ATO Recognised Professional Associations

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) make very clear which professional organisations are endorsed by the ATO for accountancy. Currently, recognised professional associations are:

• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
• Association of Taxation and Management Accountants
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
• CPA Australia
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia
• National Institute of Accountants
• Taxation Institute of Australia

The overall governing body for these associations are the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), which deal with standard setting in the private and public sectors and have its own research and administrative staff.

In relation to BAS service providers, a bookkeeper must either:

1. be a member of a recognised professional association (as defined under section 251LA of the ITAA 1936)
2. be working under the direction of a registered tax agent, or
3. be a payroll services provider preparing a BAS only for PAYG withholding obligations.

Bookkeepers desiring to be an authorised BAS provider should seek more information directly from the ATO utilizing their self assessment tool.