Annex 28C
Guidance – transitional arrangements for the delivery of accountants’ reports
The new accounts rules
The Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998 (‘the new rules’ – for full text see Annex 28B, p.684) received the concurrence of the Master of the Rolls on 22nd July 1998. The new rules will eventually replace the Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1991 and the Solicitors’ Accounts (Legal Aid Temporary Provision) Rule 1992 ‘the old rules’ – see Annexes 28B and 28C in the 1996 edition of the Guide). Commencement provisions are contained in rule 50 of the new rules.
All firms must implement the new rules by 1st May 2000, but firms are free to implement the new rules before that date. When a firm introduces the new rules, they must be implemented in their entirety. However, a firm which has separate accounting systems or different accounting periods for two different offices could implement the new rules on different dates for each office. The majority of firms’ accounting periods end on 30th April, and many of these firms may wish to implement the new rules either on 1st May 1999 or on 1st May 2000.
Accountants’ reports and checklists
The Accountant’s Report Rules 1991 (‘the Accountant’s Report Rules’ – see Annex 28D in the 1996 edition of the Guide) will in due course be replaced by Part F of the new rules. Transitional arrangements for accountants’ reports are to be found in rule 50 of the new rules.
Accountants’ reports covering a period when a practice was operating the old rules:
-
will be prepared in accordance with the Accountant’s Report Rules;
-
will relate to compliance with the old rules;
-
from 1st September 1998, will also note departures from the guidelines published under the Accountant’s Report Rules (see Bulletin 16);
-
from 1st September 1998, will involve completion of the checklist produced under the Accountant’s Report Rules – this will be a version as amended by the Council in June 1998 (see Bulletin 18, p.102 which amends the checklist in Bulletin 16, p.44); and
Legal
Disclaimer
For Contact Information click on the logo's at the top of the screen.
[ Home | Bookkeeping | Legal Recruitment | Consultancy | Site Map ]
Help