Roman Kaczynski, Director – Accountancy Insurance
At Accountancy Insurance, we’ve had the privilege of working with businesses that share our dedication to supporting accountants. FeeSynergy is one such trusted partner, an organisation committed to equipping firms with innovative solutions that enhance efficiency, safeguard operations, and reinforce client trust.
Both Accountancy Insurance and FeeSynergy understand the challenges accountants face, from evolving regulatory requirements to the increasing complexity of client protection. That’s why we remain focused on delivering practical solutions that help firms navigate these challenges while maintaining control over their client relationships.
In this article, we’ll explore ATO and other government revenue authority key audit trends for those firms offering Audit Shield across Australia, providing insights into where firms are seeing increased compliance activity. We’ll also highlight the latest refinements to Audit Shield, ensuring accountants can continue to offer comprehensive audit protection with flexibility and confidence to their clients. Finally, we’ll touch on Cyber Shield and PI Shield, expanding the conversation to broader risk management solutions that complement tax audit response coverage.
Audit activity insights: Where we are seeing Audit Shield claims.
The landscape of tax audits and compliance is constantly shifting, and accountants need a solution that evolves alongside these changes. That’s why Audit Shield continues to enhance its offering, ensuring firms and their clients receive the best possible protection while maintaining complete control over how coverage is managed.
The top three areas where accountants are experiencing the most audit activity (1 July 2024 – 31 December 2024):
- Payroll Tax (All States) – 15.28%
- Income Tax (Full/General/Combined) – 12.04%
- BAS (Pre- and Post-Assessment) – 11.08%
See the detailed breakdown: here.
With recent enhancements now in place, Audit Shield delivers increased flexibility, broader coverage, and a more streamlined claims process. Whether you’re taking on a new policy or renewing, these enhancements provide an even more valuable safeguard for your firm and your clients.
Why these enhancements matter.
With compliance activity intensifying, accountants require a robust solution that safeguards their clients while allowing them to determine how tax audit insurance coverage is structured. The latest enhancements to Audit Shield reinforce this control, offering improved benefits, simplified administration, and tailored implementation options to suit every firm’s needs. Just a few of the Audit Shield enhancements include:
- Streamlined client grouping: Simpler processes, fewer categories, and more control.
- Higher, variable limits: Flexible coverage options, where all category limits have increased, offering you enhanced protection.
- Expanded coverage: We’ve increased the maximum business group size for Audit Shield eligibility.
- Fewer exclusions: We’ve eliminated certain exclusions, broadening protection and giving you greater confidence.
- Redefined client grouping: Easier than ever to include more entities in a client group.
- Claim administration: We now cover more of your claim preparation costs.
Your clients are always your clients.
Every firm has distinct client needs, and Audit Shield is rooted in reinforcing that control accountants have over how they implement and renew the tax audit insurance offering. Whether opting for a comprehensive rollout, a staggered approach, or extended expiry dates, accountants have the flexibility to tailor coverage to suit their workflows.
Firms operating on a fixed-fee model can also seamlessly integrate Audit Shield into their pricing structures, regardless of their mix of fee models. Importantly, client relationships remain fully intact between the accounting firm and their clients. Accountancy Insurance supports firms behind the scenes while ensuring all communications come from the accountant’s letterhead or email. This reinforces trust and ensures firms maintain direct engagement with their clients.
Stability over risk.
Audit Shield delivers tangible value, as reflected in its strong retention rate and returning client rate. In fact, 20% of all new Audit Shield sales this year have come from returning clients. Accountants choosing to stay with Audit Shield are securing a trusted solution, one that adapts to their needs while mitigating the risks of switching. Ones that return are openly welcomed back.
Beyond tax audit insurance, accounting firms can strengthen their risk management strategy with additional class leading solutions:
- Cyber Shield, a comprehensive safeguard against cyber threats and data breaches. Check out our webinar on cybercrime and its impact on accounting professionals: here.
- PI Shield, a professional indemnity insurance solution designed specifically for the accounting profession.
Together, these provide accounting firms with a multi-layered protection strategy, helping them navigate today’s complex environment.
Learn more.
The latest enhancements to Audit Shield ensure greater protection, improved claims processing, and flexible implementation. These are all designed to help accounting firms support their clients while maintaining full control of their tax audit insurance offering.
To explore how Audit Shield can benefit your practice, or if you are already utilising Audit Shield and want to know more about how our other solutions can benefit you, contact Accountancy Insurance on 1300 650 758 or visit our website today.
