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Solicitors Accounts Regulations - changes for Reporting Accountants
- Reporting Accountants' reports are to be filed within five months of the accounting date.
- Reporting Accountants are to test-check postings before and after accounting date and to test-check transactions before and after balancing dates.
- Reporting Accountants are to test-check that withdrawals of fees are notified to the clients.
- Reporting Accountants may report, directly to the Law Society, an opinion or a suspicion of a deficit, rather than waiting to submit annual report.
- closing Reporting Accountants' reports are to be filed within three months of cessation.
- the Law Society can withdraw approval of a Reporting Accountant, and reasons are to be provided for withdrawal of approval of a Reporting Accountant. The Regulations set out who can act as a Reporting Accountant to a firm, and this should be reviewed to ensure compliance. The Reporting Accountant must be a member of one of the listed accountancy bodies, must have a certain level of professional indemnity insurance and must not be connected or associated as set out in Regulation 26(4)(b).
