KA-2023-000225 - [2025] EWHC 1605 (KB)

The cash account constitutes a comprehensive record of all monetary transactions conducted by a solicitor on behalf of a client during the course of a retainer. Its fundamental purpose is to provide the client with a transparent overview of how their funds have been managed and to ascertain any outstanding balance upon the termination of the professional relationship.

The obligation for solicitors to maintain such an account derives from statute. Section 32(1)(b) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (“the 1974 Act”) mandates the Council of the Law Society (now the Solicitors Regulation Authority or SRA) to establish rules governing the keeping of accounts that detail money received, held, or paid by legal professionals for their clients. These rules are further elaborated on in the SRA Accounts Rules and the SRA Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules.

Typically, a cash account will present a summary of funds received by the solicitor for the client’s benefit and payments made out of those funds on the client’s behalf. It does not include payments made in satisfaction of the solicitor’s own bill for fees and disbursements. In essence, it aims to be a complete financial history of the solicitor's handling of client money throughout the duration of their instruction.

It is important to distinguish between a cash account and a solicitor's bill of costs. The latter details the solicitor's professional charges and disbursements, whereas the former records the broader financial transactions involving the client’s money. Notwithstanding this distinction, the cash account has to be considered when the Court comes to certify the final balance between the solicitor and the client.

A client has the right to dispute the accuracy of a cash account. The Court must certify the account. It is for the solicitor to satisfy the Court of the accuracy of the cash account. There is no burden of proof, as such, on the client. Disputes can arise from concerns about the omission of receipts, discrepancies in recorded payments, or, as in the present matter, allegations of undisclosed commissions or other financial benefits that ought, arguably, to have been shown in the cash account and credited to the client.

In proceedings under section 70 of the 1974 Act and CPR 67 for the assessment of a solicitor’s bill, the determination of the “result” of the cash account is a mandatory step before the assessment can be finalised and a conclusive order made as to the sums due between the parties.