‘Flawed’ client-agent linking system continues to plague accountants

Issues surrounding the efficiency and security of the client-agent linking system have continued to persist, causing frustration across the broader accounting profession.

Two Sides Accounting founder, Natalie Lennon, said in her experience the client-agent linking (CAL) system was often needed by individuals rather than businesses.

“Most businesses have tax liabilities so I am not sure why the ATO is making it harder for businesses to link and ignoring the individuals,” she said.

“CAL is another example of a stupid government initiative without the resources to support the practical implementation. It’s an absolute nightmare and so much time is wasted by tax agents assisting clients and facilitating.”

Lennon suggested a better alternative to the CAL system would be stronger parameters on unusual activity to be automatically flagged, such as large refunds being processed on business accounts.

This would align with the way banks operated and would work better than pushing it onto tax agents and business owners to do extra work with CAL, she added.

Where the CAL system fails, agents are encouraged by the Tax Office to call them through a specific team for agent linking.

Lennon said in more cases than not, clients spent over two hours on the phone trying to get through to the ATO.

Main issues with the CAL system often flagged by accountant clients included the system being too “cumbersome”, complexity and difficulty when trying to update data for the agent nomination process, instances where an ABN or Australian passport were not applicable, and lack of notification or communication when authority was actioned.

All of these issues usually ended in the client having to call the ATO or their tax agent for help which then added to the persistent call line problem, Lennon said.

The issues were also noted to usually end in onboarding time frame delays which could sometimes take over a week to complete, and tax agents spending valuable time with clients unable to be billed.

Australianbiz founder, Joe Kaleb, posted to LinkedIn about a CAL request he had made to the ATO that went unanswered for over two months.

Kaleb said there wasn’t much the ATO could do much more to improve CAL other than improving response times to specific requests and reducing wait times.

“Client agent linking remains an ongoing and challenging issue for many taxpayers including elderly people,” Kaleb said.

“Even people who are IT savvy are struggling with the process. There are many other inefficiencies in our dealings with the ATO and it’s unfortunate that they are not being properly addressed.”

The post attracted significant attention from the accounting community, receiving 38 comments regarding the inefficiency of the system.

Lennon said the wider accounting profession had similar discrepancies with the system and change needed to be made.

“In an industry that is already at breaking point due to staffing and capacity issues, implementing something that makes our work more difficult is a huge burden.”