Solicitors (Amendment) Act, 1960

Provisions as to accountants' certificates.

31.—(1) Every solicitor to whom the provisions of the Solicitors' Accounts Regulations apply shall, once in each practice year, unless he satisfies the Society that owing to the circumstances of his case it is unnecessary to do so, deliver to the registrar a certificate signed by an accountant (in this section referred to as an accountant's certificate) stating—

(a) that in compliance with this section and any regulations made thereunder the accountant has examined the books, accounts and documents of the solicitor or his firm for such accounting period as may be specified in the certificate,

(b) whether or not the accountant is satisfied, from his examination of the books, accounts and documents produced to him and from the information and explanations given to him, that during the said accounting period the solicitor or his firm has complied with the Solicitors' Accounts Regulations, and

(c) if the accountant is not satisfied as aforesaid, the matters in respect of which he is not so satisfied.

(2) The Society shall, with the concurrence of the President of the High Court, make regulations (in this section referred to as the Accountant's Certificate Regulations) prescribing—

(a) the qualifications to be held by an accountant by whom an accountant's certificate may be given,

(b) the nature and extent of the examination to be made by the accountant of the books and accounts of a solicitor or his firm and of any other relevant documents with a view to the signing of a certificate to be delivered by the solicitor under this section,

(c) the form of the accountant's certificate, and

(d) the evidence, if any, which shall satisfy the Society that the delivery of an accountant's certificate is unnecessary and the cases in which such evidence is or is not required.

(3) The Accountant's Certificate Regulations may include provision—

(a) permitting in such special circumstances as may be defined in the regulations a different accounting period from that specified in subsection (4) of this section, and

(b) regulating any matters of procedure or matters incidental, ancillary or supplemental to the provisions of this section.

(4) Subject to the Accountant's Certificate Regulations, the accounting period for the purposes of an accountant's certificate shall—

(a) begin at the expiry of the last preceding accounting period for which an accountant's certificate has been delivered,

(b) cover not less than twelve months,

(c) terminate not more than twelve months, or such less period as the Accountant's Certificate Regulations may prescribe, before the date of the delivery of the certificate to the registrar, and

(d) where possible, consistently with the foregoing paragraphs, correspond to a period or consecutive periods for which the accounts of the solicitor or his firm are ordinarily made up.

(5) A certificate under the hand of the registrar shall, until the contrary is proved, be evidence that a solicitor has or, as the case may be, has not delivered to the registrar an accountant's certificate or supplied any evidence required under this section or the Accountant's Certificate Regulations.

(6) Before a practising certificate is issued to a solicitor, he shall comply with the provisions of this section and the Accountant's Certificate Regulations and the registrar may withhold the issue of the practising certificate until the solicitor delivers to him an accountant's certificate in respect of the last preceding accounting period stating that the solicitor has during that period complied with the Solicitors' Accounts Regulations.