Following approval by the Legal Services Board, on the 31 October 2014 the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 will be amended as follows:
(a) Any firm with an accounting period that ends before 31 October 2014 will need to obtain and deliver to us in the normal way an accountant’s report within six months of the end of the period to which the report relates.
(b) Any firm with an accounting period that end on 31 October 2014 or after will be required to obtain an accountants report within six months of the end of the period to which the report relates but will only be required to deliver the report to us if the report is qualified.
(c) Any firm that only holds client money received from the Legal aid Agency with an accounting period that ends 31 October 2014 or after will not be required to obtain an accountant’s report.
As your firm’s accounting year end falls on 31 March 2015, unless you fall into category (c) above you will still be required to obtain an accountant report but will only have to submit the report to the SRA if it is qualified.
If you require further guidance or need assistance for SRAAR Compliance please feel free to contact our SRA specialist team at 02476715111.