This is a test version of our website! Please navigate to our main site here www.mercia-group.com
Preventing coronavirus: please click here for more information.
This is a test version of our website! Please navigate to our main site here www.mercia-group.com
Ideal for partners and senior managers with responsibility for a number of solicitor clients, our one-day conference will cover a wide range of practical issues.
Mercia's Solicitors Conference is a must-attend event for any accountancy firms with solicitor clients.
Through this one-day virtual conference, you will get practical advice about all the latest changes and challenges currently facing the legal sector. Hear from the SRA and legal firms themselves on how you can add value to your clients.
Loading events...
Natalie Darby and Matthew Byng, SRA
During this session Natalie and Matthew will cover:
Sarah Charlton, BlueSky Legal Finance Solutions
This session will cover the key areas to help evaluate how effective the COFA is at implementing policies and procedures to protect client money and to manage and report breaches.
It will look at key areas such as banking facility rule, surplus client balances, use of a suspense ledger and insider tips on auditing to verify compliance with the Accounts Rules 2019.
Janet Taylor, Taylor and Mowbray
The session, which will include the latest on the ICAEW guidance for carrying out this work, and any changes to the SRA accounts rules or guidance, will focus on the work of the reporting accountant and consider:
How robust are your testing, review and reporting processes?
What are some of the most common areas of weakness on accountant’s files?
Some key testing and risk areas
Preparing reports to the firm and reports to the SRA
Paul McCluskey, Gemstone Legal
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has mandated within the Code of Conduct for Firms (2.4) that legal practices must monitor their financial stability and business viability. In this session, we will discuss the trends associated with financial management and explore the role accountants can play to coach their law firm clients to ultimately enhance their financial controls.
Robert Mowbray, Taylor and Mowbray
This session will look at time recording; why it remains important and practical advice on how to maximise revenue from your time records including:
Why time recording is still the most important process in professional firms
The reasons why time is normally not fully recorded
The need for clarity with a time recording policy & FAQs
Communicating value delivered to the client through better narratives
The significance of working “outside scope”
James Bannerman, Creative Change Agent
It is not always easy for accountants to ‘coach’ their solicitor clients and inspire them to listen to their professional advice. With this in mind, the purpose of this ‘Lateral Coaching’ session by James Bannerman – the best-selling author of Genius! and Business Genius! - is to help delegates think more laterally and explore additional and alternative ways to achieve their coaching goals, rather than banging their heads against the same brick wall. In the process, we will explore the following:
The deceptive power of lateral thinking
The 5 key tools and techniques for generating new ideas and solutions (as and when required)
Compelling insights on the links between effective coaching and creativity
Natalie Darby is a Policy Manager at the SRA. She is responsible for a number of policy areas including the transparency rules and the five-year evaluation of the SRA’s regulatory reform programme. Prior to joining the SRA in 2018, Natalie was Head of Policy at the Bar Council, leading on regulatory issues and law reform.
Matthew joined the Solicitors Regulation Authority in January 2022 and plays a key role in delivering key elements of the SRA’s policy agenda. He currently leads on Accounts Rules policy and the SRAs response to the Competition Market Authority’s 2020 evaluation of the legal sectors response to the 2016 market study into the legal services sector. Matthew has previously developed Health and Social Care policy in Local Government. More recently he has led education and training policy at the specialist regulator, Social Work England, where he worked closely with key stakeholders and Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care to implement revised Education & Training Standards and develop a new competency framework for trainee and newly qualified social workers.
Sarah has a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting and is a Fellow member of the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants. Her career spans nearly 35 years working within the legal sector for both small and medium sized law firms, fulfilling roles from CEO through to COFA. During her career she has worked with a number of legal regulators, professional bodies and government organisations.
Sarah thrives on opportunities to share her knowledge and experience with others whilst bringing value through improvements and efficiencies and launched a joint venture in 2021, BlueSky Legal Finance Solutions. She is often referred to by her peers as the Mary Poppins of the legal finance profession!
Janet Taylor
Owner, Taylor Mowbray LLP
Janet spent over 10 years with a top 20 accounting firm heading up their specialist solicitors’ group. A highly experienced presenter with, Janet provides relevant and practical training on a number of financial issues for lawyers and accountants. Over the last 20 years she has regularly presented training on the SRA Accounts Rules to a wide range of accounting and law firms through in-house and public seminars. Clients have include several major international and national law firms as well as their reporting accountants. Janet is the Subject Matter Expert for the ICAEW’s Solicitors Advisory Group.
Paul McCluskey
Managing Director, Gemstone Legal
Paul McCuskey is the former UK Head of Professional Practices at Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Bank and has worked with law firms of various sizes and complexity across the UK and Northern Ireland. Having seen banks shift away from legal sector specialism, Paul set up Gemstone Legal to offer firms a trusted, independent approach to source finance and improve returns on client monies. Paul is also a Law Society approved Lexcel assessor and consultant and combines his experience to help legal firms to improve their approach to finance and operational risk management. Paul speaks and writes regularly on financial factors impacting the UK legal sector.
Robert is an accountant who has worked in and with professional service firms for 30 years and who is an expert on law firm profitability and management. He has provided training and consultancy services to over 1,000 firms across 30 countries. He is regularly asked to help with a wide range of issues including time recording, pricing and fee negotiation, project management, accelerating cash flow, strategy, profit sharing arrangements and improving the quality of management information.
Robert is the author of “Maximising the profitability of law firms” and the annual NatWest financial benchmarking survey and has recently co-authored “COFA – The law firm finance & administration handbook”. He has been voted “Trainer of the year” by the Legal Education & Training Group.
Want to find out more about Mercia conferences?
Mercia hosts a wide selection of conferences every year covering numerous topics.
Get in touch with us to find out more information.
