KNOWLEDGE CONFIDENCE UNDERSTANDING
In association with 
CILEx Regulation accounts courses are designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge for accounts and financial management. It has been mapped against and meets the CILEx Regulation accounts requirements, which you must meet to be a manager in an entity regulated by CILEx Regulation.
Level 1 – this course delivers the competencies CILEx Regulation requires of all managers in an entity.
Level 2a - this builds on the knowledge and skills gained from Level 1 to be able to support commercial decisions and good financial hygiene.
If you are new to this area, we also highly recommend attending the ILFM Training: The Fundamentals of Legal Cashiering
Level 1
CILEx Level 1 can be taken as a whole course or as individual units.
- Units taken individually £50
- Level One all 14 Units £545 (this represents a discount of over 20%)
If you take the entire CILEx Level 1 then we will include 2 years membership Free of Charge. Click here for more details on ILFM Membership and how we can add value to you.
The course has been designed to:
- Assist students that have little or no knowledge in bookkeeping, or those that have never studied a professional qualification in this area.
- Concentrate on teaching the accounts rules that every legal professional will encounter during their time in practice.
With more and more focus being placed on understanding the business to ensure strong compliance, coupled with financial health, the ILFM’s courses begin here with the foundations.
For those that have never worked with, or studied bookkeeping or accounts rules, it can at first appear daunting.
You ought to expect an annual visit from your external accountant and auditor, and can also expect occasional visits from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and any Practice Standards Unit (PSU) by your regulator. This course will assist you to be prepared for any of these.
Your tutor will be on hand to provide support and guidance where necessary. These units provide you with the basic understanding to progress to higher level accounting and to fully understand your business’ finances.
The units will take a step-by-step approach. All of the work you do on the course will be better if you use a combination of common sense and careful reading of the units, together with any research and relevant rules.
We estimate, depending on how fast you wish to work, that each Unit could take 1-2 Days (7-14 hours) to complete. All units need to have been completed within 2 years of signing up to the course.
Assessment and Certificates:
Assessment will be via submission of an assignment for each unit. This unit assignment will be marked by our tutor. If this assignment reaches the required 50% pass mark, you will be issued with a certificate for the Unit. This can be used as evidence for CILEx of satisfactory completion of that Unit. If you need to resubmit a Unit for marking there will be a small administration charge to cover costs of £30.
Accounts Level 1 - Contents
Introduction
Basic accounting framework
Manual accounting system
Computerised accounting system
Importance of an audit trail
Books of prime or original entry
The transfer journal
Purpose of double entry bookkeeping
Main principles of double entry bookkeeping
‘T’ Accounts
Reason for ledger accounts
Control Accounts
Private ledgers
The importance of coding and an introduction to management accounts
Introduction to variances
Client invoicing
Issuing credit notes
Setting credit limits
Credit control policy
Debt collection and provision of bad debt
Writing off bad debt
Sales ledger control account
Understanding what a trial balance is
Basic principles
Omissions and finding an error
Use of suspense accounts
Adjustments and the extended trial balance
Balancing off the books and ledgers
The importance of regular bank reconciliations
Process and procedures
Unpresented payments and lodgements
Record keeping
Financial Statements/Completion Statements
Basic management reports
Profit and Loss Account
Balance Sheet
Variances
Registration
Rates of VAT
Tax points and invoicing
Inputs and outputs
Accounting schemes
VAT control account
Professional disbursements
Other disbursements
Principle and agency method
Disbursements v recharges
Introduction
Purpose and aims of the accounts rules
The overarching objectives and underlying principles
Interpretation
Procedures for protecting client money
Who is governed by the accounts rules
Categories of money
What is client money?
Client cashbook and the use of multiple client bank accounts
Multi currency and client accounts
Client ledgers and the non use of general client ledgers
Exceptions to rule around individual client ledgers
Transferring between clients
Receiving client funds
Who can sign?
Internal policies and procedures
Types of withdrawal
Earmarking
Cash withdrawals
Liquidators, trustees in bankruptcy, court of protection deputies and
Trustees of occupational pension schemes
Joint accounts
Accounts in clients own name
Funds held according to clients own instructions
Other money withheld from client account
Rules around holding cash
Money held as stakeholder or agent
Third party cheques
Requirement for interest policy
Amount of interest
When interest should be paid
Situations where interest may be not be paid
Fair and reasonable application
Level 2a
CILEx Level 2a is taken as individual units.
- Units individually £50
The course has been designed to build on the knowledge and skills gained from Level 1 to be able to support commercial decisions and good financial hygiene.
With more and more focus being placed on understanding the business to ensure strong compliance, coupled with financial health, the ILFM’s courses begin here with the foundations.
For those that have never worked with, or studied bookkeeping or accounts rules, it can at first appear daunting.
You ought to expect an annual visit from your external accountant and auditor, and can also expect occasional visits from H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and any Practice Standards Unit (PSU) by your regulator. This course will assist you to be prepared for any of these.
Your tutor will be on hand to provide support and guidance where necessary. These units provide you with the basic understanding to progress to higher level accounting and to fully understand your business’ finances.
The units will take a step-by-step approach. All of the work you do on the course will be better if you use a combination of common sense and careful reading of the units, together with any research and relevant rules.
We estimate, depending on how fast you wish to work, that each Unit could take 1-2 Days (7-14 hours) to complete. All units need to have been completed within 2 years of signing up to the course.
Assessment and Certificates:
Assessment will be via submission of an assignment for each unit. This unit assignment will be marked by our tutor. If this assignment reaches the required 50% pass mark, you will be issued with a certificate for the Unit. This can be used as evidence for CILEx of satisfactory completion of that Unit. If you need to resubmit a Unit for marking there will be a small administration charge to cover costs of £30.
Accounts Level 2a - Contents
Difference between client money and client account
Key profitability benchmarks
The balance of bank borrowing and partner capital
Debt collection procedures