Closing the books

For someone who decided early in his working life that he didn’t want to be an auditor, Leslie Cumming has shown remarkable perseverance as the Law Society of Scotland’s Chief Accountant.

Having decided to step down after 22 years in the post, Leslie can reflect on the development of a considerably more rigorous oversight of the profession’s bookkeeping than was felt necessary when he joined the Society in 1984.

Despite the increasing prominence of his role within the Society – latterly he also assumed the title of deputy chief executive – Leslie remained largely out of the public eye until January this year when headlines were generated by a knife attack outside his home, causing serious injuries from which he was fortunate to recover. The case remains open but police still suspect a grudge motive.

However it was the predicted timescale for the implementation of the Legal Profession etc Bill rather than the knife attack which persuaded Leslie that the time had come to call it a day. “Implementation date, July 2008, coincidentally is my 65th birthday, which meant that I was going to be very deeply involved in the changes and administrative reorganisation for something which was going to be effective just as I retired. It seemed to me that that work needed to be done by someone who could stay beyond that date.”

Formative years

He leaves in the knowledge that for the most part his work, despite its nature, is appreciated by the great majority of solicitors. “I think I’m on remarkably good terms with a profession who no doubt see me as the regulator with the big stick. I have to say that in recent months following the attack I was extraordinarily moved by the number of people who took the time to write to me, to wish me well and to thank me for some intervention in their business which they had found to be well timed and helpful. I’m sure there are a number of solicitors who didn’t write to me who would have the alternative view, but nevertheless I think it shows that those who want help were always able to get that from the Society and from my staff.”

Such observations also reflect the transformation of the Society’s supervisory activities under Leslie’s direction. Prior to his arrival the Guarantee Fund Department consisted of his (sole) predecessor Bill Adams, a secretary and three inspectors, with a cashier in charge of the separate finance department. A team of that size could only inspect firms with one or two partners (bigger firms were thought to be less of a risk in that a larger number of partners were assumed to keep an eye on each other), and then only if there were grounds for possible concern.

Through a combination of Society initiatives and the emergence of the investment business regime, inspections began to take place on a more systematic basis. Once the problem firms came to light, it was the profession itself that called for a tighter regime. The record £2.5 million payout from the Guarantee Fund following the Scott Moncrieff & Dove Lockhart saga, followed by the advance fee fraud involving Dumfries solicitor Giles Davies, led to the demand for a two year inspection cycle with corresponding increase in the inspection team – now at 12 inspectors under director Morag Newton plus regulatory support team.

Another major impact on practice, the much greater use and sophistication of accounting systems since he started, is one which Leslie doesn’t see as adding to the demands on his team. “The technology is neutral in this area. I think if it is used properly it can help us carry out an adequate check on systems and controls which are being operated. The biggest areas of difficulty are in fact the change in staff, change in key personnel control arrangements, or dare I say it the introduction of a new computer system, which can produce nightmare results from something which had been previously well run.”

Reinventing the steal

When it comes to the point, there are few if any tricks with which the inspectors are not familiar. “It’s always a challenge to follow inventive minds, but there is a somewhat sad pattern of people reinventing the same solutions to their personal cashflow problems.” On at least one occasion he has stood before a local faculty, told them of people who had fallen foul of the rules, warned that those who are under pressure should not use these systems because his team can find them, and when next they visited one participant’s firm they quickly found a large fraud perpetrated by precisely one of the same methods.

A Scottish invention

Leslie is proud of the Society’s wider reputation established under his direction. “We’ve established an international reputation for practical innovations, and in having the accounts certificate produced by the solicitor personally rather than being certified by an independent accountant we were the first jurisdiction in the world to take that step. It’s been followed since then by the New Zealand and some Canadian law societies and it is a most effective and useful early warning tool.”

Does that mean early warning to the Society or the solicitor? “It works both ways. If you have to sit down and make a disclosure to the Society of a problem then the first thing you need to do is make sure that you’re going to include the solution to the problem which you’re going to report at the same time.”

Again he has succeeded in developing a proactive approach in both directions. “The certificates regularly feature small problems which have been addressed by the firm before making the report. I think it’s also helpful to say that over the years we’ve been very much involved in educating the profession and encouraging people to take responsibility for their own accounting systems, and the education initiatives have been very important to the Society in raising and maintaining standards. They are equally important to us as an adequate monitoring arrangement which merely checks that people understand and are complying with the rules.”

A tight ship

It is easy to overlook that the Guarantee Fund inspection regime, the public-facing part as it were of Leslie Cumming’s work, is far from the full picture. The Society’s own finances also have to be kept in order – again something that has developed increasingly rigorous monitoring. From accounts prepared twice annually (“on one of the last steam driven accounting machines”) when he arrived, to the agreement soon afterwards that “a computer might be more appropriate”, and the development of sophisticated monthly management accounts, the finance team has grown to four in number under management accountant Heather Kiteley.

“The Society’s performance over the years has been one of fairly tightly controlled spending, where the cost of the practising certificate has languished at the bottom of the European spending league as far as law societies are concerned. I’m not quite sure whether that’s a good or a bad thing, but it certainly gives the members excellent value.”

Three years ago came the additional title of Deputy Chief Executive. “I think it initially came from the need to develop the internal management of the Society under Douglas Mill’s direction. In particular the systems we were using to deal with complaints against solicitors was in significant need of overhaul, and as part of the role I accepted the challenge of improving the department’s workrate on the back of the delegated powers which we were able to operate with following the legislative change in 2003.” The rest, as they say, is history: the system put in place, and implemented by the Client Relations Office team has delivered the recent huge improvement in the Society’s complaints-handling turnaround times.

