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Strategy

This section covers succession, specialisation, mergers, selling a law firm, becoming a partner, and business structure

Starting up

How to plan and execute the process of starting up a new legal practice that is compliant and financially healthy

Finance and accounting

How to set up your firm’s systems to provide the information that enables you to improve profitability and cashflow

Avoiding claims. Insurance

How to avoid professional negligence claims, with examples of common problems and suggested solutions. Plus FAQs on PII

Compliance

This section only covers SRA Accounts Rules and GDPR at the moment. Compliance for start-ups is covered in the Starting up...

Cyber security

How to protect your law firm from cyber attacks. What steps to take if your systems are hacked

Managing people

How to recruit and retain a team that is both happy and highly effective, dealing with the HR issues along the way

Marketing basics

In marketing, like anything, you need to get the basics right. Otherwise the time and money you invest in marketing will be wasted

Winning more clients

How to win new clients, make the most of existing relationships, encourage referrals and generate new leads

Your website

How to approach creating a law firm website that works, from agreeing your objectives to making sure you get the results you want

Social media

Why lawyers need to know about social media, how to make the most of the opportunities and how to avoid potential pitfalls

PR and advertising

How to use PR to build your firm’s reputation; and how to create cost-effective advertising – traditional and online – that delivers results

Choosing a firm of accountants

Andy Harris

Andy Harris, a partner in the legal sector team at accountants Hazlewoods, outlines ten key areas you should think about when choosing a firm of accountants for your law firm. (Updated 25 April 2023)

 

 

 

  1. Sector expertise. Your accountants need to understand the regulatory environment in which the law firm operates – the SRA Accounts Rules, management of client funds and so on. More generally, you want an accountant with real specialism in the sector, who understands the legal market and the issues that face your firm. A specialist firm will also be well connected with the particular insurance brokers, bank managers, software suppliers and regulators that deal with the legal sector.
  2. Financial management. While accounting and compliance are essential, support with financial management can be equally valuable. For example, your accountant might help create systems that help control and reduce lock-up, and be able to benchmark your performance against your peers.
  3. Strategic planning. An experienced accountant can help the firm anticipate and deal with strategic issues. For example, choosing the right corporate structure, succession planning (including the financial impact of partner retirements), or modelling the impact of new pricing structures.
  4. Tax advice. It generally makes sense for your accountants to take a holistic view of tax planning, including both the firm and individual partners’ personal tax positions. This may include effective use of pensions, structuring partnership exits, inheritance tax planning, and so on. Careful, bespoke remuneration planning for each owner in the firm can give significant tax savings.
  5. Specific requirements. You may need support in particular areas such as starting a new firm, raising funding, expanding internationally, or working towards a merger or sale.
  6. Clients. You may want your accountants to provide additional support for complex client matters (eg client tax and trust planning, litigation support). You may also want to assess any further potential for referrals and collaboration.
  7. Location and size. Nowadays most day-to-day interactions can be handled online or remotely, but working with a nearby firm can make it easier to meet face-to-face. Bear in mind that your accountants need to be a registered auditor to carry out the SRA Accounts Rules audit work, as not all accountants are nowadays.
  8. Recommendations. Ask any contacts who have worked with the accountants what they used them for, what the accountants were like to deal with and how satisfied your contacts have been with the quality of the advice they were given.
  9. Personal relationships. Check which individuals at the accountants you will be dealing with on a day-to-day basis. Arrange to meet them in advance to get a feeling for what they would be like to work with.
  10. Costs. Get clear guidance on billing rates, expenses and payment terms. Investigate any flat rate services offered and what these do and do not cover. Many accountants now work on a fixed fee basis, to help avoid unexpected fees.

 

Headshot of Andy Poole
"Sector specialism generates precious additional knowledge for an accounting firm. So our advice to law firms can be more pro-active, helping the firms to improve their business based on what is happening in the sector. When choosing your accountants, ensure that a specialism results in tangible benefits. This often far outweighs any reciprocity of client introductions"
Andy Poole, legal sector partner, accountants Armstrong Watson

 

Why do law firms choose Hazlewoods and Armstrong Watson?

It’s because the specialist legal teams in these two accountancy firms have built outstanding reputations in the legal sector.
 

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