All for one, all for you!

Having a a complete and accurate suite of information at your disposal is essential for all business activity. Without knowing your point of departure it is impossible to steer to your destination. We help you create a solid foundation based on consistent and accurate data from which you can make decisions on your next business moves. The increasing complexity of business organizations due to digitization presents both risks and opportunities. Nowadays an increasing amount of data is captured that, in the right context, allows data analytics to be performed on a scale that was previously unimaginable.

Within the framework of our Winsulting^® approach, our tax advisors, auditors, lawyers and business consultants take a step back from the business practices that were successful in the past and compile an interdisciplinary team that looks at all aspects of your business model from commercial, legal, tax and technological perspectives. This involves bringing together the experts from our various service lines to create a team that can comprehensively respond to your challenges. We are guided by the goals of our work. Consequently, we apply the right methods and tools to do the job and provide you with the benefits. We do not pursue a standardized one-size-fits-all approach as the composition of the team is decisive for the desired results of our work.

The days of substantive testing of individual source documents and ticking off entries are over. A state-of-the-art audit and advisory approach nowadays entails a comprehensive understanding of the business model and the business processes as they are lived and breathed by the company. This requires a classical understanding of the internal control system (ICS) and an in-depth assessment of dataflows, from the entry of a transaction through to its presentation in the financial reporting or tax declaration. But it also involves an analysis of the interfaces between the various IT systems and the exchange of data between the systems.

After doing this groundwork, it is possible to apply a big data approach, i.e. using data analytics to address all issues from the various perspectives by condensing all the available data. With our eyes on the goal of rapidly and efficiently identfying any “unusual” transactions, we can then carry out substantive testing. We can carry out this assessment jointly with you or rely on our experienced auditors to find the needle in the haystack at much greater speed, if circumstances allow.

If requested, it is possible to install a fully digitized data exchange with our tax advisors, auditors, lawyers and business consultants. Our high degree of digitization allows, for example, the procedures during field audits to be optimized, resulting in fewer queries coming back to you, allowing you to concentrate fully on your core business.

The use of larger and more complex IT systems makes your organization increasingly opaque.  As a result, management needs information to be aggregated to arrive at just those messages which are significant. This creates transparency and sorts out the signal from the noise.

A keyword in this regard is compliance. Broken down this implies compliance of your financial reporting with the law. During special framework audits or internal audits it implies compliance with both legal and internal requirements.

In terms of IT systems, compliance is becoming increasingly relevant on account of the density of regulation set by the lawmakers. From the perspective of the user, compliance is ensured by means of very tightly controlled user profiles. As a result, conformity with other laws and standards, such as GoBD [Generally Accepted Principles for Keeping Books, Records and Documents in Electronic Form and Data Access to such Records] and the GDPR is of growing concern, as an increasing number of business processes are being digitized and the share of fully automated process is on the rise.

Notwithstanding these requirements, the German Commercial Code has been at the center of all business audits for over 100 years and is the framework on which all methods and tools are oriented. A set of financial statements must always provide a true and fair view of the financial performance, financial position and earnings of the reporting entity. This guiding principle, along with German GAAP and the principle of commercial prudence, underlies all audits. Another audit benchmark is applied when it comes to uncovering white-collar crime, which must be investigated under the terms of a separate engagement.

Our tax advisors identify tax risks and will support you at implementing a tax compliance system. In the role of ombudsman, our lawyers can act as a point of contact for your employees or as legal counsel that you can rely on in the event of a real or pending breach of the law.

Understanding your business model is a basic prerequisite for a commercial or legal audit, as this allows us to quickly and constructively address your specific queries. In addition to an engagement for day-to-day advisory services, this may take the form of an ad hoc audit, e.g. within the framework of the internal audit, or for special framework audits of suspicious transactions or disruptions.

In addition to auditing past transactions, we will act as consultants for your future transactions. In cooperation with Corporate Finance Hannover, we will stand at your side from the moment you make first contact with a targeted acquisition and assist you with business valuations, the entire due diligence process (clarifying legal, contractual, tax and financial issues) through to the final conclusion of the corporate transaction.

Thanks to our wealth of experience gathered over decades of being in business and the fruits of our interdisciplinary approach in tax, auditing, law and advisory, we can offer you a comprehensive suite of consulting services aimed at optimizing your business processes. In light of the fact that digital data analytics are becoming increasingly important, we will also help you set up archving systems, cash records and financial accounting systems.

We will accompany you over the entire life cycle of your firm and will be at your side, even in times of crisis. Thanks to our WINSULTING® approach, not only can we offer you a potential concept (such as restructuring plans required by IDW S6, going concern forecasts, insolvency plans and liquidition concepts) but also offer you practical support duringn their implementation. Our consultants take a hands-on approach and have the necessary experience to succesfully implement the concepts in practice. Should there be any remaining doubts, we will sit down together with you to assess the grounds for opening insolvency proceedings in accordance with IDW S11 and identify the need and opportunities attached to issuing certifications pursuant to Sec. 270b InsO (the German Insolvency Regulation). The objective is always to stake out the measures you need to take and present the alternatives available to you to steer your company out of a difficult situation, where even the future of the organization might be on the line. This also includes an assessment of whether the criteria for filing for insolvency have been met.