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Accountant's letters
The Accountant’s letters toolkit provides guidance and templates to assist members of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), CPA Australia and the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) to respond when requested to provide financial information in relation to a client to assist with the facilitation of:
- a) a credit advancement or other financing/lending arrangement for the client, or
- b) an application for a licence or similar.
Accountant’s letters are also commonly referred to as ’accountant’s declarations’ or ’capacity to repay’ certificates.
Accountant’s letters, declarations and capacity to repay certificates – a toolkit for members was developed by CPA Australia, CA ANZ and the IPA and first issued in May 2023.
In December 2024, the toolkit was updated to reflect revisions in the 2025 Banking Code of Practice (the Code) issued in July 2024 and which commenced 28 February 2025. The Code sets out standards of practice and service by banks that have subscribed to the Code in relation to individual and small business customers, and their guarantors.
The Professional Bodies welcomed this update to the Code, in particular clause 78 which now states “We will not ask a third party (such as your accountant) to certify that you can repay the Loan”.
Where a lender is a member of the Australian Banking Association (ABA), requests of this nature contravene Clause 78 of the Banking Code of Practice. The toolkit includes a template that members may use to decline the client’s request.
In August 2026, the toolkit underwent further revision to accommodate requests from clients seeking a letter attesting to their financial viability for purposes other than financing. For instance, such a letter may be necessary when a client is applying for a licence or permit from a State or Federal authority or agency. In some cases, relevant legislation requires this documentation as part of the application process.
The Professional Bodies’ joint position is:
- Accountant’s Letters requested to facilitate a financing arrangement are to be declined as a credit assessment is the responsibility of the lender, and the lender has specific obligations under their credit licence when making such assessments. Where a lender is a member of the Australian Banking Association (ABA), requests of this nature contravene Clause 78 of the Banking Code of Practice.
- Accountant’s Letters requested for a purpose other than to facilitate a finance arrangement are to be declined unless a full audit is performed and the letter represents an opinion based on that audit. Expressing an opinion on the financial viability of a client requires a full audit regardless of the purpose of the engagement. To provide such an opinion in the absence of a full audit will be a breach of the accountant’s professional and ethical obligations. In such a circumstance the accountant may not be covered by their Professional Indemnity Insurance.
- Should you choose to support your clients when they are seeking credit, this toolkit provides information on how you may appropriately support your clients through this process without inadvertently breaching professional standards or indemnity requirements.
- You should never provide any client information to a third party without your client’s express written consent
We expect members will continue to receive requests for Accountant’s Letters. If you do receive a request, we strongly recommend you apply the guidance and use the templates in this toolkit to respond appropriately.
The toolkit will support you to understand how you can appropriately support your clients through this process without inadvertently breaching professional standards or indemnity requirements.
The toolkit also provides guidance on the circumstances in which you may consider it appropriate to issue an accountant’s letter, as well as a range of templates which can also be accessed as stand-alone resources below:
- Accountant’s letters, declarations and capacity to repay certificates – a toolkit for members
- Letter to attach when sending client’s documents
- Financing Accountant’s letter template
- Non-financing Accountant’s letter template
- Letter to client advising documents provided to lender
- Working paper checklist – Accountant’s letters
- Letter declining client’s request
- Information sheet for clients - Accountant's letters
- Open letter to lenders
- Open letter in response to requests from non-lenders
Importantly, CPA Australia, CA ANZ and the IPA strongly recommend you only use the accountant’s letter template provided as part of the toolkit if you consider it appropriate to undertake the engagement after following the joint guidance.
Further, an accountant’s letter cannot be provided in connection to a credit contract regulated by the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 unless you are appropriately licensed under an Australian Credit license.