Regulatory and Compliance Training & Consultancy

COFA Training

Legal Finance Professionals provides the following training course for those acting as a firm's COFA:

• COFA Masterclass

This course has been designed to meet the needs of anyone who is currently acting as a COFA within a firm or considering doing so.

COFA Masterclass

3 CPD Hours

From January 2013, the Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) within a firm will have special responsibility for ensuring that clients‘ money is handled in accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules and that any breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules are documented and reported back to the SRA. This course has been developed to provide COFA’s, who have a non-financial background, with a deeper understanding of what can go wrong within a firm. The main focus of this course is to ensure that the COFA fully understands the importance of bank reconciliations (both client and office) and the warning signs which could indicate potential problems when reviewing reconciliations prepared by others. Other issues covered include debit balances, residual client ledger balances, office credit balances and unpaid professional disbursements.

The following topics will be covered -

Introduction

• An overview of the role of the COFA

Understanding Bank Reconciliations

• What is a bank reconciliation?
• Case study - How to prepare a reconciliation
• How to audit a bank reconciliation
• How problems can be disguised through the bank reconciliation

SRA Accounts Rules: Common Problem Areas

• Debit balances
• Residual client ledger balances
• Office credit balances
• Unpaid professional disbursements
• Accounting to clients for interest due on clients' money
• Commission and other financial benefits

Open Forum

• A chance to ask questions and seek advice on specific issues

This course has been designed to meet the needs of those individuals, with a non-financial background, who have been appointed to act as a firm's COFA or their deputy.

COFA: Masterclass (Live Webinar)

5 CPD Hours

PLEASE NOTE, THIS TRAINING IS SPREAD OVER TWO SESSIONS AS WELL AS A ONE HOUR ONE-TO-ONE SESSION WITH THE TRAINER. CLICK THE ‘FIND A SCHEDULED COURSE BUTTON’ BELOW TO SEE DETAILS OF THE ACTUAL DATES.

This comprehensive and practical LIVE WEBINAR has been designed to explain to both existing and prospective COFA's what is involved if the role is undertaken properly and how they can fulfil their regulatory obligations to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

During the webinar, the following topics will be covered:

The Role of COFA

• Who can be appointed?
• How to best ensure SRA Accounts Rules compliance within a firm
• Identifying and reporting breaches of the SRA Accounts Rules to the SRA

Understanding Bank Reconciliations

• What is a bank reconciliation?
• Reviewing a bank reconciliation - the warning signs
• How problems can be disguised through the bank reconciliation

SRA Accounts Rules: Common Problem Areas

• Debit balances
• Residual client ledger balances
• Office credit balances
• Unpaid professional disbursements
• Accounting to clients for interest due on clients' money

This course has been designed to meet the needs of existing and prospective COFA's as well as their deputies or anyone within an organisation with an interest in SRA Accounts Rules compliance.