Compliance officer for finance and administration meaning

This Practice Note sets out advice for law firms on responding to client account fraud and outlines the applicable legal and regulatory duties. Client funds are inviolable and their careful stewardship is essential and paramount. What is client account fraud? A firm suffers client account fraud where money is unlawfully taken from its client account. Immediate steps to take Act swiftly to limit harm in the immediate aftermath of client account fraud. Do everything possible to prevent further loss and disruption promptly. Form a fraud response team and appoint someone to lead the incident without delay; suitable choices include: the compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) the finance director the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) the nominated officer the senior partner another appropriately senior person within the firm The SRA warning notice, Money missing from client account, states that if you discover that funds are missing, you must take steps to ensure...

This Practice Note outlines the SRA Accounts Rules (Accounts Rules) requirements concerning the fair payment of interest to clients and third parties. Responsibility for compliance Your firm’s managers carry joint and several legal responsibility for compliance. A manager includes a sole practitioner, an LLP member, a company director, or a partner in a partnership, etc. The compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) must take all reasonable steps to ensure the firm, its managers and employees meet any duties placed on them by the Accounts Rules. That said, the COFA is not jointly and severally liable alongside the firm’s managers for compliance. SRA requirements General obligation to pay interest You must credit clients, or relevant third parties, with a fair amount of interest on any client funds you hold for them. By written agreement, you may adopt an alternative arrangement with the client or third party for whom the money is held, but you must give enough information to allow them to provide informed consent....

This Practice Note outlines the functions and duties of law firm compliance officers—namely the compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) and the compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA). It draws on the SRA Standards and Regulations, the SRA’s guidance on what is expected of COLPs and COFAs, and findings from the SRA’s thematic review of compliance officers. It also provides a high-level overview of regulatory duties around notifying the SRA of compliance breaches; for fuller advice on reporting failures, see: Breach reporting—law firms... Requirement to have compliance officers An authorised body must at all times have a designated COLP and a designated COFA, with those designations approved by the SRA. An authorised body is: a recognised body (ie lawyer-owned firm) an alternative business structure (ABS), or a recognised sole practice regulated by the SRA. Although primary legislation and the SRA Standards and Regulations use different titles for these compliance posts, the roles themselves are unaffected. Under the Legal Services...

This Deed This Deed is entered into on [ insert date ] by the parties identified below. Parties The individuals whose full names and addresses are set out in the Schedule (each a Partner and, collectively, the Partners) [ Insert name of COFA ] of [ insert address ] (the COFA) BACKGROUND (A) The Partners carry on business as a legal practice authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) under the name of [ insert name of firm ] (the Firm). (B) The Partners have appointed [ insert name of COFA ] as the Firm’s compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA), subject to [ continued ] approval by the SRA. (C) The parties have agreed that the COFA shall have the benefit of an indemnity from the Partners in relation to certain liabilities of the COFA, as more fully set out in this deed. THIS DEED PROVIDES: COFA’s regulatory...

Please click for an Excel version of this register. This template SRA Accounts Rules breach log is designed for use by a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) within a law practice...

Name of the firm [ Insert firm name ] Name of the role holder [ Insert role holder name ] Reports to [ Insert, eg, COLP ] Role type (full-time/part-time/contractor) [ Insert type ] If a contractor post, the length of the contract term [ Insert contract length ] Primary location [ Insert the primary location for this role—if the role holder is required to routinely spend time in multiple locations, eg in each regional office, it is important to make this clear ] Remote, hybrid, or office-based? [ Insert ] Date role commenced [ Insert date ] Length of probation period [ Insert probation length ] End of probation review date [ Insert date ] Role summary The compliance [ manager OR assistant ] post delivers: robust risk control current regulatory compliance awareness advice on best practice within the firm Liaises with the compliance officer for...