Engagement letters - updates and changes

ACCA has produced a series of engagement letter templates for use in the UK

Letters of engagement are mandatory. On accepting an appointment, the practitioner must send the client a letter of engagement.

This forms the basis of a contractual relationship between the practitioner and the client. 

A properly worded letter of engagement establishes the framework in which the client relationship is managed.

It should set out the work that is to be performed and the basis on which the fees will be charged. (It is rarely worthwhile suing a client for non-payment of fees if you do not have a letter of engagement in place.) 

Many practitioners now limit their liability for work done by an appropriately worded clause in the letter of engagement. The liability cap should be discussed and agreed with the client at the start of the assignment. 

Dispute resolution

Another area that is strongly recommended to be included in a letter of engagement is that of dispute resolution.

Whilst a client should be informed that they have the right to approach ACCA if a dispute cannot be resolved satisfactorily, in the first instance, the engagement letter should explain the firm’s internal disputes resolution procedure.

In particular, it should identify the person within the firm that the client should contact in the event that he or she is dissatisfied with the service received.  

We have free factsheets available on our website containing engagement letters that members can use. However we believe that the future of this area lies in the integration of payment, money-laundering requirements and engagement letters into a single onboarding process, so we have partnered with Practice Ignition, which can offer its product with ACCA templates.

You can have a free trial of the product by registering using this link.

Factsheets available for immediate download

Download our free Technical Factsheet: Engagement Letters for Tax Practitioners and Technical Factsheet: Engagement Letters – accounts production. Both include a client covering letter with a privacy notice, a terms and conditions document and various schedules of services.

These letters do not reflect the Covid-19 services provided to clients. ACCA has produced a schedule of services for these .

Schedule of services: reporting accountant under the SRA Accounts Rules

A revised schedule of services that applies for reports from 25 November 2019 has been made available. The schedule can be requested by emailing ACCA at supportingpractitioners@accaglobal.com.