Overview & Definitions

This document outlines the key aims, principles and procedures Daniel Watney LLP adheres to in accordance with RICS Client Money Protection Scheme Rules and Client Money Handling, 1st edition, October 2019, effective from 1st January 2020.

Client
Any person, firm, trust body corporate or other organisation that is a client of an RICS-regulated firm.

Client Money
Money of any currency (whether in the form of cash, cheque, draft or electronic transfer)

    1. which an RICS-regulated firm holds for or receives on behalf of another person, including money held by a regulated firm as a stakeholder and;
    2. which is not immediately due and payable on demand to the RICS-regulated firm for its own account, and;
    3. excludes for the purposes of this Scheme money of any currency (whether in the form of cash, cheque, draft or electronic transfer) held by an RICS-regulated firm as TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme) Deposits, and;
    4. fees paid in advance for professional work agreed to be performed, and clearly identifiable as such.

Client Money Account

in respect of the Scheme, an account

    a) in the name of Daniel Watney LLP, holding client money that belongs to:

  • single client of the firm in a discrete client or
  • more than one client of the firm in a general client money account, and:
  • does not contain any sums other than the whole or any part of client money paid into it, or such sums of money as may be necessary to replace any sum which by error has been withdrawn from the account, together with accrued interest on such amounts; and

   b)  includes in its title the word “client” or an appropriate abbreviation of that word and whether such account is held in the name of the RICS-regulated firm.

The Firm or We
Daniel Watney LLP as a “Scheme Member” and an “RICS-regulated Firm”.

RICS Rules of Conduct
the RICS rules of conduct as determined by the RICS from time to time and any other applicable mandatory requirements set out by RICS, and any other specific and individual requirements notified to any particular RICS-regulated Firm as appropriate.

RICS
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

RICS-regulated Firm
a firm which is registered with RICS for regulation and which is therefore subject to the RICS Rules of Conduct

Scheme
the RICS Client Money Protection Scheme (CMPS)

Aims
A key aim of these written procedures is to ensure that client money is held in accordance with Rule 8 of the RICS Rules of Conduct, as follows:

Clients’ money
8. A Firm shall preserve the security of clients’ money entrusted to its care in the course of its practice or business.

In addition, our aim is to comply with the RICS Client Money Protection Scheme.

 

Handling of Client Money – written procedures

 1.1 All Client Money is held in a Client Money Account with National Westminster Bank plc, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA), the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority (the FCA) in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1.2 As a Scheme Member, we:

     a) Maintain one or more Client Money Account’s into which all Client Money is paid;

     b) Ensure that Client Money account’s are designated as such and easily distinguished from other accounts;

     c) Advise clients of Client Money to be held in a Client Money Account and notify Clients of details of that account;

     d) Confirm in writing with the bank with which it holds a Client Money Account that the bank acknowledges that monies in the Client Money Account must not be combined with, or transferred to, any other account maintained by the firm, and the bank shall not be entitled to exercise any right of set up or counterclaim against money in that Client Money Account in respect of any sum owed to it in respect of any other account of The Firm;

     e) Keep records and accounts which show all dealings with Client Money and demonstrate that all Client Money held by the Firm is held in a Client Money Account.

1.3 As regards handling Client Money, we:

    a) Have and comply with written procedures for handling Client Money, which comply with any RICS requirement to which Rule 7.4 refers;

    b) Publish our procedures for handling Client Money on our website;

    c) Provide a copy of our procedures for handling Client Money to any person who may reasonably require a copy, free of charge;

    d) Keep records and accounts that show all dealings with Client Money;

    e) Repay any Client Money, including where feasible any interest earned, without delay if there is no longer any requirement to retain that money or the relevant client requests it; and

    f) Hold and maintain professional indemnity insurance cover that is appropriate for the Member’s size, income, type of work and the amount of Client Money held.

Donations to charity
In the event that Daniel Watney LLP receives surplus client money in a client account, we follow best practices and enact the following procedures:

          1. Ensure that all efforts are made to trace the clients or owners of the money;

          2. Hold the surplus money in a client suspense ledger;

          3. Hold surplus money for at least six years should the bank not be able to return it to the sender. 

If, after six years, the client or owner of the money has not been found and no true claimants to the money have come forward, in accordance with RICS guidance, it will be donated to a registered charity. A receipt will be obtained for this transaction, so should a true claimant come forward to collect the money, it can be made available to them. We will request that the receiving charity should offer an indemnity to enable the Firm to recover a donation in the event of a claim.

If all efforts to trace the clients or owners of the money fails, and after following the above procedures, Daniel Watney LLP will donate the amount to a RICS’ approved charity.

General Controls
Daniel Watney LLP ensure that:

  •  Employees have clear segregation of duties and responsibilities and that an appropriately qualified individual oversees the client accounting function;
  •  It employs competent and knowledgeable staff who are responsible for processing clients’ money and who are familiar with RICS Rules;
  •   Accounting systems and client data are securely controlled and protected;
  •  Computer systems are adequately protected for access, firewalls, back-ups and disaster recovery;
  •  There is adequate cover for holiday and long-term absence;
  •  Principals cannot and do not override controls surrounding the accounting system;
  •  All areas of the business apply the same level of controls in relation to the client accounting function.

Client Bank Accounts
Daniel Watney LLP ensure that:

  •  We hold clients’ money in one or more client bank accounts separate from all other monies. Client money is available on demand;
  •  The bank account is correctly titled to include the name of the Firm and the word “client” to distinguish the account from an office or any other account. If it is a discrete account, the name of the client is included in the account title;
  •  We advise clients in writing of the bank account details (account name and name and address of the bank) and agree the terms of the account handling, including arrangements for interest and charges;

Client Accounting Systems and Controls
Daniel Watney LLP ensure that:

  •  Accounting records and systems are appropriate to the nature and volumes of client account transactions;
  •  Visibility is provided to clients accounts of receipts and payments by means of client ledgers and periodic reporting
  •  All ledgers have the client name and an appropriate description, e.g. the property address;
  •  Controls are in place to prevent client accounts going Overdrawn.

For discrete accounts, bank reconciliations are performed in accordance with RICS procedures and reconcile to the cash book or system balances to bank statement balances.
Reconciliations do not include regularly occurring adjustments or reconciling items more than three months old, except for unpresented cheques which should be no more than six months old.

  •  Reconciliations are reviewed and signed off by an appropriate independent senior member of staff;

Controls over the receipt of client money

The Firm ensures that:

  •  Only a Principal or appropriate staff independent of accounting staff open incoming post;  
  •  Procedures exist to ensure all clients’ money is banked within three working days;
  •  All cash and cheques received by post or by hand are promptly recorded in a log book;
  •  Procedures exist to identify and distinguish between clients’ and the Firm’s money;
  •  If received, mixed monies are initially paid into a client account and the office element paid to the office account when the receipt has cleared the bank;
  •  Unbanked client money receipts are kept securely in a locked cabinet.

Controls over the payment of client money
The Firm ensures that:

  •  Checks are made to ensure that sufficient funds are held on behalf of the relevant client before payments are made;
  •  A copy of the bank mandate is held and is up to date;
  •  Adequate authorisation and supervision procedures are in place for payments made by cheque, bank transfer and electronic methods;
  •  All payment requests have supporting evidence and that documentation has been authorised in advance by a Principal or other appropriate person;
  •  Effective controls are in place over the setting up of new supplier accounts on the system and bank account details are checked by telephone.