Hello everyone,

I am after some advice if someone could spare a few minutes of their time?

Firstly, a little about me. I currently work for a local council as a managament accountant, and have been in my role for 7 years. In this time I have achieved membership of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. Before employment, I studied Maths with Accounting at University, which was more private sector based.

I am looking to start doing some bookkeeping in my spare time, but really dont know where to start in knowing what's required. Working in the public sector has made me "lose touch" with reporting requirements in the private sector. I am more than confident of being able to do this, but it's a case of knowing what would actually required of me in this role. I need to find out what the reporting requirements are for SMEs or sole traders, do they need I&E accounts, Balance Sheets etc, or more simplistic statements due to thier size.

Also, being "chartered" normally means you are able to sign-off peoples accounts, but would this still be applicable with my qualifaction being in the public sector?

I understand i will need public liability insurance when undertaking this role.

Any guidence anyone can offer would be very gratefully received. It's just a bit of fear of the unknown really, and i just dont really know where to start looking.

Thanks in anticipation for any reponses.