Early discussion between grantors of public funding and accountants is important, says Sumita Shah.

Public money and public debt are of interest to everyone. How public money is spent is important to us all; after all, it is our money, we are the taxpayers. Many organisations rely on support from government departments in the form of grants for a number of activities. Individual grants can be given for millions of pounds for big capital projects spanning a number of years. Others can be for relatively small amounts, used either to set up a business or perhaps even to save it from bankruptcy.