The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Accounts Rules AAF 03/20 one year on

One year on and so much has changed, with the effect of COVID-19 you have had to tighten your internal controls and now it is time to remind you of some key items you need to be SRA compliant.

What changed within the updated AAF 03/20 report effective from 25 November 2019:

• Introduction of a requirement for law firms to submit only qualified Accountant’s Reports;
• The introduction of a requirement to submit unqualified ‘cease to hold’ reports (which has since been removed
  ); and
• The removal of the prescriptive Rule 39 procedure and replacement with Rule 43A, which required reporting accountants to use professional judgement to determine the work required

It is important to note that reporting is only required on serious issues allowing SRA’s to better focus their own reviews and resources.

There are 13 set Accounts Rules which are required to be understood in detail by both the firm and Reporting Accountant which can be found here: https://www.sra.org.uk/solicitors/standards-regulations/accounts-rules/

If you, as a firm of solicitors, have held or received client money or operated a joint or client’s own account as signatory then you fall into the category to obtain an Accountant’s Report within six months of the period end and, if qualified (meaning a more serious issue may have arisen), required to be submitted to the SRA.

How can Assure UK help you?

Assure UK can be the Reporting Accountant for your ICAEW AAF 03/20 report.

Not only this but we can provide additional support to strengthen your internal controls to ensure you minimise the risk of receiving a qualified report.

Assure UK has years of experience to use their professional judgement to assess a firm’s compliance of the 13 set Accounts Rules set by the SRA.

During the work performed by Assure UK, a thorough assessment would be conducted on your firm’s risks allowing key processes to be identified and improved, specifically focusing on areas where breaches are likely to occur.

Assure UK will go above and beyond to help your firm. We strive to provide you constant support right from the planning stage all the way through to developing and strengthening your internal controls.

Unsure on whether you are required to have an AAF 03/20 Report then contact Assure UK for more information, we have the capability to source the relevant documents to help you.

Please contact us on 020 7112 8300 alternatively you can email info@assureuk.co.uk.