VAT Within Law Firms

The finance department of a firm is responsible for managing the day-to-day transactions and finances of the business. This includes bookkeeping, preparation of balance sheets, cash flow reports, financial statements, record keeping and reporting. It also includes managing the payroll and accounts of the business. The finance department will also be involved with managing and conducting internal audits and ensuring compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules. Nearly all firms that transact client money will have a legal cashier, or in larger firms, a team of cashiers with the role being segregated into areas such as credit control, billing, compliance, management accountants and cashiering. This workshop is designed to give an introduction to legal finance and how it all fits within legal practice. It is ideal for new starters and for those returning to legal practice and accounts.

How a law firm carries out and prepares bank reconciliations is a good indicator of the overall control environment within a firm. It’s one of the key controls – period. If it is not done compliantly, it raises concerns about what else isn’t being done compliantly or at all, to reporting accountants and the SRA during monitoring visits. This workshop focuses on the process and the importance of carrying bank reconciliations within legal practice.

In this online and on demand training workshop we explain what the solicitors’ bills rules are and why they are important when it comes to the recoverability of the fees, recharges and disbursements claimed in bills. We’ll look at billing procedures and processes, ensuring that VAT is accounted for correctly and at right time in accordance with the VAT Act 1994 and Brexit. It will also look at the different categories of bills that can be issued.

Since January 2013, the Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) has had significant responsibility for ensuring firm’s meet their regulatory obligations and compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules and that any breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules are documented and reported back to the SRA. In addition to the COFA’s role in relation to the SRA Accounts Rules, the COFA has a duty under the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms to report to the SRA when the practice is in serious financial difficulties. The role of the COFA comes with personal liability. This online and on demand training workshop will cover the regulatory obligations of the firm, individuals within the firm and the key role of the COFA.

This workshop focuses on the correct treatment of disbursements for VAT purposes and recharged overheads. The workshop will look at both HMRC’s and the SRA’s definition of disbursement and it will explore the VAT Act 1994, Notice 700, case law and address issues that have emerged from cases like the ‘Brabners’ decision and the implications of those decisions to law firms. Conundrums and scenarios will be posed and discussed throughout the session

This workshop is designed to give an introduction to legal finance and how it all fits within legal practice. It is ideal for new starters and for those returning to legal practice and accounts.

The current SRA Accounts Rules allow more flexibility in how law firms operate and manage risk but also require firms to make their own professional judgements and decisions in how they protect client money and assets entrusted to them. In this online and on demand training workshop will explore the technical and practical application of the accounts rules and best practice to ensure compliance. It will address issues that have emerged from the warning notices and guidance that has been subsequently released and will look at conundrums, scenarios and recent Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decisions.