424 Quantity Surveying Practice Operation of the Partnership • Partners need to be kept informed of the level of profitability of the prac-tice and, to this end, full financial accounts should be prepared on a quarterly basis, including a work in progress valuation. To assist the man-agement, budgets and cashflow statements should ideally be prepared for at least two years in advance. Clearly defined provisions in the partnership agreement should set out the terms and conditions for the retirement of a :-:artner, including the withdrawal of his capital and financial provision for his future needs.
INCORPORATION WITH LIMITED OR UNLIMITED LIABILITY As the move towards company status for quantity surveyors has grown the RICS withdrew the earlier restrictive regulations and introduced more flexible arrangements. The main advantages of company status are the greater freedom in the ways in which finance can be raised to improve efficiency and the ability to compete with other professional organisations which are companies. A member may carry on practice as a surveyor through the medium of a company provided that he complies with the RICS Regulations, whereby a surveyor who is a director of the company must ensure that a provision is included in the Memorandum of Association or equivalent constitu-tional document of that company stating that 'Any business of surveying for the time being carried on by the company shall at all times be con-ducted in accordance with the Rules of Conduct for the time be'ng of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors'. It is now possible for a firm of chartered surveyors to be partly owned by, for example, a commercial organisation, although chartered surveyors must have full responsibility for the whole of the surveying work.