Accountancy refers to the entire body of the theory and process of accounting i.e. recording, classifying and summarizing the business transactions, balancing of accounts, drawing conclusions and integrating the results.
There are 3 types of Accounts- Real, Personal and Nominal Accounts and Divisions of Accounting Systems- book keeping, accountancy and auditing.
The 5 fundamental elements- Assets, Liabilities, Equity (or Capital), Income (or Revenue) and Expenditure.
Legal Requirements of keeping accounts – It is necessary to maintain proper accounts to calculate the following –
1)Annual Income
2)Income Tax
3)Professional Tax
4)Amount due to the client or amount due by the client.
Place of keeping accounts- At his office or where he is carrying on the profession more than one office, then at his head office.
Bar council Rules relating to accounting – Rule 25 to 32, of Section II – Duty to the Client, under Chapter II Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette of Part VI Rules Governing Advocates of Bar Council of India Rules, 1975 provides for the maintenance of the accounts of the clients by the Advocate.
Under the Income Tax Act, every lawyer is required to maintain the following books of accounts and other documents to enable the Assessing Officer to calculate his total income
(i)cash book (ii) Receipt Voucher (iii) payment voucher (iv) journal (v) ledger. The accounting year is 1st April to 31st March next year.
Therefore, there are rules of professional conduct that, prohibit lawyers from making false or misleading statements or control how lawyers may charge fees, such rules are often far less stringent than similar state or federal consumer protection laws. Even when charges are filed, disciplinary proceedings are often conducted privately and in the rare instances when lawyers were subjected to formal sanction, nearly half receive only private reprimands. Under the current system, the hallmarks of lawyer regulation are leniency and secrecy. Lawyers should be regulated like any other profession. Lawyers have the same capacity for misconduct as any other professionals and can hardly claim to have the best interests of consumers in mind if they repeatedly seek to be exempt from rules and laws designed to protect them.
Aishwarya Says:
I have always been against Glorifying Over Work and therefore, in the year 2021, I have decided to launch this campaign “Balancing Life”and talk about this wrong practice, that we have been following since last few years. I will be talking to and interviewing around 1 lakh people in the coming 2021 and publish their interview regarding their opinion on glamourising Over Work.
If you are interested in participating in the same, do let me know.
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We also have a Facebook Group Restarter Moms for Mothers or Women who would like to rejoin their careers post a career break or women who are enterpreneurs.
We are also running a series Inspirational Women from January 2021 to March 31,2021, featuring around 1000 stories about Indian Women, who changed the world. #choosetochallenge