It would not be controversial to describe Leslie Cumming as a hard act to follow. So much so that the Society is not even attempting to find any one individual to fill his shoes. Instead the role will be split between the finance and Guarantee Fund functions, the former strand including a reappraisal of the Society’s office requirements once the pending regulatory changes have bedded in.

The business of law

So this snapshot of the Society, through the eyes of one of its key players, reveals just what scale of change has taken place in only a couple of decades, whatever public image there may be of a conservative institution. Looking out at the profession, Leslie also sees much change without having to do more than scratch the surface.

“Not the least of it is the fact that nowadays in order to be a successful solicitor the partnership has to have the benefit of significant business acumen. It is no longer possible to follow the general herd with percentage fees based on the Society’s recommendations. Individual firms have got to be able to identify their specialisations and charge appropriately for that service, and this needs a greater degree of financial understanding than was required in the mid-80s when I first joined the Society. Those who don’t have that intuitive feel for business have struggled over the years. I think the expectation of a solicitor now is for even higher levels of professional competence outside just the black letter law.”

Not that his guiding hand is going to be completely lost to us. Apart from his first priority of spending a little more time on the golf course, Leslie intends to (only slightly) reinvent himself with a part time consultancy to the profession in his areas of expertise. “Helping the profession in that more immediate way is something that I’ve always enjoyed doing and would like to do more of.”

He laughs when I suggest that if half of what he has said is accurate, the work will be a lot more than part time. “Well, the part time target is where I start, and where it finishes is a matter of conjecture.”

But we can forgive his reluctance to hang up his boots completely. “The time I’ve had with the Society has been hugely interesting and challenging. I’ve enjoyed most of my time with the Society. I really just want to say thanks to the colleagues who have worked with me, particularly in the regulatory/finance area. Without their help and hard work it wouldn’t have been the success that it has been.”  

A ROLE MUCH APPRECIATED

Many Council members have relied on Leslie’s advice over the years in relation to the Society’s finances and the Guarantee Fund. Some of the more recent offer their own tributes:

Ian Stubbs

Having worked with Leslie as a member of the Guarantee Fund I rapidly became aware of how able an accountant Leslie is. In 1998 I became Finance Convener and was concerned that Leslie might find it somewhat difficult or awkward to be in effect reporting to a lawyer who claimed also to be a chartered accountant. I need not have worried! Over the next four years we worked extremely easily and well together – discussing and agreeing what needed to be done and then doing it (or at least Leslie did it).

Over those years the Society reviewed its relationship with its bankers, its stockbrokers, its auditors and others – going out to tender where appropriate.

We also together reviewed the format of the accounts of the Society with a view to making them more modern in layout and more transparent – especially for those attending the Society’s AGM where historically the accounts have been an area of much contention. The net result of that review was that the accounts became much more accepted by the members with far fewer questions being raised.

Leslie and I also sought to drive down the responsibility for accounting within the Society with individual committees and conveners accepting responsibility for their own budgets and for operating within those budgets.

In short, I found my time as Finance Convener most rewarding and productive but particularly appreciated the very real friendship which I developed with Leslie over those four years.

I hope that Leslie now enjoys his retirement as much as I am enjoying mine.

John Hamilton

I was a member of the Guarantee Fund Committee for eight years – three of them as Convener. During that time I worked closely with Leslie Cumming, and his department.

I found Leslie’s very considerable assistance and advice over the years to be invaluable. His breadth of experience, and depth of knowledge, meant there were few problems he had not encountered at some point in the past. At committee meetings his wise counsel and practical approach were of considerable assistance.

I shall miss seeing Leslie at Council and committee meetings, but I hope, most sincerely, that he enjoys a long, healthy and happy retirement. The Law Society of Scotland has, indeed, now lost one of its greatest assets.

Mary Macrae

As Chief Accountant Leslie Cumming was the most feared member of the Law Society executive. To hear the news that the Chief Accountant was in your office reception waiting to see you was enough to strike terror into the heart of the legal practitioner, as it could mean only one thing – bad news.

In fact in his office at the Society, Leslie had on his wall a cartoon drawn by one of his family, showing him hammering on the door of a solicitor’s office saying “Open up in the name of the Law Society, I’ve come to close you down!”

But since becoming first a Council member and then at his invitation a member of the Guarantee Fund Committee and now the convener, it has been my privilege and pleasure to get to know him and to work with him.

Solicitors in Scotland owe him a great debt of gratitude for the work and effort he has expended in putting together the Guarantee Fund Department, who meticulously inspect the accounting records of the profession, identifying financial and accounting problems and irregularities, thus minimising claims on the Fund, claims which we solicitors ultimately have to pay for.

I have also witnessed his willingness to help where for differing reasons, firms and individual solicitors are in difficulty, his sound advice freely given and usually gratefully accepted.

Outside of the Guarantee Fund work, I have found him to be extremely good company with a host of stories about growing up in the Highlands. Less well known than his professional abilities are his talents on the dance floor, where only those who have seen him in action at Society functions will have observed that his mental agility is more than matched by his fleetness of foot. Leslie – we’ll miss you.

Leslie Cumming: life before the Society

Leslie Cumming qualified as a chartered accountant in 1967. After two years’ audit experience in Edinburgh, he decided he didn’t really want to be an auditor and moved to manufacturing industry where he spent eight years with a linoleum factory in Fife. Next came a spell in Dundee with a food distribution firm called Watson Philip, servicing a diverse market including  hotels, hospitals and oil rigs.

“And having applied to the Law Society of Scotland and having been surprised to be offered the job, I discovered myself [in June 1984] back in an auditing role after all those years.”