There are many reasons why accountancy professionals may need to call in a legal team for help. It may be that they need additional support for their clients. It may be that they need a deeper understanding of the legal aspects of a project before they proceed. It may, sadly, be that a client is planning on taking legal action against the accountancy firm after an unfavourable experience.

Whatever the reason, accounting & legal services often go hand in hand. Read on to learn more about the legal challenges that accountants face, the importance of legal support for accountants, and how a membership organisation could save you time, money and hassle when looking for accountant legal advice.

As any accountant will know, industry regulations undergo revisions and evolutions on a regular basis. Staying on top of these is a big enough challenge – but you’ll also need to keep abreast of any developments in terms of legal regulations, too.

What’s more, accountants will often face a number of legal challenges when working on client projects. These may include (but are not limited to):

• Civil and regulatory defence cases. In the unlikely event that a complaint is made against you to a regulatory or civil body, you may be in need of support and advice from a specialist accountant or legal advice provider.
• Corporate services. The lines between accounting & legal services can often be blurred. It may be that a client is looking for advice on how a business entity is structured and funded. They may wish to restructure or sell shares or other assets. They could be appointing new shareholders, or have queries around supplier and customer contracts – all of which will involve you as their accountant, but may also require specialist legal advice or support.

As an accountant, you may also be in need of legal support in matters such as your business structure, employment law, and sponsorship and legal checks around employing overseas workers. From time to time, you may want to offer legal training to your team, covering anything from data protection to drafting terms of business. Essentially, legal advice for accountants may be more important than you think.

Every accountant knows that attention to detail is paramount. A failure to pay the right level of attention to detail – or a lack of understanding of the legalities around the client work you do – has the potential to cause significant problems.

Among the investigations that accountants may find themselves subject to are anti-money laundering issues, Criminal Finances Act proceedings, bribery and corruption charges and fraud matters. If a situation like this arises, you will want to ensure that you obtain specialist accountant legal advice as quickly as possible – but it is wise to have access to this advice and support before things get to this stage to prevent such situations from happening in the first place.

As well as helping your clients to stay on the right side of the law, specialist legal advice for accountants will protect your own practice, helping you to safeguard against potential lawsuits and other legal challenges.

But how do you access this legal support?

One way to obtain legal advice for accountants is via membership in a professional organisation, a solution that has a number of benefits.

Through your membership, you’ll have access to specialised legal professionals: experts on legal matters specifically for the accounting sector.

With regulations constantly changing, how do you stay abreast of the latest developments? Ensuring that your business is fully up-to-date can take a great deal of time: what if there was a way to make it easier?

There is. Organisation membership will also provide you with regular updates on changes to regulations that are relevant to you and your clients, giving you the peace of mind of knowing that the client work you do is compliant with the latest evolution of the rules.

There will always be times when legal advice for accountants is required, but how do you access and pay for this advice? Joining an accountancy membership organisation can make this easier. Rather than sourcing your own legal firm and paying their regular fees, a membership organisation can connect you with lawyers who specialise in accountant legal advice – and for reduced legal fees, too.

Nobody can be an expert in everything. There’s a great need, however, for accounting & legal advice to go hand in hand – both to protect your practice and to protect your clients.

While some accountancy practices have their own in-house legal team, others don’t have this luxury – and hiring a law firm on retainer can be costly. What’s more, you’ll need to ensure that the lawyers you choose specialise in accountancy-related matters to keep you on the right side of the law.

A simple solution is to become affiliated with an accountancy-specific membership organisation. It’s a reliable, industry-focused way to provide you with the accountant legal advice that you may be missing. This type of membership will give you access to a trusted community made up of your peers, allowing you to share experiences, insights and market developments. What’s more, you’ll also have access to lawyers who specialise in your field of expertise, giving you complete peace of mind.

This support means that you’ll immediately know where to turn when looking for accurate and reliable legal advice for accountants. Without such support, how will you safeguard your accountancy practice?

When choosing a source of legal support for your business, one thing is important to remember: this support should come from an organisation that specialises in legal advice for accountants. A failure to comply with regulatory requirements or errors in client work can be costly, so you’ll want to make sure that you’re protected.

The ICPA provides robust legal benefits to its members, from industry guidance and our information portal to free telephone helplines and plenty of support – including from your own industry peers. With such tailored support at your fingertips, you can be confident that you’ll always know where to turn when in need of advice, support or guidance in any legal matters related to your own business or to that of your clients.

Leveraging the comprehensive ICPA member benefits, you can also access expert legal advice tailored specifically for accountants.