Your journey in an Accounts Department of a Law Firm can be daunting. It’s an exciting time, knowing you are in a specialist area of finance.
From bank reconciliations, to data entry, to understanding how lawyers and clients communicate, together with an appreciation of the Solicitors Accounts Rules – there is so much to learn, absorb and get your teeth into. Every profession needs an authority to guide them and support them and at the ILFM because we are a not-for-profit professional body we are dedicated to the education, support and promotion of excellence in financial, administrative and management personnel working within the legal sector.
Some of our current members have been with us for over 30 years and started their career path as a legal cashier alongside the ILFM. We have grown and supported all the way and we are proud to have close relationships with all our members. The more you engage the more we get to know you and learn from you. Further to research and surveys we have processed, we understand the needs of all our members and because of this we are excited to soon launch ILFM Connect and ILFM Answers this early year and already have ILFM Engage up and running – watch this space!
Every firm of solicitors in England and Wales should ideally have one of their account’s team as an ILFM Member. The outlay is an asset to any legal firm (£105 + VAT per year) owing to the professionalism being a member brings. For such a minimal cost, each member has incredible support to hand along with education, training, the leading industry magazine - Legal Abacus, annual conferences with leading keynote speakers, accounting software blogs, partner discounts such as free Excel courses and heavily discounted insurance, cyber safety updates and so much more. Whether you want membership as an individual or if your COFA offers one for you, the knowledge and support you will receive is invaluable.
Legal Abacus is packed full of information and it’s totally FREE for members. Its key features are:
- Institute news
- Regular columnists writing on key areas such as COFA, SRA Accounts Rules, IT, training and education, tax and practice management matters.
- Special features
- Case studies and interviews
- Financial Q&A – every issue Legal Abacus pose questions for readers to consider and the answers appear in the following edition.
- Members section
- Study and exam information
- Book reviews
- Competitions and fun features
Don’t just take our word for it that being part of such an encouraging organisation is worth every penny spent. We are proud that in survey feedback, 100% of members said they would recommend the ILFM to others. Read some of our members’ testimonial here:
ILFM is definitely the best training for professionals I have been pleased to receive. S. Rodgers. Legal knowledge Solicitors. East Sussex 2018.
Always good to get out and meet other people from the legal industry, from Legal Cashiers, FD's to IT companies. With all the changes coming it's important to hear professionals give their opinion and it's good to discuss with others during breaks and after. A must for anyone in the legal finance profession.Nov 2018
Because many of our members work in isolation within their legal firms, our research with current members shows how inclusive the ILFM’s seminars and forums are for back up, friendly chat, Q&As and constant learning. The ILFM Connect will be such a pivotal way of keeping in contact with other legal cashiers, growing together, networking and discussing the merits of training and attending seminars are some topics we know are fundamental to group chats.
Darren Whelan is our current vibrant Chair, a knowledgeable VAT and legal finance expert who absolutely loves what the ethos of the ILFM offers and is passionate about meeting its members and allowing collaborative learning. Darren is growing the ILFM organisation in line with its members’ needs and is pushing for digital learning together with social media forums. We also have experts updating us with relevant news, such as this article regarding the LSB approving the new SRA Accounts Rules. Examples of our expert blogs include latest industry tips, guidelines and comments and our Executive Council and Partners love getting involved. The more knowledge we offer our members, the better the legal finance profession is.
On our ILFM Answers – Member Support link, is our Member Queries form, if you are an existing member, you can drop us a question and one of our experts will revert to you. This is yet another area of support we are able to offer to our members.
Want to know more and connect with fellow legal finance professionals? Why not join now and benefit from all that the ILFM has to offer?
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