Bookkeepers and accountants must be mindful of their duties and obligations under legislation.
In the absence of any specific set of standards for bookkeepers, it is recommended that bookkeepers follow the Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB), where appropriate.
The AASB- It’s function in our regulatory environment
The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) is an Australian Government agency under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001. Under that Act, the statutory functions of the AASB are:
- to develop a conceptual framework for the purpose of evaluating proposed standards
- to make accounting standards under section 334 of the Corporations Act 2001
- to formulate accounting standards for other purposes
- to participate in and contribute to the development of a single set of accounting standards for worldwide use
- and to advance and promote the main objects of Part 12 of the ASIC Act, which include reducing the cost of capital, enabling Australian entities to compete effectively overseas and maintaining investor confidence in the Australian economy.
- defines what constitutes the provision of a BAS Service
- requires anyone providing such a service to be a registered BAS Agent
- outlines the required qualifications and experience of registered BAS Agents
- requires BAS Agents to hold Professional Indemnity insurance
- prescribes a Code of Professional Conduct that BAS Agents must follow
- imposes a civil penalty of $27,500 on any non-registered bookkeeper posing as a BAS Agent.
The Privacy Act regulates how personal information is handled. It defines personal information as:
... information or an opinion, whether true or not, and whether recorded in a material form or not, about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identified.
(Source: Privacy Act)
Bookkeepers must ensure creditor, customers and employees' names, contact information, and personal details must be kept private and confidential.
Under the Privacy Act, entities must comply with requirements in responding to data breaches. These are outlined under the Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme. The NDB scheme applies to all agencies and organisations with existing personal information security obligations under the Privacy Act.
It introduced the obligation to notify the individual whose personal information is involved in a data breach that is likely to result in serious harm. This notification must include recommendations about the steps individuals should take in response to the breach.
(Source: Notifiable Data Breaches scheme)
Other legislation that you may need to refer to includes:
- Corporations Act 2001: the laws relating to corporations.
- Criminal Code Act 1995: the laws relating to Australian criminal law.
- Freedom of Information Act 1982: the public rights of access to official documents of the Government of the Commonwealth and of its agencies under the Information Publication Scheme.
- Privacy Act 1988: regulates information privacy.
The accountants who built Australia | Home (no date) INTHEBLACK. Available at: https://intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au/ (Accessed: 11 December 2023).
