What is a Registered Tax Agent?
To be considered a Registered Tax agent, they must be registered with and issued a licence from the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). A tax agent is a specialist accountant with specific knowledge in tax and law. They prepare and lodge your tax returns and are the only agents allowed to do this for you.
You can find a BAS or Tax agent, or check whether a person is registered by visiting the TPB website.
Who is a Qualified Accountant
A qualified accountant is defined by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) under the Corporations Act 2001.
Section 88B paragraph (2) of the Corporations Act 2001 empowers ASIC to declare that all members of a specified professional body, or all persons in a specified class of members of a specified professional body, are qualified accountants for the purposes of the Corporations Act.
On the 28 September 2016 under Section 88B of the Corporations Act, ASIC made the legislative instrument the ‘ASIC Corporations (Qualified Accountant) Instrument 2016 / 786’ to define who is a Qualified Accountant. It states:
5. All persons in the following classes of members of the following professional bodies are Qualified Accountants for the purposes of the Act:
(a) any member of CPA Australia (CPAA) who:
(i) is entitled to use the post-nominals “CPA” or “FCPA”; and (ii) is subject to CPAA’s continuing professional education requirements; and (iii) at or about the time of the member’s most recent renewal of membership, has confirmed in writing to CPAA that he or she complies with CPAA’s continuing professional education requirements;
(b) any member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) who:
(i) is entitled to use the post-nominals “CA”, “ACA” or “FCA”; and (ii) is subject to CA ANZ’s continuing professional education requirements; and (iii) at or about the time of the member’s most recent renewal of membership, has confirmed in writing to CA ANZ that he or she complies with CA ANZ’s continuing professional education requirements;
(c) any member of the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) who:
(i) is entitled to use the post-nominals “AIPA”, “MIPA”, or “FIPA”; and (ii) is subject to the IPA’s continuing professional education requirements; and (iii) at or about the time of the member’s most recent renewal of membership, has confirmed in writing to the IPA that he or she complies with the IPA’s continuing professional education requirements;
Also note that under this legislative instrument, ASIC has defined members of six international accounting bodies as Qualified Accountants.
(d) any member of an eligible foreign professional body who:
(i) has at least 3 years of practical experience in accounting or auditing; and (ii) is providing a Certificate for the purposes of paragraph 708(8)(c) or 761G(7)(c) of the Corporations Act to a person who is resident in the same country (being a country other than Australia) as that member.
The eligible foreign professional body means each of the following: American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (United Kingdom); Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants; The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales; The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland; The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
What is a BAS or IAS?
If you are a business registered for goods and services tax (GST) you need to lodge a business activity statement (BAS) to the Australia Taxation Office. Your BAS will help you report and pay your, goods and services tax (GST), pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax (employee tax) and other taxes.
An instalment activity statement (IAS) is used by tax payers who are not registered for goods and services tax (GST). Your IAS will help you report and pay your, pay as you go (PAYG) instalments, PAYG withholding tax (employee tax) and other taxes.
What is a Registered BAS Agent?
To be considered a registered BAS Agent they must be registered with and issued a licence from the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB). They prepare financial reports for the preparation and lodgement of business activity statements (BAS); provides advice to clients assisting them to comply with the goods and services tax (GST) regime and related legislation (Fringe Benefits Tax – collection only; calculation of employee superannuation guarantee payments; fuel tax rebates; PAYG, PAYI instalments) and TPAR . They may also liaise with the client’s tax agent/accountant in regard to income tax compliance issues; participates in the formulation and monitoring of budgets and cash flow projections; and assists in the collection of accounts receivable by the business and other processes. Design and set up compliance systems, advise on how the areas of law effect them and review a client's operation in relation to these laws.
They are required to have specific qualifications, relevant experience, adhere to the tax practitioners board's code of professional conduct and meet ongoing professional development requirements.
These tasks cannot be done by a bookkeeper who is not a registered BAS Agent.
Why choose a Registered BAS Agent over a bookkeeper?
A non BAS Agent can face penalties. Due to the varying levels of bookkeeping skills and experience in the community, the ATO introduced legislation in March 2010 to regulate the Bookkeeping industry.
Bookkeepers who provide BAS services without being a registered Bas Agent face heavy penalties. A non-registered Bookkeeper can still perform limited services or can operate legally but only if they are supervised by a BAS Agent.
A bookkeeper can only:
follow systems designed by others
process and enter transactions
reconcile and produce results but not if the client is relying on those, without further action to be certain that they are meeting their obligation
raise questions but not answer them
Most importantly they cannot prepare or lodge a business activity statement.
What is bookkeeping and why do I need to do it?
Bookkeeping involves the process of recording, analysing and interpreting the financial transactions of a business or individual. The discipline of bookkeeping accounts for a large proportion of the accounting process. Financial reporting is critical to the future success of any business. All Australian Business have a legislative requirement to have up to date financial records, this not only ensures that the business is paying all their required taxes and payroll obligations, but helps the business to know its financial stability. By law, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires you to keep certain business records and penalties may apply if you do not comply.
Good bookkeeping records provide information to allow you to monitor the performance of your business and make informed decisions. It makes it easier to maintain your creditors and debtors when your bookkeeping records are up to date this ensures you aren’t paying a supplier twice or that your customers are paying on time. This all helps with the health of your business.
What is a Business Consultant?
A business consultant is someone who has influence over an individual, group, or organisation, but has no direct authority to implement change. They provide practical advice that works by analysing as a generalist and solving as a specialist. A good business consultant does this by applying their knowledge and skill set acquired from a combination of learned techniques from experience and higher levels of education to provide clients with the best available advice and support. They are often used prior to, and during the start-up of a new business or to resolve problems in an existing business.
Why are Business Consultants beneficial to my business?
In small business they can be incredibly beneficial. Having someone analyse your business objectively can highlight strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for growth. Objectivity in small business can be incredibly hard and by having an outside perspective will help you see your business from another angle. By streamlining processes and making improvements to your operating procedures you business can only benefit.
Do you have a commonly asked question? Let us know.
Tags: Tax Returns, Individual, Business, Bookkeeping, Tax Agent, Xero, Quickbooks, Myob, Accountant, Support, BAS, IAS, PAYGI, PAYGW, Financial Statements, Entrepreneurs, Owners, Sole Traders, Partnership, Company, Trust