BAS AGENT LAWS > Choices For Bookkeepers

Do you wish to become a BAS Agent in your own right?

If you have decided that you want to become a BAS Agent in your own right, there are a number of paths you can take, each of will impact upon the timing of your registration.

 Ultimately, however, you will need to be willing to:

1.       Meet the Registration Requirements as follows:

  • you must be a fit and proper person; 

  • you must have been awarded at least a Certificate IV Financial Services (Accounting) or a Certificate IV Financial Services (Bookkeeping) from a registered training organisation or an equivalent institution that required the successful completion of a course in basic GST/BAS taxation principles;

  • you must have undertaken at least 1400 hours of relevant experience in the preceding 3 years (or 1000 hours if you are a member of a Recognised Tax Agent or BAS Agent Association)


2.       Comply with the Code of Professional Conduct which, among other things, requires that you maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance to a level required by the Board;


3.       Accept that if the Board investigates you and finds you have failed to comply with the Code, they may impose Sanctions, which could include giving you a written caution, ordering you to take specified actions, or suspending or terminating your registration.


4.       Accept that there is an additional risk exposure as a result of the fee paying client’s reliance being placed on you. This risk exposure stems from losses that may be suffered by third parties due to your negligence, error, failure or mistake. Third parties could include clients, lenders, investors or creditors.

 

The decision as to whether to become a BAS Agent in one’s own right is a personal one.

ABN BAS fully supports the registration and ongoing regulation of bookkeepers providing BAS Services to the general public. However, we also recognise the reality that not all bookkeepers will necessarily be seeking BAS Agent registration.

Some bookkeepers may be unable to become BAS Agents as …

  • They have not met the requirements to be a transitioned BAS Agent, and cannot seek registration as yet as they do not possess a Certificate IV in Financial Services (Bookkeeping or Accounting) or a superior qualification;
     
  • They do not meet the necessary number of hours of experience, due to their part-time status or the fact that they are new to the industry;
     
  • Their bookkeeping experience may not be of the kind required by the legislation (i.e. substantially involved in BAS Services);
     
  • They may be unable to meet the "fit and proper" person criterion.

Moreover, becoming a registered BAS Agent may not suit some bookkeepers and their business models as they have structured their businesses around providing general bookkeeping services only, and not BAS Services. This might be for a variety of reasons, including:

  • They have made a decision to change career or retire in the coming years;
     
  • Their bookkeeping business is not large enough to warrant the investment of time and money;
     
  • They do not believe that their personal circumstances will allow them to undergo study in order to attain a Certificate IV Financial Services (Accounting) or Certificate IV Financial Services (Bookkeeping);
     
  • They do not wish to face the additional liability and client reliance that comes with being a BAS Agent;
     
  • They would rather not incur the additional and ongoing costs associated with being a BAS Agent such as registration, insurance and continuing professional development;
     
  • The additional considerations that come with being a BAS Agent – such as being formally subject to the registration requirements of the Tax Agent Services Act, being subject to the Code of Professional Conduct and being listed on the Tax Practitioner Board’s public register of BAS Agents– are matters that you would prefer to place into the hands of a Registered BAS Agent.

Click either Yes or No in answer to the question:  “Do you wish to become a BAS Agent in your own right?”

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