Southampton

From January 2013, the Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) within a firm will have special responsibility for ensuring that clients‘ money is handled in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules and that any breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules are documented and reported back to the SRA. 

The introduction of the new SRA Handbook on 6 October 2011 has brought about a number of important changes in the way in which the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates firms of solicitors within the legal profession. From 2012, firms of all sizes must appoint a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) who will have special responsibilities for ensuring compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules (formerly the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998) and for reporting directly to the SRA any breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules which take place.

BigHand has announced the details of their annual briefings that take place at venues across the UK, starting with the London event on 19th June. BigHand will be demonstrating how the latest BigHand version 4.2.2, new speech recognition components, and the latest smartphone releases and integrations can deliver further efficiency gains at law firms.

This course focuses on the main provisions of the SRA Accounts Rules, contained within the new SRA Handbook, governing how solicitors handle clients' money, and is primarily aimed at those working in private practice. Although assuming no prior knowledge, delegates attending this course will quickly build a sound understanding of the SRA Accounts Rules by looking at the most common compliance issues that occur in practice and the pitfalls to be avoided including problem areas such as the treatment of residual balances on client ledger accounts.

SRA Accounts Rules 2011 – These are one-day Workshops designed to provide practical advice for legal accounting personnel.

During the day delegates will participate in workshop sessions assisting them to implement the Rules correctly.

Delegates will each receive a copy of the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules Manual.