SAR
98
Compliance
 
 The
accountants report
All solicitors who deal with
client money are required to undergo an SAR audit on an annual basis by a
firm of specialist solicitor accountants. (For example, a solicitor to
whom a cheque is made out and in the course of practice endorses it over
to a client is deemed to have received client money and is required to
deliver an accountant’s report).
A report to the law society on the firm’s compliance is submitted by the
reporting accountant along with a checklist to the solicitor stating the
outcome of the SAR audit. The law society places great reliance on the SAR
audit to gain assurance that solicitors are complying with the SAR and
that client monies are being safeguarded.
In general, Sigma finds adherence to the SAR is good however there are a
number of breaches and deviations from best practice which are commonly
found. We are a firm of specialist solicitor accountants and work very
closely with our solicitors throughout the year to ensure they are ready
for the SAR audit. This often results is a smooth audit process at the end
of the year with minimum disruptions to business activities.
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Electronic
Book Keeping
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We are one of the UK’s
few specialist firms of Chartered Accountants for
solicitors and are members of the ICAEW’s special
interest group for solicitors. We can help you with the
following:
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SIPR
2004
 Incorporating
your practice in accordance with SIPR 2004
It is now possible to incorporate your practice as a
limited company under the Solicitor Incorporation Practice Rules 2004
(SIPR 2004). This process requires careful timing and consideration,
however if done correctly can be very rewarding. Capital gains tax will be
triggered due to a deemed disposal of you business assets. Sigma is a firm
of specialist solicitor accountants and has expertise in this area. We can
help you utilize any available reliefs in order to shelter these tax
consequences. Following incorporation, corporation tax is chargeable on
profits up to £300,000 at 19% and no income tax is due on dividends up to
£31,400. Thereafter the income tax rate is just 22.5%. It should also be
noted that dividends are exempt from national insurance.
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