BOSTON_GILMORE_LLP - Accounts

The members of the limited liability partnership have elected not to include a copy of the profit and loss account within the financial statements.

For the financial year ended 31 March 2020 the limited liability partnership was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 (as applied by the Limited Liability Partnerships (Accounts and Audit) (Application of Companies Act 2006) Regulations 2008) relating to small limited liability partnerships.

The members acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act (as applied to limited liability partnerships) with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.

These financial statements have been prepared and delivered in accordance with the provisions applicable to limited liability partnerships subject to the small limited liability partnerships regime.

Boston Gilmore LLP is a limited liability partnership incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 325-327 Oldfield Lane North, Greenford, Middlesex, UB6 0FX.

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 January 2017, 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.

The turnover shown in the profit and loss account represents amounts receivable for services provided, exclusive of Value Added Tax.

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, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', and the requirements of the Statement of Recommended Practice 'Accounting by Limited Liability Partnerships'. A member's participation right results in a liability unless the right to any payment is discretionary on the part of the LLP.

Amounts subscribed or otherwise contributed by members, for example members' capital, are classed as equity if the LLP has an unconditional right to refuse payment to members. If the LLP does not have such an unconditional right, such amounts are classified as liabilities.

Where profits are automatically divided as they arise, so the LLP does not have an unconditional right to refuse payment, the amounts arising that are due to members are in the nature of liabilities. They are therefore treated as an expense in the statement of comprehensive income in the relevant year. To the extent that they remain unpaid at the year end, they are shown as liabilities in the statement of financial position.

Conversely, where profits are divided only after a decision by the LLP or its representative, so that the LLP has an unconditional right to refuse payment, such profits are classed as an appropriation of equity rather than as an expense. They are therefore shown as a residual amount available for discretionary division among members in the statement of comprehensive income and are equity appropriations in the statement of financial position.

Other amounts applied to members, for example remuneration paid under an employment contract and interest on capital balances, are treated in the same way as all other divisions of profits, as described above, according to whether the LLP has, in each case, an unconditional right to refuse payment.

All amounts due to members that are classified as liabilities are presented in the statement of financial position within 'Loans and other debts due to members' and are charged to the statement of comprehensive income within 'Members' remuneration charged as an expense'. Amounts due to members that are classified as equity are shown in the statement of financial position within 'Members' other interests'.

Once an unavoidable obligation has been created in favour of members through allocation of profits or other means, any undrawn profits remaining at the reporting date are shown as ‘Loans and other debts due to members’ to the extent they exceed debts due from a specific member.

Tangible fixed assets 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 profit and loss account.

Where a reasonable and consistent basis of allocation can be identified, assets are allocated to individual cash-generating units, or otherwise they are allocated to the smallest group of cash-generating units for which a reasonable and consistent allocation basis can be identified.

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.

Financial instruments are classified and accounted for, according to the substance of the contractual arrangement, as either financial assets, financial liabilities or equity instruments. An equity instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the company after deducting all of its liabilities.

Other financial assets, including investments in equity instruments which are not subsidiaries, associates or joint ventures, are initially measured at fair value, which is normally the transaction price. Such assets are subsequently carried at fair value and the changes in fair value are recognised in profit or loss, except that investments in equity instruments that are not publicly traded and whose fair values cannot be measured reliably are measured at cost less impairment.

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.

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 fixed 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.

The LLP operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions are charged to the profit and loss account in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

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.

After the year end, the company has been directly impacted by the effects of the global pandemic COVID 19. Turnover has decreased, although there has also been a reduction in some costs. The company has also taken advantage of some of the government assistance provided for during this period.