2.15
Prescribed Financial Records

A law firm must maintain all prescribed financial records in a safe and secure location, retrievable on demand for a minimum of ten full years (Rules of the Law Society of Alberta, Rule 119.35(1)). On a monthly basis, lawyers must print or digitally capture prescribed financial records (Rule 119.34(4)). 

A law firm’s monthly prescribed financial records must include:

    • bank reconciliations for each general and trust account;
    • client trust listing;
    • general journal;
    • trust journal;
    • trust transfer report;
    • client trust ledger;
    • billing journal;
    • accounts receivable ledger and aging report; 
    • cash receipts;
    • bank statements for each general and trust account;
    • cheques;
    • deposit slips for each general and trust account;
    • credit and debit card slips; and 
    • electronic banking transaction confirmations and records. 

A law firm using an approved software vendor must maintain an electronic backup of the prescribed financial records, update the electronic backup monthly, and restore/test the electronic backup semi-annually (Rule 119.35(5)). 

For further guidance on this topic, view the Prescribed Financial Records resource.

Last modified: Monday, 21 August 2023, 11:29 AM