Services for accountants and tax advisers

We advise accountants, tax advisers and other professional services firms on legal and regulatory issues including:

• Client engagement, terms of business and limitations of liability
• Professional indemnity insurance coverage issues – advice on coverage disputes, notification of claims and circumstances
• Professional conduct and ethical obligations, including Conflicts
• Defence of professional negligence claims
• Risk management
• Fee arrangements, and costs issues
• Liabilities in relation to tax evasion and criminal finance
• Anti-money laundering issues (AML)
• Data protection, confidentiality, and disclosure obligations
• Legal Services Act issues:
  • Obtaining accreditation as a probate firm (providing legal services previously restricted to solicitors and other lawyers)
  • Acquiring an interest in a law firm as an Alternative Business Structure (ABS)
  • Establishing a Multi-Disciplinary Practice (MDP) with solicitors
  • Other aspects of regulation under the Legal Services Act 2007

Francis Dingwall spent 7 years at a major professional indemnity practice in the City of London, defending national and international firms of accountants against professional negligence claims.

Our recent work includes:

• Drafting a limitation of liability provision for a niche firm of tax advisers regulated by ICAEW and CIOT who provide advice to Ultra High Net Worth clients both UK-based and offshore.
• Advice on exposure to liability for facilitating offshore tax evasion under section 162 of the Finance Act 2016
• Handling a policy coverage dispute for professionals accused by their insurer of turning a blind eye to an aggressive tax avoidance scheme and failing to warn clients appropriately.
• Advice on insurance law aspect of practice merger between accountancy firms.
• Advice to chartered accountants on a claim arising from allegedly inadequate advice on tax reserves.
• AML advice to accountants on whether to submit an SAR (suspicious activity report).
• Advice on a dispute over file retention, and advice on release of audit files to an insolvency practitioner.