We have assisted many solicitor practices in planning for the inspection in the first instance and should any matters require attention and follow up we can also help in the structure of an appropriate response to the Law Society.  

In advance of the inspection

•    Confirm your agreement or otherwise to the Law Society to the proposed inspection date
•    Ensure all key staff are available to meet with the investigating accountant on the day of the inspection
•    Put your own reporting accountant on notice of the impending inspection by the Law Society
•    Consider engaging your own reporting accountant to undertake a preliminary inspection of the records in advance of the Law Society inspection
•    Ensure client and office accounts are written up and are fully up to date 

The solicitor office should also consider asking of their accountant, the following:-

•    A copy of the most recent Accountants Report submitted to the Law Society
•    Details of any matters that arose during the annual testing and review process that may result in queries arising during the inspection
•    If any manual adjustments were made when preparing the report that might not be reflected on the solicitors own accounting system
•    A copy of the most recently prepared Financial Statements for the practice in question

On the day of the inspection

The following should be to hand on the day of the inspection for the investigating accountant:-

•    Schedule of all staff and details of their roles & responsibilities
•    Details of the accounting system being used. (Manual/Computer based)
•    Details of signatories on the office/client accounts
•    Schedule of all bank accounts maintained by the practice together with details of any overdraft facility in place
•    Confirmation of status of PAYE/VAT (ROS printouts)
•    Copy of PI cover and details of any claims made against same
•    Copy of all solicitors practicing certificates
•    Schedule of unstamped deeds held in the office
•    A breakdown by percentage of the type of work engaged by the practice

It can be expected that the investigation will last between 2 to 3 days but this will differ depending on the size of the solicitor practice and any matters that may have arisen during the course of the investigation.






Matters of interest arising from the inspection

Based on our experience the following matters could arise as part of the inspection:- 

•    Confirmation that proper Anti Money Laundering procedures are in place 
•    Compliance with Section 68 (Engagement letters)
•    Updated schedule of undertakings and the compliance with same
•    Personal funds retained in client account or failure to draw residual monies with a reasonable period (3 months)
•    Close down and archive ledgers on the completion of work
•    Books of account not kept up to date and reconciliations prepared within 2 months of a balancing date
•    Distributing funds in an estate in advance of the receipt of the Grant of Probate from Revenue
•    Financial state of the practice tax liabilities of any partner in the practice (Section 2 of the Solicitors (Amendment) Act 2002)   
•    Office Ledger balances not kept up to date or not kept in a debit balance


Regulatory compliance has become more pronounced in recent years with the Law Society engaging personnel specifically to review accountants report filed on an annual basis and we have seen the number of queries increase on reports submitted in the last 12 months.

Moore Stephens has a dedicated legal and regulated team specialising in the requirements of legal firms and has extensive experience in the area of compliance with the Solicitor Accounts Regulations.

Should any area of compliance with Law Society regulations be of interest to your legal firm, Damian Counihan would be happy to offer you a non committed, one to one consultation to explore same with you.

Team:    

Damian Counihan - damian.counihan@moorestephens.ie 
Brian Kearney - brian.kearney@moorestephens.ie  
Trevor Leacy - trevor.leacy@moorestephens.ie
Diarmuid O' Connell - diarmuid.oconnell@moorestephens.ie
Eoin Lehane - eoin.lehane@moorestephens.ie