SRA Legal Audit

If your firm holds client money, Rule 12 of the SRA Accounts Rules requires an accountant's report within six months of your accounting period end — and it must be prepared by a registered auditor. We audit multiple law firms' client accounts, know where breaches actually occur, and give your COFA a clear picture long before the filing deadline.

Who Needs an Accountant's Report — and Who Is Exempt

Under Rule 12.1, firms that hold or receive client money must obtain an accountant's report within six months of the end of the accounting period. A qualified report — one identifying significant breaches — must be submitted to the SRA.

Exemptions exist: firms whose client money relates solely to Legal Aid Agency payments, and firms with an average client balance of no more than £10,000 and a maximum balance of no more than £250,000 during the period, do not need to obtain a report. The averages are calculated from your reconciliations, so the analysis is precise — we confirm whether you qualify rather than leaving it to assumption.

What We Test

Our work maps to the rules the SRA actually enforces: client money paid promptly into client account and kept separate from firm money; client account reconciliations performed at least every five weeks as Rule 8.3 requires, with differences investigated; accurate client ledgers with no debit balances; prompt payment of costs only when properly billed; residual client balances identified and returned; interest policies applied fairly; and systems and controls appropriate to your firm's size and practice areas. Where we find breaches, we assess materiality and help you document remediation — the difference between a clean report and a qualified one often lies in how issues were handled.

Reducing Your Legal Audit Workload

We streamline the process by minimising audit emails and queries via a dedicated portal, working remotely when feasible with read-only access to your practice management system, focusing testing on the highest regulatory risk areas, and leveraging our experience auditing multiple legal firms for SRA Accounts Rules compliance. Most reports complete with only light demands on your accounts team.

ICAEW and FRC Registered Auditor

We are registered and regulated by the ICAEW and FRC — the accountant's report must be signed by an accountant who is a manager or employee of a registered auditor, so regulatory standing is not optional. Our team comprises 20 experienced auditors, 50% from top-4 and top-5 firms, operating as a full-service, mid-tier practice from our primary base in West London.

Beyond the Report: Accounts, Tax and Audit

Many law firm clients combine the SRA report with statutory accounts preparation, corporation tax work or a statutory audit of the practice itself (see our Professional Services Audit page). One team covering all of it means the client money work, the accounts and the tax return draw on the same information — gathered once.

Our SRA Report Process

1) Planning and scoping against your practice profile and prior-year findings; 2) systems and controls review, including your practice management system; 3) client money testing — reconciliations, ledgers, transfers and residual balances; 4) compliance assessment and breach evaluation with your COFA; 5) reporting, including SRA submission where the report is qualified; 6) follow-up on remediation so next year starts clean.

What You Get With Acumon

• Accountant's reports under Rule 12 of the SRA Accounts Rules
• Six-month deadline planned backwards from your period end
• Client account reconciliation testing against the five-week requirement
• Client ledger, residual balance and interest policy review
• Breach assessment and qualification decisions handled with your COFA
• Exemption analysis: £10,000 average / £250,000 maximum balance tests
• Remote-first delivery through a dedicated audit portal

Why Acumon for SRA Legal Audit?

• ICAEW and FRC registered and regulated — qualified to sign accountant's reports
• Experience auditing multiple law firms for SRA Accounts Rules compliance
• 20 experienced auditors, 50% from top-4 and top-5 firms
• PIE audit licence holder
• Only £37k short of the top 100 in the Accountancy Age 50+50 list for 2024

Get a Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what you need and we'll come back within one business day with a clear scope and a fixed price — no hourly-rate surprises. Call 020 8567 3451 or use the form and we'll be in touch.