited liability partnership. There is no opportunity for appreciation of the capital subscribed. Just as incoming members introduce their capital at "par", so the retiring members are repaid their capital at "par".
The members who held office during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were as follows:
The LLP's financial instruments comprise borrowings, cash and liquid resources, and various net working capital items, such as trade receivables and trade payables. The main purpose of these financial instruments is to fund that part of the LLP's operations not financed by way of members' interests.
It is the LLP's policy not to trade in financial or derivative instruments.
The main risks in providing funds for the LLP relate to interest rates and liquidity.
The auditor, Goodman Jones LLP, is deemed to be reappointed under section 487(2) of the Companies Act 2006.
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.
As far as the members are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the LLP’s auditors are unaware. Additionally, the members have taken all the necessary steps that they ought to have taken as members in order to make themselves aware of all relevant audit information and to establish that the LLP’s auditors are aware of that information.
The members have a reasonable expectation that the partnership has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The members have prepared cash flow and profit forecasts that have also been sensitised to reflect adverse changes in revenue. These show that the partnership has sufficient cash reserves to enable it to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. Thus the members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.
We have audited the financial statements of PCB Byrne LLP (the 'limited liability partnership') for the year ended 31 March 2026 which comprise the income statement, the statement of financial position, 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
Other information
As explained more fully in the members' responsibilities statement, the members are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the members determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the members are responsible for assessing the limited liability partnership's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the members either intend to liquidate the limited liability partnership or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
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 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.
Based on our understanding of the limited liability partnership and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to industry sector regulations and unethical and prohibited business practices, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 as applied to limited liability partnerships by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008 and UK Tax Legislation. We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls). Appropriate audit procedures in response to these risks were carried out. These procedures included:
• Discussions with management, including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws, regulations, and fraud;
• Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
• Obtaining and reading correspondence from legal and regulatory bodies including HMRC;
• Identifying and testing journal entries;
• Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their significant accounting
estimates.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members; and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. The further removed instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations are from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we are to become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
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.
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 income statement has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations.
PCB Byrne LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 4th Floor 33 Gutter Lane, London, United Kingdom, EC2V 8AS.
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 May 2024, 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.
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 freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The members have a reasonable expectation that the partnership has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. The members have prepared cash flow and profit forecasts that have also been sensitised to reflect adverse changes in revenue. These show that the partnership has sufficient cash reserves to enable it to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. Thus the members continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the annual financial statements.
Fee income represents revenue earned under a wide variety of contracts to provide professional services. Revenue is recognised as earned when, and to the extent that, the firm obtains the right to consideration in exchange for its performance under these contracts. It is measured at the fair value of the right to consideration, which represents amounts chargeable to clients, including expenses and disbursements but excluding value added tax.
Revenue is generally recognised as contract activity progresses so that for incomplete contracts it reflects the partial performance of the contractual obligations. For such contracts the amount of revenue reflects the accrual of the right to consideration by reference to the value of work performed. Revenue not billed to clients is included in debtors and payments on account in excess of the relevant amount of revenue are included in creditors.
Fee income that is contingent on events outside the control of the firm is recognised when the contingent event occurs.
If, at the statement of financial position date, completion of contractual obligations is dependent on external factors (and thus outside the control of the Limited Liability Partnership), then revenue is recognised only when the event occurs. In such cases, costs incurred up to the statement of financial position date are carried forward as work in progress.
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. Members' 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.
Property, plant and equipment 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 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.
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. If the recoverable amount of an asset (or cash-generating unit) is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset (or cash-generating unit) is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset (or cash-generating unit) in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
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 trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, 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.
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.
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 trade and other payables, 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 payables 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 payables are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
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.
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense, unless those costs are required to be recognised as part of the cost of stock or non-current assets.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the limited liability partnership is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
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.
In the application of the limited liability partnership’s accounting policies, the members are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Bad debt provision
A review of the underlying balances is carried out at the end of each month. Whilst every attempt is made to ensure that any provisions are as accurate as possible, there remains a slight risk that the provisions may not match the amounts which ultimately prove to be uncollectable.
Amounts recoverable on long term contracts
The statement of financial position includes unbilled revenue of £2,991,504 (2025: £2,463,863) at the year end. A review of the underlying balances is carried out each month. Whilst every attempt is made to ensure that any provisions are as accurate as possible, there remains a slight risk that the provisions may not match the amounts which ultimately prove to be uncollectable.
An analysis of the limited liability partnership's revenue is as follows:
The average number of persons (excluding members) employed by the partnership during the year was:
Their aggregate remuneration comprised:
The members represent the key management of the LLP. Their aggregate compensation, which represents their aggregate profit shares, amounted to £8,688,011 (2025: £11,960,312).
The limited liability partnership operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the limited liability partnership in an independently administered fund.
In the event of a winding up the amounts included in "Loans and other debts due to members" will rank equally with unsecured creditors.
At the reporting end date the limited liability partnership had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows: