The Professional Institute for COFAs

Membership of the Institute will give COFAs independent advice, support and resources to help in their day-to-day role. COFAs play a vital role in the move to regulation focused on outcomes and they are key to fulfilling the SRA’s aim for law firms to take responsibility for managing any risks to their delivery of legal services.

COFAs champion compliance and the management of risk within law firms and are responsible for firms’ systems and controls. They are responsible for establishing processes to enable the firms, their managers and employees - and anyone who has any interest in the firms - to comply with requirements the Handbook places on them.

COFAs are not solely responsible for complying with the requirements of the Handbook: everyone in the firm has a role to play in compliance, which is ultimately the responsibility of the firm and its managers. However, COFAs do have a key role in ensuring that suitable systems and controls are in place, in recording breaches and in reporting material breaches to the SRA.

Unsure of your duties after being designated as a COFA?

These responsibilities indicate that you are a trustworthy person who can adhere to the SRA's standards. But what does it really mean to be a COFA? What are you expected to do in this new role?

At the ILFM our role is to ensure that you, as a COFA, become so familiar with your tasks and responsibilities that you’ll be able carry them out without a hitch, and to remind you that we are your first port of call with legal finance compliance issues.

We have seen in the past, that some smaller firms have appointed legal cashiers and practice managers as COFAs because they are the obvious choice in terms of their knowledge of the day-to-day transactions. Is this right for you or your legal firm? As we all know, legal cashiers are so integral to a legal finance function, but they might not be in a position to feel that they can be assertive when up against a senior partner. Will they have the passion, time or salary to enforce change?

What is a COFA?

It’s important that you understand exactly what this job role entails and how it will be implemented in your legal practice because of the responsibility surrounding it, including some serious consequences if the rules aren’t adhered to.

A COFA is a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration, and the SRA (Solicitors Regulation Authority) mandates that all authorised practices appoint a COFA as well as a COLP.  We know that some of you will be a COLP and a COFA, normally in 1 - 3 partnership level firms, or sole practitioners of course.

It’s common for a COFA to have a high position in the practice and to be perceived as reliable, we often see that COFAs are highly respected in their place of work especially as they will need to assert their authority when it comes to challenging problems. Our COFA Masterclass gives anyone who has taken on the role of a COFA that complete training and support.  

Responsibilities of a COFA

As a COFA your responsibilities are broad and there are many that need to be fulfilled. Here are some of the most important ones that are critical to understand.

Ensure your firm complies with the SRA’s rules

How many times have your read in industry news about a solicitor who has ignored anti-money laundering responsibilities and been banned from holding compliance roles?

One of a COFA’s primary responsibilities will be to take all necessary steps to ensure that everyone in its firm follows the SRA's rules. To fulfil those responsibilities, they must have a thorough understanding of the SRA account rules. They were made much simpler a few years back, however our advice is never be complacent.

Taking steps to train and work with everyone in the company to be totally aware of the rules and how they affect their day-to-day duties is a massive task but one that can be done relatively easily. This is where the person with the COFA “badge” needs to have a sense of authority and respect in a firm, as they’ll need to be able to stand up for themselves.

It might seem a little intimidating when you first start out as a COFA, which is why having a go-to professional membership is important. The ILFM provides COFAs with a wealth of resources and services making the new role easier to understand and adhere to.

Find out more here...