Advice and feedback, information about the annual return and monitoring, and links to the Practice Assurance regulations and relevant publications.
If you have any questions on Practice Assurance, please email qadfaqs@icaew.com. We'll collate the questions we receive and produce some FAQs. If you need an urgent answer to a technical query, phone the technical helpline on +44 (0)1908 248 250.
Have you watched our webinar, Practice Assurance – what does it mean for me?
Prepared for new firms, the webinar is based on material covered at QAD’s New Firms Roadshows. If you want a refresher on the regulations you have to comply with as a practitioner, you’re bound to find it helpful.
In addition to watching the webinar (you can download it to your computer by right-clicking the link and selecting 'Save target as...), you can download the webinar slides for reference. For best results, we recommend you watch the webinar on a Windows PC and not an Apple Mac.
Annual return and monitoring
Member firms are required to comply with the four principles-based standards, and are monitored through an annual return and a review visit from the Quality Assurance Department.
Practice Assurance, the standards and the committee
This section provides information for the public and for individuals who want to know more about Practice Assurance. It:
- explains what the scheme is;
- gives information about the Practice Assurance standards; and
- gives information about the Practice Assurance Committee (PAC)
Important advice from the Practice Assurance Committee
The Practice Assurance Committee (PAC) is concerned that non-compliance in some areas has increased. If the Quality Assurance Department (QAD) identifies non-compliance in these areas, they will report the matter to the PAC who may refer the firm to the Professional Conduct Department.
Top tips and feedback from QAD reviewers
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Clients’ money - unclaimed funds can now be paid to charity (PDF 133KB/12 pages)
On 1 May 2010, we amended our Clients’ Money Regulations. Firms can now donate any unclaimed clients’ money to a registered charity, if they have taken reasonable steps to trace a client for five years or more, but have been unsuccessful. For sums over £10,000, the registered charity must provide an indemnity against any claim subsequently made by the client for the money. ICAEW Foundation (a registered charity, number 313983) has indicated that it will normally accept such funds on an indemnity basis.
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PA compliance review and checklists - what’s the benefit? (Word 767KB/33 pages)
Feedback from our visits shows that we find fewer issues on firms that do a Practice Assurance compliance review, so you may benefit from completing one from time to time. Helpsheet PAS4/HS2 at icaew.com/helpsheets includes a suitable checklist. We suggest you download a new copy each time you undertake a review to ensure you're working with the most up-to-date version.
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Statutory accounts - how good are yours? (PDF 51KB/2 pages)
Do any of the common failings we’ve found in the quality of unaudited accounts filed at Companies House apply to accounts prepared by your firm?
Did you also know that Companies House now require the company’s registered number to appear on either the directors’ report (if filed), balance sheet, P&L, or auditors' report, rather than the cover sheet; and accounts to be signed in black ink only? They won't necessarily reject accounts that don’t meet these requirements but they may charge a penalty at a later date.
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Data Protection Act - are you registered? (PDF 36KB/1 page)
We've noticed that a number of our firms still haven’t registered under the Data Protection Act 1998. Are you one of them? If so, you could be facing a hefty fine. Check out our brief guide to who needs to register and how to do it.
The Information Commissioner's Offfice (ICO) is offering a free, one-day advisory visit to give practical advice to small and medium-sized organisations or businesses that want to improve their data protection practices. The visit is followed up by a report.
The ICO's good practice team will offer their knowledge and experience to identify what data controllers are doing well and what they need to improve.
The ICO will use the one-day visit to understand what policies and procedures your firm has in place. Within three days of the visit, the ICO will send your data controllers a short report that will summarise the findings and provide practical advice.
If you'd like the ICO to consider your firm for an advisory visit, please register your interest.
A guide to ICO advisory visits for organisations considering an advisory visit, gives you further information about what it involves.
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New regulations for what you have to tell new clients - are you compliant? (PDF 85KB/8 pages)
On 28 December 2009, the Services Regulations 2009 came into effect. These affect any firm that takes on new clients after that date. We’ve found that most firms have not yet updated their procedures to fully comply with the new regulations. Our helpsheet, Services Directive PAS1/HS22, explains what you need to do to comply.