A quick guide to solicitors' accounts rules

Steve Collings answers some frequently asked questions on solicitors’ accounts rules:

• My solicitor client has received a ‘mixed payment’. Could you clarify the rule concerning the receipt of mixed payments?
• Is it correct that a small residual balance can be paid to a charity without application to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)?
• My solicitor client’s bank has omitted the word ‘client’ from the client bank account. Can this be considered a ‘trivial’ breach?
• How often should the client account be reconciled?
• How long should books and statements relating to client accounts be kept?
• The Land Registry took a direct debit twice in error on a general client account. Would this be a breach of the rules?
• Can digital images of paid cheques be accepted by a reporting accountant?

Steve Collings FMAAT FCCA DipIFRS is the audit and technical director at Leavitt Walmsley Associates Ltd and a partner in AccountancyStudents.co.uk. He is also the author of ‘The Core Aspects of IFRS and IAS’ and lectures on financial reporting and auditing issues.

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