Shares in Slater and Gordon, the first publicly listed law firm, fell by 25% on Monday after the firm admitted there had been accounting errors in the finances of its UK arm.

In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) this morning, Slater and Gordon confirmed that from its 2012 takeover of legacy UK firm Russell Jones & Walker until 31 December 2013 it had "reported receipts from customers on a gross rather than net basis".

The firm added that it had included UK VAT twice when calculating receipts from customers in statements to the stock exchange on 30 June 2014 and 31 December 2014.

Slater and Gordon said: "Net cash derived from operating activities in all periods was unaffected and remains as reported."

Following the announcement shares in the company fell to a 52-week low of A$3.50 (