Ongoing VAT Support

High-value organisations with complex structures need to function day to day with an eye to VAT issues, as these arise outside transactions and HMRC enquiries.

Continuous monitoring of VAT risk and opportunities

VAT challenges can arise from operational changes, new contracts, expansion plans and evolving regulations, so successful organisations will conduct continuous monitoring of VAT risks and recovery opportunities.

But internal tax teams may not have access to specialist VAT advice from in-house sources. Retaining external VAT advisers ensures finance and tax departments have responsive, proactive support as a matter of course.

Regular VAT views

Our service can also include regular reviews to capture opportunities and ensure continuing compliance with complex and changing VAT rules.

The Proactive Consultancy Group’s advisers have a strong track record of experience with complex VAT environments and can provide ongoing support to high-value organisations as an extension of your finance and tax functions.

We offer a retained VAT advisory service providing ongoing technical guidance, compliance support and strategic VAT advice.

Our VAT support service can help you to ensure that your VAT compliance remains robust, reducing the risk of costly errors. Business focused VAT advice can facilitate commercial decision-making by helping to identify VAT-saving opportunities as they arise. Using an external VAT advisory service ensures your company has access to specialist support and knowledge without the cost of building an internal VAT team.

What an Ongoing VAT Support Package Covers

When you retain The Proactive Consultancy Group as a VAT adviser, you can expect:

• VAT advisory support
• VAT compliance support
• HMRC support
• Strategic VAT guidance
• VAT opportunity reviews

As well as access to day-to-day technical advice and sector-specific issues, our VAT advisory support can provide expert guidance about new products, services and business models. We can also review unusual or complex transactions.

VAT compliance support includes oversight of VAT returns and monitoring of processes and checks. We can also carry out compliance health checks and identify and correct errors.

Many of our advisers have worked with HMRC, and so our HMRC support is based on experience and a working knowledge of the UK’s taxation authorities. Our service includes assistance with correspondence, support during inspections, and preparations of any supporting evidence or documentation that is relevant to an inspection or investigation. We can also provide technical responses to HMRC challenges.

Many of our clients seek strategic VAT guidance at key points in the business cycle, including during group restructuring or in expansion projects. VAT expertise and advisory can also be advantageous during international trading developments, property transactions and major procurement or capital expenditure projects.

Expert advice during ongoing VAT opportunity reviews can help with identification of VAT recovery opportunities and assessment of emerging VAT savings, so many of our clients value our regular commercially aligned optimisation recommendations. VAT reviews will also ensure your company is proactive in the face of changes to legislation and guidance.

1. Assessment

We will first gain a detailed understanding of your organisation's VAT position and requirements. To achieve this, we will review your business operations and structure; assess current VAT processes and controls; identify existing risks and opportunities and learn more about your company’s future business plans and priorities.

This confidential initial contact will allow us to assess your support requirements and potential value areas.

2. Case Validation

Next, we will validate the case to confirm where ongoing VAT support can deliver measurable benefit. This will include:

• Technical review of key VAT areas
• Evaluation of compliance processes
• Identification of risk exposure
• Assessment of opportunity pipeline

We can then present a defined support strategy and expected areas of value creation.

3. Engagement

At this stage, we will establish an ongoing advisory relationship based on our transparent engagement structure and a clearly defined scope of support. Our flexible approach is tailored to your business requirements, and we will work to an agreed support framework and service plan.

4. Delivery

We will provide proactive and responsive VAT support throughout the engagement. Our VAT support service will give your tax team access to VAT specialists who will provide technical advice and guidance and carry out compliance reviews and monitoring as needed. Our service also includes liaison with HMRC and regular opportunity assessments.

Retaining our services will improve VAT governance, reduce risk and strengthen compliance performance.

There are several advantages to retaining our services to provide VAT support for your tax department.

Specialist Expertise on Demand

When you engage The Proactive Consultancy Group, you have direct access to experienced VAT professionals. Our tailored assessment process, and the ongoing relationship that we establish will ensure that you get VAT advice tailored to meet any complex organisational requirements you have.

Reduced VAT Risk

Retaining a VAT advisory service means that you can monitor changing VAT obligations on an ongoing basis to ensure that you identify compliance issues early.

Increased Efficiency

Expanding the expertise available to your in-house tax and finance teams means that they spend less time resolving VAT issues.

Improved VAT Recovery

A continuous review of VAT recovery positions by an external advisory service will help your organisation to identify missed opportunities and act on them advantageously.

Confidence in Decision-Making

The timely availability of VAT advice ahead of significant business decisions ensures confidence and efficiency.

Our VAT support service is best suited to high-value organisations and businesses that have significant VAT expenditure or multiple VAT registrations. We also have experience working alongside organisations operating across multiple entities or jurisdictions.

We are well suited to businesses entities with frequent VAT compliance obligations who need specialist oversight on a long-term basis.

Our VAT support service is valuable ahead of complex or high-value transactions, particularly those around property and capital projects

We can assist with managing internal VAT resource gaps, as well as during HMRC enquiries or reviews.

VAT support is often sought at specific points in the business cycle, for example in times of rapid growth or international expansion.