WSM Marks Bloom LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Connect House, 133-137 Alexandra Road, London, SW19 7JY.
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 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. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
Turnover represents the amounts recoverable for the services provided to clients, excluding value added tax, under contractual obligations which are performed gradually over time.
Revenue from contracts for the provision of professional services is recognised by reference to the stage of completion when the stage of completion, costs incurred and costs to complete can be estimated reliably. The stage of completion is calculated by comparing costs incurred, mainly in relation to contractual hourly staff rates and materials, as a proportion of total costs. Where the outcome cannot be estimated reliably, revenue is recognised only to the extent of the expenses recognised that are recoverable.
Members’ participation rights comprise the rights of members against the LLP arising under the members’ agreement, including rights in respect of capital, remuneration and profits. These rights are classified as financial liabilities or equity in accordance with their contractual substance and Section 22 of FRS 102.
Profit entitlements
The members’ agreement provides for profits to be divided between members in accordance with the agreed Basic Profit, Performance Profit and Super Profit arrangements and credited to their respective current accounts.
Where the LLP has no unconditional right to avoid dividing profits, the resulting entitlements are accounted for as an automatic division of profits and recognised in the financial year to which they relate. The subsequent approval of the accounts confirms the amounts of those entitlements and does not, of itself, constitute a discretionary division of profits.
Amounts arising from automatic profit entitlements attributable to members providing substantive services are recognised as members’ remuneration charged as an expense. Unpaid amounts are included within loans and other debts due to members, subject to the offsetting policy below.
Drawings and amounts due from members
Payments to members are debited to their respective current accounts. Where payments exceed the amounts credited to a member and the LLP has an enforceable right to recover the excess, the recoverable balance is recognised within debtors and disclosed as amounts due from members in the reconciliation of members’ interests.
Amounts due to and from an individual member are offset only where the LLP has a legally enforceable right of set-off and intends either to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. Balances relating to different members are not offset against one another.
Members’ capital
Members’ capital is classified as a financial liability where the LLP has a contractual obligation to repay it, unless the conditions for classification as equity under Section 22 of FRS 102 are met. Capital repayable to an outgoing member is accounted for in accordance with the repayment provisions of the members’ agreement.
Retained balances
Amounts retained to meet working capital requirements or members’ tax liabilities are classified according to the underlying contractual rights and obligations. Restrictions on the timing of withdrawals do not, of themselves, result in equity classification.
Losses
Losses are allocated to members in accordance with the members’ agreement, first against current accounts and then against capital accounts, without creating a deficit in either account. Losses exceeding those balances are not recognised as amounts recoverable from members unless an enforceable obligation to contribute exists.
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.
The average number of persons (excluding members) employed by the partnership during the year was:
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, as follows: