No longer Ltd->Crystal Umbrella Services Ltd->Aqua Bubble Ltd T/As Crystal Umbrella??

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

All reasonably sized umbrella companies will be required, by law, to have an audit conducted by an external auditor and any kind of suspected misappropriation would have to be reported in their findings. The published accounts are then available to view at Companies House.

Don't get me wrong Steve, I am all about companies in this industry working together to improve standards and promote excellent working practises but there are many, many audit schemes out there which all make the same claim as FCSA - most of them are run by umbrella companies (as in your case) and none of them offer the contractors protection; ultimately if the company is badly run it will be the contractor that loses out and a one day visit once a year will not prevent that.

[Steven@Parasol]

All reasonably sized umbrella companies will be required, by law, to have an audit conducted by an external auditor and any kind of suspected misappropriation would have to be reported in their findings. The published accounts are then available to view at Companies House.

Don't get me wrong Steve, I am all about companies in this industry working together to improve standards and promote excellent working practises but there are many, many audit schemes out there which all make the same claim as FCSA - most of them are run by umbrella companies (as in your case) and none of them offer the contractors protection; ultimately if the company is badly run it will be the contractor that loses out and a one day visit once a year will not prevent that.

Fair points as ever Lisa but we don't own the FCSA. Neither do Brookson nor Giant, we do all pay an annual memebership fee of £7,500, the majority of which is to cover the costs of the audit. I think from previous comments from the chair there are currently nine other companies looking to go through the audit process and apply the code of conduct or that are in some way in the middle of the process. I would have to check that though.


None of the other audit standards have worked so we all need to look to something else. Sunday Solutions for one had all the audit standards and look what happened there. Most of the organisations that compile umbrella league tables and acceditation are owned or part owned by umbrella companies as you say and you pay for the badge of honour (which offer no protection to the contractor whatsoever) so we intentionally do not have them on our website. Believe me, we work with almost 8,000 contractors at the moment and over 2,000 recruiters so we are arguably one of the top three or four service providers in the country. All the accreditors and league table companies would love us to be involved and display their logo on our website but we won't pay to be included in a faux league table which has been created for commercial reasons and because they don't actually protect anyone. It's just a marketing exercise that contractors can see through.


None of the other standards have been created with advice from HMRC. And apologies for cutting and pasting alot but I wanted to include the comments from the Director of People Services at KPMG. it saves me typing it all out!

This was published by Recruiter in July last year.

A director of the Big Four accountancy firm carrying out independent audits of prospective members of the FCSA (Freelancer &Contractor Services Association) says existing members have been “pleasantly surprised” by how much the audits “got under the skin of their businesses”.

The comments from John Chaplin, director people services at KPMG, came after the trade association revealed that the three founder membersof the FCSA - Brookson, Parasol and giant - are the first companies to have successfully completed the review.


So far, these are the only companies to have gone through the review process, launched in September, with the intention of raising levels of compliance in the industry, which includes umbrella companies, and businesses providing support and accountancy services to small limited companies.

The audit, which is a prerequisite for FCSA membership consists of two stages: a desktop questionnaire and an onsite visit by KPMG. It covers areas such as employment contracts, checks on directors and financial checks, as well as checks that that companies are adhering to rules on expenses, minimum wage legislation and standards of customer care.

Chaplin said that while it was easy for companies to have the right documentation, training materials and guides, it was more difficult to ensure that standards were being met in practice “when people [auditors] start shaking a stick at it”.

He said the onsite visits included listening in on conversations between staff and clients/prospective clients, and asking staff hypothetical questions about how they would react in certain circumstances.

Chaplin said that the audit was not a simple matter of pass or fail. “It’s more ’here are the gold, silver and bronze standards’. Where are you and how can we help you to move up the scale? Firms that initially fail to meet the ’pass standard’ have four weeks to correct any failings,” he explained.

Chaplin said the code was already having an impact, with three clients asking KPMG for “a dirty and quick review” before they go through the full process.

Following the process, the desktop questionnaire and the report from KPMG go to HM Revenue & Customs. The review process is completed annually to ensure standards are maintained and any changes to legislation are applied.

Stuart Davis, chairman of the FCSA, told Recruiter that nine companies are looking at going through the process “very, very seriously”.

The code was produced with advice from HMRC, though it has not been formally endorsed by them. The cost of £4,000 or £2,000 (where more than one company owned by the same person goes through a review) comes out of the annual FCSA membership fee of £7,500.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Fair points as ever Lisa but we don't own the FCSA. Neither do Brookson nor Giant, we do all pay an annual memebership fee of £7,500, the majority of which is to cover the costs of the audit. I think from previous comments from the chair there are currently nine other companies looking to go through the audit process and apply the code of conduct or that are in some way in the middle of the process. I would have to check that though.


None of the other audit standards have worked so we all need to look to something else. Sunday Solutions for one had all the audit standards and look what happened there. Most of the organisations that compile umbrella league tables and acceditation are owned or part owned by umbrella companies as you say and you pay for the badge of honour (which offer no protection to the contractor whatsoever) so we intentionally do not have them on our website. Believe me, we work with almost 8,000 contractors at the moment and over 2,000 recruiters so we are arguably one of the top three or four service providers in the country. All the accreditors and league table companies would love us to be involved and display their logo on our website but we won't pay to be included in a faux league table which has been created for commercial reasons and because they don't actually protect anyone. It's just a marketing exercise that contractors can see through.


None of the other standards have been created with advice from HMRC. And apologies for cutting and pasting alot but I wanted to include the comments from the Director of People Services at KPMG. it saves me typing it all out!

This was published by Recruiter in July last year.

A director of the Big Four accountancy firm carrying out independent audits of prospective members of the FCSA (Freelancer &Contractor Services Association) says existing members have been “pleasantly surprised” by how much the audits “got under the skin of their businesses”.

The comments from John Chaplin, director people services at KPMG, came after the trade association revealed that the three founder membersof the FCSA - Brookson, Parasol and giant - are the first companies to have successfully completed the review.


So far, these are the only companies to have gone through the review process, launched in September, with the intention of raising levels of compliance in the industry, which includes umbrella companies, and businesses providing support and accountancy services to small limited companies.

The audit, which is a prerequisite for FCSA membership consists of two stages: a desktop questionnaire and an onsite visit by KPMG. It covers areas such as employment contracts, checks on directors and financial checks, as well as checks that that companies are adhering to rules on expenses, minimum wage legislation and standards of customer care.

Chaplin said that while it was easy for companies to have the right documentation, training materials and guides, it was more difficult to ensure that standards were being met in practice “when people [auditors] start shaking a stick at it”.

He said the onsite visits included listening in on conversations between staff and clients/prospective clients, and asking staff hypothetical questions about how they would react in certain circumstances.

Chaplin said that the audit was not a simple matter of pass or fail. “It’s more ’here are the gold, silver and bronze standards’. Where are you and how can we help you to move up the scale? Firms that initially fail to meet the ’pass standard’ have four weeks to correct any failings,” he explained.

Chaplin said the code was already having an impact, with three clients asking KPMG for “a dirty and quick review” before they go through the full process.

Following the process, the desktop questionnaire and the report from KPMG go to HM Revenue & Customs. The review process is completed annually to ensure standards are maintained and any changes to legislation are applied.

Stuart Davis, chairman of the FCSA, told Recruiter that nine companies are looking at going through the process “very, very seriously”.

The code was produced with advice from HMRC, though it has not been formally endorsed by them. The cost of £4,000 or £2,000 (where more than one company owned by the same person goes through a review) comes out of the annual FCSA membership fee of £7,500.

So what happens to the other £3500?

[Steven@Parasol]

So what happens to the other £3500?

Sorry Lisa I was offline yesterday.

The £3500 goes to funding the administration of the FCSA and costs. It has an indendent chair and admin team. It also funds the various lobbying efforts and PR support which are conducted by external specialist organisations.

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

Sorry Lisa I was offline yesterday.

The £3500 goes to funding the administration of the FCSA and costs. It has an indendent chair and admin team. It also funds the various lobbying efforts and PR support which are conducted by external specialist organisations.

Sorry, I missed it from your earlier posts - does the FCSA have 3 members or 12 currently?

[Steven@Parasol]

Sorry, I missed it from your earlier posts - does the FCSA have 3 members or 12 currently?

3 members that have completed the audit, another nine are currently going through the process (but I would have to check that).

[LisaContractorUmbrella]

3 members that have completed the audit, another nine are currently going through the process (but I would have to check that).

Oh ok thanks Steve. So am I right in saying that the FCSA is a not for profit organisation? If the additional £3500 per year is going on promoting umbrella company standards and promoting those companies that have completed the audit then I can definitely see the benefit.