aapplication - page 2

e-approved lists

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about the approved lists

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frequently asked questions

You must read the following information before going to the next page. The link to the next page is situated at the bottom of this page.

Financial assessments

Bankers' References will not normally be taken into consideration.

The minimum requirement for "new" business is to produce evidence that you have traded for at least 12 months.

The participating councils will carry out a financial risk assessment of your business, and as a result your company will be assigned a notional annual and a notional contract limit. These limits will be used in determining who is invited to tender for Council contracts. In carrying out a financial risk assessment the participating councils are likely to give higher notional values to those organisations who submit audited accounts, over those who only submit un-audited statements of account.

Sole Traders or partnerships

Your firms certified accounts to include;

• Profit and Loss Account
• Balance Sheet
• Notes on above

They must be signed and dated by the proprietors, and be accompanied by a signed and dated Audit or Accountants Report.

Small limited companies

You may be aware that the rules for small companies have recently changed by removing the need to submit audited accounts to Companies House. The definition of a "small company" is that a company must meet at least two out of three criteria and these are :

Annual Turnover must be £5.6m or less
Balance Sheet total must be £2.8m or less
and
Average number of employees must be 50 or less.

If your company qualifies for "small company" status and has not had its accounts audited the notional financial limits awarded to your company will be lower than if they were audited (see note above).

Limited or Public Limited Company (not qualifying as a small company)

The participating councils currently use an external service provider, Experian, to carry out a financial risk assessment before admitting organisations to the approved lists and for their continuing approved status. Experian uses the accounts filed at Companies House to arrive at a risk score which is then applied by the participating councils in order to arrive at a contract limit for your company. In most circumstances it will not be necessary for you to provide a full set of your audited accounts with your application.

There may however be circumstances where the participating councils need to see your audited accounts. If requested by us, your company must be able to provide full audited accounts for the last three years within 7 days.

Draft, modified or abbreviated accounts will not acceptable.

Insurance Policies, Tax Exemption Certificates (Construction Industry), & other supportive documents

All companies applying for inclusion into our Approved Lists must have the following levels of insurance:

Public Liability Insurance - minimum £5,000,000

Employers Liability Insurance - minimum £10,000,000

You will be required to forward details of all insurance policies, tax exemption certificates, etc., referred to in the application form. Policy numbers, tax numbers and expiry dates that you record on the application form must correspond with the supportive documentation received. You can post or send the information in by e-mail (preferred method). The e-mail address will be given to you when you complete your application.

For those organisations agreeing to undertake contruction related work, you will need to produce certificates issued by the Inland Revenue's under their Construction Industry Scheme. Full details of the scheme may be obtained from the HM Revenue & Customs website - www.hmrc.gov.uk.

I understand the importance of sending in correct financial information.

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(Page last updated on 19 August 2005)