Trust Accounting & Safety – Law Society of Alberta

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Trust Accounting & Safety

Ensuring your trust accounting and safety practices are in accordance with the Law Society's Rules and best practices is important in ensuring the public's confidence in the security of their trust funds.

Resource	Summary
Accounting Tips	Lawyers’ accounting obligations are set out in the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, which apply to all aspects of trust accounting and to many aspects of General Ledger accounting.
Bookkeeping & Accounting in a Law Office	In a law office, “number-crunching” takes place at three levels: bookkeeping, accounting and management information reporting.
Disbursing the Undisbursable: What to Do with Unclaimed Trust Funds	Law firms occasionally hold trust funds for extended periods of time when they cannot locate the clients or other parties to whom the funds belong. What can you do in this case?
Employee Theft on the Rise: Are You At Risk?	Employee theft exposes lawyers and law firms to personal financial risk.
How to Review a Trust Bank Reconciliation	How to review a trust bank reconciliation: trust bank balances, client trust listings and trust journals.
Prescribed Accounting Records	Prescribed Financial Records are set out in Rule 119.36.
Top Ten Tips: Financial Records Management	You must do a reconciliation of your trust and general accounts by the end of the following month even if you have no balance in either account.
Trust Accounting Glossary	An explanation of common trust accounting terminology.
Trust Conditions Guidelines	Alberta lawyers appreciated the format of the previous Code rules respecting trust conditions – a familiar checklist or guide for working through trust conditions issues.
Trust Misappropriation: Your Ounce of Protection	The bad news is that anyone can be a victim of fraud or theft. The good news is that there is much we can do to minimize the severity, duration and impact of loss.
Trust Shortage and Reporting	The Rules, how to report a shortage and next steps.
What kind of Accounting Software Should I Buy?	Recommendations to keep in mind when shopping for a law office accounting package.