Assessment days  l  Learning objectives  l  Course resources  l  Fees  l  Cancellations  l CPD Hours

Under the Financial Assurance Scheme all practices operating a trust account must appoint a qualified Trust Account Supervisor. The Trust Account Supervisor must be a lawyer and may be a partner or director in a law firm, or a sole practitioner.

To become a Trust Account Supervisor, a lawyer must pass the NZLS Trust Account Supervisor assessments (Regulation 19, Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Trust Account) Regulations 2008).

If you have previously completed the TAS course, you may wish to refer to Regulation 19(3) Lawyers and Conveyancers (Trust Account) regulations 2008 to assess whether you are eligible to complete only a ‘refresher’ course. For further information about refresher requirements please email [email protected]

Preparing for the assessment

The training programme consists of self-study learning materials that are designed to help you prepare for assessment.

It is recommended that you spend at least 40 to 50 hours completing the self-study learning material and preparing for the assessment day. The learning materials include background information, examples and practice exercises with answers. About a month before the assessment day you will be sent mock examinations and model answers.

You will also need to examine a trust account in operation and write a report outlining your observations, which MUST be submitted by email five working days before the assessment day in order pass the course.

The modules

• Trust accounting requirements
• Recording trust account transactions
• Processing trust account transactions
• Trust account reconciliation
• Key internal controls of the trust account
• Month end review of reports to the Law Society
• Risk management
• Professional obligations when irregularities are suspected.

Learning objectives

Candidates will be able to:

• Differentiate between the obligations of any partner/director and the additional obligations of the Trust Account Supervisor.
• Review the firm’s trust account procedures to ensure that they comply with the LCA and Trust Account Regulations.
• Use the Trust Account Guidelines to ensure that best practice is followed in their firm.
• Identify the internal controls which their firm has in place, whether they might be more robust, and how to make them so.
• If required, set up a trust account from scratch and implement procedures to ensure compliance with administrative and legal requirements.
• Respond appropriately to situations where there are ethical issues in the handling of clients’ money.
• Be alert to practices which might allow the mishandling of clients’ money, and how to respond if mishandling is suspected.

Materials

Your course materials comprise a manual and a workbook folder of practical exercises to help you prepare for the assessment day. 2021 materials will be dispatched in February.

Course resources

• Observation Report Template - Click here
• Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006 - Click here
• NZLS Lawyers Trust Accounting Guidelines 2018 - Click here
• Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Trust Account) Regulations 2008 - Click here
• Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 - Click here
• Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Fidelity Fund) Regulations 2008 - Click here

Assessment day -  8.30am - 4.45pm

The assessment comprises four elements:

• A written observation report which MUST be submitted by email five working days before the assessment day. Note: if not submitted on time, a candidate will fail the course in its entirety.
• A written trust accounting administration examination.
• A written supervision examination.
• Participation in four discussion-based assessments on risk management and professional obligations.

In the event that you fail any part of the assessment, you will be required to resit the elements that you failed. This may take place in your home town.

Download a copy of the course brochure

Assessment days

 

Auckland 1	15 April
Hamilton	13 July
Wellington	22 September
Auckland 2	19 October
Christchurch	9 November

Presenters/Examiners

• Melanie Ashall, NZLS Inspectorate Manager, Hamilton
• Philip Strang, NZLS Inspector, Christchurch

Assessing Trust Account Supervisors

• Andrew Fletcher, Hamilton
• David Murphy, Wellington
• Simon Price, Christchurch
• Niamh McMahon, Auckland 

Fees & Cancellation/Refund policy

Trust Account Supervisor Training Programme (includes course materials and catering)	$560
Recount or re-mark of assessment	$80
Resit of all or part of the two written assessments	$120
Resubmission of the observation report	$120
Transfer to a later assessment day - additional fee payable This calendar year only 16+ working days' notice - $175 5-15 working days' notice - $305 0-4 working days - $560 Note: Registrants can claim 7.5 CPD hours on receipt of their returned observation report and participation on the assessment day.
Cancellation  16+ working days' notice - $305 refund 5-15 working days' notice - $175 refund 0-5 working days - No refund Please note: Minimum and maximum numbers apply. Registration is limited to lawyers. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come/first-served basis. Registrations close 20 working days before the presentation date (the closing date). NZLS CLE Ltd reserves the right to cancel any session that does not reach the budgeted minimum number of registrations. This decision will be made on the closing date and a full refund will be made to each registrant of the cancelled session.
Course materials (for those who do not need to complete the assessment) - Manual - Workbook	$110 $95

  

CPD Hours

Registrants can claim 7.5 CPD hours on receipt of their returned observation report and participation on the assessment day.