Regulatory and Compliance Training & Consultancy

SRA Accounts Rules No Changes Before 2018 at the Earliest

November 2016

UPDATE: Draft SRA Accounts Rules 2018 Published

At the SRA's COLP & COFA Conference held last month at the National Motor Cycle Museum in Solihull, the SRA announced that there would be no change to the SRA Accounts Rules before 2018 at the earliest.

This follows the initial analysis of responses, following the end of the consultation process on the SRA‘s controversial plan to revise the definition of client money in the next version of the SRA Accounts Rules, which were originally expected to come in to force in 2017. Read our article, SRA Accounts Rules 2017 Summary of Changes, for more information on the SRA’s proposals.

This is perhaps no surprise as a number of interested parties, not least the Law Society itself, have voiced concerns about the SRA's proposals which would see, amongst other things, payments on account of costs and certain disbursements being treated as office money rather than client money, as it would be under the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 which are currently in force.

Until there is much greater certainty as to the likely content of the new version of the SRA Accounts Rules, we will continue to base our very popular SRA Accounts Rules: A Practical Guide to Compliance course on the current version of the SRA Accounts Rules 2011, however, during the course our trainer, Richard Lane, will consider the SRA's proposed changes and compare to the current requirements.

As ever, if you would like us to keep you updated on the latest legal regulatory and compliance news, including the latest developments relating to both the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 and the new SRA Code of Conduct, sign up for our FREE newsletter.