Question

sum1Q1: What research methods might you use to update your knowledge of professional and legislative requirements relating to accounting activity statements? (300–400 words)

Answer 1

METHOD FOR UPDATE KNOWLEDGE OF PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ACCOUNTING ACTIVITIES ARE:-

Honesty and integrity

(1) You must act honestly and with integrity.

(2) You must comply with the taxation laws in the conduct of your personal affairs.

(3) If:

(a) you receive money or other property from or on behalf of a client, and

(b) you hold the money or other property on trust;

you must account to your client for the money or other property.

Independence

(4) You must act lawfully in the best interests of your client.

(5) You must have in place adequate arrangements for the management of conflicts of interest that may arise in relation to the activities that you undertake in the capacity of a registered tax agent or BAS agent or tax (financial) adviser.

Confidentiality

(6) Unless you have a legal duty to do so, you must not disclose any information relating to a client’s affairs to a third party without your client’s permission.

Competence

(7) You must ensure that a tax agent service that you provide, or that is provided on your behalf, is provided competently.

(8) You must maintain knowledge and skills relevant to the tax agent services that you provide.

(9) You must take reasonable care in ascertaining a client’s state of affairs, to the extent that ascertaining the state of those affairs is relevant to a statement you are making or a thing you are doing on behalf of a client.

(10) You must take reasonable care to ensure that taxation laws are applied correctly to the circumstances in relation to which you are providing advice to a client.

Other responsibilities

(11) You must not knowingly obstruct the proper administration of the taxation laws.

(12) You must advise your client of the client’s rights and obligations under the taxation laws that are materially related to the tax agent services you provide.

(13) You must maintain professional indemnity insurance that meets the Board's requirements.

(14) You must respond to requests and directions from the Board in a timely, responsible and reasonable manner.

METHOD FOR UPDATE KNOWLEDGE OF PROFESSIONAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ACCOUNTING ACTIVITIES ARE:-

1.Performance Evidence

Evidence of the ability to:

• research, critically evaluate and apply any changes to current or new legislative or professional conduct requirements relevant to the preparation of activity statements
• identify financial transactions required to prepare activity statements and apply goods and services tax (GST) principles and classifications
• prepare both business activity statements (BAS) and instalment activity statements (IAS) for a range of legal entities that comply with:

• Australian taxation law, Australian Taxation Office (ATO) rulings, Tax Practitioner Board (TPB) requirements and any lodgement schedules
• accounting principles and practices
• organisational policy and procedures

• present activity statements for verification and approval.

Note: If a specific volume or frequency is not stated, then evidence must be provided at least once.

2.Knowledge Evidence

To complete the unit requirements safely and effectively, the individual must:

• outline the research methods and sources of information used to update knowledge of professional and legislative requirements relating to activity statements
• identify the key requirements of current legislation, regulations and industry codes of practice related to the preparation of activity statements, including:

• Tax Agent Services Act (TASA), including Code of Professional Conduct and civil penalty provisions
• Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act
• Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act
• Superannuation Guarantee Charge Act
• A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act
• Income Tax Assessment Act
• Taxation Administration Act
• other taxation laws, including wine equalisation tax, luxury car tax and fuel tax
• Privacy Act

• describe the ATO requirements and relevant accounting terminology for the preparation and submission of BAS and IAS related to a range of business types
• describe GST terminology, classifications, regulations and obligations with reference to relevant materials
• explain the TPB requirements for registration as a BAS agent.

3.Assessment Conditions

Assessment must be conducted in a safe environment where evidence gathered demonstrates consistent performance of typical activities experienced in the bookkeeping field of work and include access to:

• common office equipment, technology, software and consumables
• an integrated financial software system
• relevant legislation and industry material
• ATO and TPB and materials available from the ATO and TPB, including through the internet.