Law firms have been warned to anticipate an investigative "onslaught" by HM Revenues & Customs (HMRC) as the body targets the personal expenses of partners.

Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton today (6 November) said firms should expect a barrage of enquiries from HMRC into personal expenses, as well as calculations of work in progress and accrued income.

Other issues HMRC will be looking into include partner recruitment costs, bad debt and dilapidation provisions.

The body recently conducted a recruitment drive and has intensified its investigations as the deadline approaches for launching investigations into the 2005-2006 partnership returns.

Grant Thornton professional practices group director Lenka Hennessey said finance directors should prepare for a raft of queries regarding the deductibility of expenses against profits.

She commented: "The nature of the queries has been far more intense than previously seen. The level of detail that firms must respond with is far more sophisticated and lengthy than in the past. This is clearly a result of the recent recruitment drive by the Revenue."

She added: "Firms [that] had enquiries last year should not think they will be left alone this year as we have already seen a new round of notices being issued in the past month."