About Adviser Radar
The Claimant Commitment
The Adviser Radar Claimant Commitment is a short public statement of what a claimant should be able to expect when working with an R&D tax adviser. Every adviser with an Enhanced Profile makes it.
The five commitments
Act with the claimant's interests in mind
Act honestly, professionally and with reasonable care, complying with tax law and their professional responsibilities.
Understand the claimant's circumstances
Do the work needed to understand the business, its projects and its qualifying expenditure, involving the claimant and critically assessing the information provided.
Only support credible claims
Only prepare or submit claims they reasonably believe have a credible, properly supported basis.
Be clear about risks, fees and responsibilities
Explain significant areas of judgement, what the fees are, what HMRC enquiry support is included and what the claimant is expected to do.
Market and deliver services responsibly
Avoid misleading claims, unrealistic promises and high-pressure sales, and give claimants a proper opportunity to review and approve their claim before submission.
Why it exists
Advisers with an Enhanced Profile are the firms you can contact directly through Adviser Radar. We want those firms to be good, credible choices, so we ask each of them to make this commitment before their Enhanced Profile goes live. If we receive credible information that a firm has breached it, we can withdraw their Enhanced Profile and everything that comes with it.
For you as a claimant, it means two things. The firms you can contact directly through Adviser Radar have publicly committed to ethical, quality work, and they know that commitment has consequences. A firm that has signed up is telling you it takes your claim seriously.
Making the commitment is a condition of holding an Enhanced Profile, not a feature of it. Advisers do not pay to make the commitment. They accept it as part of participating.
What it is, and what it is not
The commitment is a public statement of principles that Enhanced Profile advisers have agreed to work to. Adviser Radar can review an adviser's continued participation where credible information suggests the adviser has acted materially inconsistently with it.
It is not an accreditation, a certification or an endorsement. Adviser Radar does not audit advisers' work or review individual claims, and no adviser can guarantee that a claim will be accepted by HMRC.
Claimants should still carry out their own checks and review an adviser's engagement terms before appointing them. The commitment does not replace that. It tells you what the conversation should cover.
Putting it to use
Before appointing any adviser, whether they hold an Enhanced Profile or not, it is worth asking:
- how they will get to know the business and its projects;
- who will do the work and who will review it;
- how they decide whether a claim has a credible basis;
- how fees are calculated and what enquiry support is included; and
- how you will review and approve the claim before it goes to HMRC.
Any good adviser will have ready answers to all five.
Frequently asked questions
Who makes the commitment?
Every firm subscribing to an Enhanced Profile. It is made at firm level as part of the sign-up process and applies for as long as the firm holds an Enhanced Profile.
Is it an accreditation?
No. Adviser Radar has not audited or approved the firm. The commitment is the firm's own public statement of the standards it works to, which is exactly why it carries weight. It comes from the firm, not from us.
Does Adviser Radar monitor compliance?
Not routinely. But where credible information suggests a firm has acted materially or repeatedly inconsistently with the commitment, we raise it with the firm and give them a fair opportunity to respond. Where appropriate, we can suspend or withdraw the firm's Enhanced Profile. How this works is set out in our Terms of service.
Do advisers without an Enhanced Profile follow lower standards?
No. Many follow the same or higher standards under law, HMRC requirements or their professional body rules. The commitment simply means an Enhanced Profile firm has made these expectations public.
Does it replace an engagement letter?
No. Claimants and advisers should still agree their own terms covering services, fees, responsibilities and limitations. The commitment sets expectations. The engagement letter sets the contract.