Accounting
This section sets out the main requirements that all firms should consider in order to establish and maintain good accounting procedures and controls, and to prevent problems from arising. It also advises on fraud prevention and what to do if fraud is discovered.
All firms that deal with client money must be able to demonstrate to clients and other stakeholders, including their regulator, that their accounting methods are:
- transparent
- efficient and
- accurate.
To achieve this, all firms handling client money need effective procedures and controls. This includes:
- property managers
- letting agents
- auctioneers and
- other firms receiving client money to administer, for example project managers.
Strong processes and procedures help firms to comply with the requirements of the RICS Rules of Conduct and the current edition of RICS’ Client money handling, to ensure that:
- client money is kept safe
- client money accounts are only used for appropriate purposes and
- firms have appropriate controls and procedures in place to safeguard client money.
Firms must publish written procedures for handling client money on their website (if they have one) and provide them to all clients.
This section is maintained by Nick Weller of NW Learning Limited.
Please note: this section does not cover tax. For tax advice, you should consult a taxation practitioner.