Expert Legal Services for Accountants
As an accountant you have many obligations placed upon you by various regulations, legislation and your regulatory body. You also have a duty to ensure that clients are provided with certain information when they instruct you.
At K&K Legal Consulting we support many accountants by drafting letters of engagement, terms and conditions and continuity agreements which are tailored to your accountancy practice.
Compliance with certain regulations is important and as a bare minimum you will need to familiarise yourself with the AMLR and register with a supervisory authority to follow anti-money laundering regulations. You will need to hold a practising certificate if you want to set up in public practice as a qualified accountant and be registered with a designated professional body.
If you’re a sole practitioner/director accountancy firm your regulatory body will also insist that you have a continuity agreement so that the professional needs of your clients are dealt with if you die or become incapacitated through illness. We can draft a bespoke continuity agreement which clearly sets out what will happen if another practitioner has to take over your client base, whether temporarily or otherwise.
Our Accountanting Legal Document Services
Letter of Engagement for Accountants
Sending a letter of engagement to clients is usually a mandatory requirement placed upon you by your regulatory body. It establishes the framework in which the client relationship is managed.
A well drafted letter of engagement should cover:
- the scope of work that is to be performed
- the fees that will be charged and any expenses incurred
- both parties responsibilities
- point of contact
- dispute resolution – both internal and regulatory processes
- AML and other regulatory and legislative obligations
It’s crucial that your letter of engagement is clear and properly sets out the parameters of the relationship. In particular, it is important to establish in relation to approvals and who has authority to make bank transactions and other associated responsibilies. Setting out this information from the outset will minimise any dispute in the future.
Terms & Conditions for Accountants
Terms & Conditions are an important addition to your letter of engagement. As lawyers we see all too often the things that go wrong from relying upon poorly drafted Terms & Conditions.
Whilst your letter of engagement needs to include specific information about services, fees, designated point of contact and the process if things go wrong. If you want your business to be protected your Terms & Conditions should include the following:
- confidentiality
- limitation of liability
- liability for third party advice
- term and termination
- warranties
- data protection and data processing
Continuity of Practice Agreements
If you are sole practitioner/sole director accountancy firm your regulatory body will insist you have a continuity agreement to safeguard your clients. We understand it can be difficult to know where to start in drafting the agreement. There are even some specific requirements depending on your accountancy body.
Let us take away the stress of having to think of everything and have us draft the continuity agreement for you. When we draft continuity agreements, we always have an initial Zoom call to go over the details. Here we can talk about what goes into the agreement and answer any questions you may have.