1. Are there any ATO recognised
professional associations available for bookkeepers
to join?
In Australia there are seven (7)
professional accounting
associations, recognised by the ATO. It
is mandatory that an accountant belong to one of
these associations in order to either become a
Register Tax Agent or to legally lodge BAS returns
in accordance with section
251L(6)a of ITAA
1936.
Of these associations most (CPA and
ICAA in particular) require that their members not
only hold an accounting degree but that they have
also undertaken further postgraduate study in
accounting.
However you can join either the
Association of Taxation and Management Accountants
(ATMA) or the
National Institute of Accountants (NIA) as an
associate member if you hold an
Advanced Diploma in Accounting;
or if you hold a University
Degree majoring in Accounting you can
join either association as a full member, provided
you meet their experience criteria.
Membership of either the ATMA or NIA
enables a bookkeeper to legally lodge BAS returns in
accordance with section
251L(6)a of ITAA
1936 and will enable them to register as a BAS Agent without anymore ado as provided for
in the
BAS Agent Exposure Draft.
2. What about a
recognised association just for bookkeepers?
Well right now there are none. The
BAS Agent Exposure Draft allows for the
provision of a BAS Agent Association which is a
Not-for-profit organisation with at least 1,000
voting members. Further according to section 209:
-
Each voting member of the organisation has been
awarded a Certificate IV Financial Services (Bookkeeping), or a
Certificate IV Financial Services (Accounting), or an equivalent
award, from:
This seems to indicate that before any
BAS Agent association becomes recognised it
will be required to ensure that all of it's voting members hold
one of the two Certificate IV qualifications or greater.
At present there are only two associations that are
likely to become recognised BAS Agent
associations. They are:
This
association is funded jointly by CPA, ICAA and NIA
and is managed by NIA. It represents the accounting
paraprofessionals (account payable and accounts
receivable officers, assistant accountants, etc.)
and has the following membership criteria, which
makes no mention of a bookkeeping qualification:
"Certificate IV in
Financial Services (Accounting) or Diploma of
Accounting (or equivalent) and 1 year work
experience."
This association is growing fast and
as at 14th December 2007 already has 607 members.
It has solid support both internationally from the
150,000 strong ICB UK organisation and in
Australia from MYOB, the largest supplier of
accounting software to small business. Many of its members
are MYOB Certified
Consultants.
BIA supports ICB for qualified
bookkeepers, because it is the only association to
commit to the nationally recognised Certificate IV
Financial Services (Bookkeeping) as part of its
membership criteria (as follows) and for a varied
number of reasons, including their contacts with
government and their ability to influence government
policy on behalf of bookkeepers.
"BIA Certificate IV in Financial Services (Bookkeeping) and a Statement of
Experience from a client, employer or accountant (at
least 24 months experience required) and a copy of
your CV."
BIA believes that ICB will continue to
grow and will easily have the required 1,000 members by
the time that the BAS Agent legislation is
passed. ICB will go on to become the
bookkeeping association of
choice for all Australian bookkeepers,
leaving AAT, with its accounting association links, to
look after the junior accounting professionals.
Disclosure: BIA's Principal and
Executive Director, Dennis Turner, is an ICB Fellow and
a member of NIA.
3. Do you have to join a recognised
BAS Agent association in order to become
a BAS Agent?
The short answer is No. You
should join a BAS Agent association for
the support and the services that they offer and for
the recognition that you will receive from your
clients - and potential clients - by being a member
of that association.
4. Why would I join the BIA?
BIA membership is tailored towards students and new
bookkeepers who not as yet fit the criteria for joining
the
the Institute of Certified
Bookkeepers (ICB). Membership
of the
Bookkeeping Institute of Australia is open
to all people who are engaged in bookkeeping or
accounting activities or intend to become a
bookkeeper.
The
Bookkeeping
Institute of Australia
offers professional
membership to our students and to bookkeepers. We have deliberately set the entry level
for membership at either working as a bookkeeper or at Certificate III level to encourage
membership and further professional development.
Please
click here for full details of membership
Qualifications and Criteria. All BIA members must also
agree to abide by the
BIA Code of
Ethics & Standards.
We recommend that once our members meet the ICB
membership criteria of
"BIA Certificate IV in Financial Services (Bookkeeping) and a Statement of
Experience from a client, employer or accountant (at
least 24 months experience required) and a copy of
your CV" that they should also join that
organisation. We would like them to continue to be BIA members as we believe that the benefits we
offer in terms of our members web site and low cost
insurance make our membership worthwhile.
5. How can I obtain low cost
Indentify and Public Liability Insurance?
BIA members have access to the cheapest
professional indemnity and
public liability insurance cover available for
bookkeepers in Australia. The Insurance cover is for $10,000,000
(ten million dollars) in public liability and $1,000,000
(one million dollars) in professional
indemnity for a flat annual fee of just $648 for BIA
members.
Click her to
view details of this insurance
offer.
BIA
Membership Levels
-
BIA Member (MBIA) Level:
Membership is open to all people who are engaged
in bookkeeping or accounting activities or intend to
become an employed bookkeeper. Please
click here for full details of membership
Qualifications and Criteria.
Members are authorised to use the
post nominal letters – MBIA – after their name. BIA Members will be recommended by the
Bookkeeping Institute of Australia
to prospective employers.
-
BIA Professional Member (MBIA)
Level: Professional Membership
is open to all
people who are engaged in bookkeeping or accounting activities as a contract bookkeeper. Please
click here for full details of membership
Qualifications and Criteria.
Professional members must hold
Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance for
their business.
Members are authorised to use the
post nominal letters – MBIA – after their name. BIA
Professional Members may be recommended by the
Bookkeeping Institute of Australia
to prospective clients.
In addition to the use of
the BIA
post nominal's, members will have access to our
Members Secure Web Site
which includes extensive links to ATO rulings,
determinations and bulletins on GST and related tax
issues, help and advice on business issues, MYOB &
QuickBooks support, newsletters, bookkeeping tips and
special deals on Professional Indemnity Insurance and
Public Liability Insurance and BIA books and
training courses. To see a full list of members benefits
please click here.
To
access our
Members Secure Web Site
just click on the "BIA Members Login" button
at the top of this page and enter your user
name and membership number when requested.
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