This guidance is addressed in particular to:

• Trustees, especially those responsible for financial, accounting and audit matters, such as chairs of audit committees
• Scheme accountants responsible for the preparation of scheme accounts and the maintenance of scheme financial records
• Scheme auditors
• Other scheme advisors who are users of scheme accounts especially scheme actuaries, legal advisers and benefit consultants

 The aim of the PPF in issuing this guidance is to assist preparers and auditors of accounts of schemes in a PPF assessment period to

• comply with relevant general legislation and regulations concerning the preparation and audit of pension scheme accounts
• comply with relevant legislation and guidance concerning scheme record keeping in general, and financial records in particular
• comply with specific regulations applicable to schemes in a PPF assessment periodComply with other professional standards and guidance including for example Practice Note 15 "The Audit of Occupational Pension Schemes in the UK" issued by the Auditing Practices Board, and
• minimise the costs of compliance and maximise the value of each set of accounts to meet the various objectives

The key to achieving these objectives is the early development by the trustees and their advisers of an accounts preparation and audit strategy, setting out what accounts are going to be prepared at which dates and for which purposes. Of course, circumstances arising in the course of the assessment period may force changes to these plans, so some flexibility needs to be built in. The accounting plan therefore needs to be integrated with the assessment period project plan to ensure the wide variety of activities are properly coordinated.