Can my accountant talk to the lender for me? How to give authority

One of the simplest ways to speed up a business loan is to let your accountant answer the lender’s technical questions directly. They know why the depreciation figure jumped, what that related-party loan is and why the trust distributed income the way it did. You don’t need to become an expert in your own financial statements — you just need to give the right person permission to explain them.

Why your accountant needs your permission

Accountants hold confidential information about you and your business. Professional standards and good practice mean most won’t discuss your affairs with a third party unless you’ve told them they can. That’s a protection for you, but it can stall a loan if nobody thinks to give the go-ahead.

The fix takes five minutes: a short written authority.

What a good authority looks like

Keep it simple and specific. A clear email is usually enough. It should cover four things:

1. Who — your accountant’s name and firm
2. With whom — the matching service and/or lender
3. About what — the business loan application, including financial statements, tax returns, BAS and ATO account information
4. Until when — for example, until the loan settles or the application is withdrawn

Here’s an illustrative example you can adapt:

“I authorise [accountant name] of [firm] to discuss my business’s financial statements, tax returns, BAS lodgements and ATO account position with Business Loan Link and the lender it recommends, for the purpose of our current business loan application. This authority ends when the loan settles or I withdraw it in writing. Please copy me into all correspondence.”

Send it to your accountant and copy in whoever is handling your loan.

What should your accountant share?

Usually helpful to share	Usually unnecessary
Financial statements and tax returns for the relevant years	Personal matters unrelated to the business or loan
Year-to-date management accounts	Other clients’ information (obviously)
BAS lodgement history and ATO account statements	Speculation about future tax positions
Explanations of unusual items or add-backs	Opinions on whether you should borrow (that’s your call)
A letter confirming specific facts, if asked	Unverified figures presented as fact

If a lender asks your accountant for something outside the authority, a good accountant will check with you first. Our page for advisers on writing an accountant’s letter explains what accountants typically will and won’t confirm.

Staying in control of your own file

Authorising your accountant doesn’t mean handing over the steering wheel. A few habits keep you in control:

• Ask to be copied into everything. Emails, document requests, answers.
• Agree a weekly update. Even a two-line message: what’s done, what’s outstanding.
• Keep decisions with you. Your accountant can explain; only you agree to terms, sign documents or give guarantees.
• Know what’s been sent. A simple shared folder with every document submitted avoids confusion later.

What about the ATO portal?

Lenders won’t log in to your ATO account. Your accountant or BAS agent can download account statements and transaction histories from Online services for business — the ATO lets you download transactions in CSV or HTML — and send them on with your permission. If you have myGov access yourself, you can often pull these too. See how lenders read an ATO statement of account.

Which adviser should you authorise?

Name the person who holds what the lender needs. In practice:

Lender’s question	Best person to answer
Why did profit fall in one year?	Accountant
What are these add-backs and related-party loans?	Accountant
Are all BAS lodged, and is there an ATO balance?	BAS agent or bookkeeper
Who are the slow-paying debtors and why?	Bookkeeper
What property and personal debts does the owner have?	You, perhaps with your planner

Many owners authorise two people for different items. That’s perfectly fine, as long as each knows their scope.

Common worries, answered

“Will my accountant say something that hurts my application?” A good accountant states facts accurately. If a fact is unhelpful, it’s better explained by your accountant in context than discovered by a lender without one.

“Will the lender go behind my back?” Not through us. We call you first and copy you in.

“Will my accountant charge for this?” Possibly — preparing letters or year-to-date accounts takes time. Ask for an estimate up front so there are no surprises.

“What if my accountant and I disagree about a figure?” Sort it out before the lender sees it. Two versions of the same number is one of the quickest ways to slow an application down. Ask your accountant which figure is right and why, then use that one consistently in the enquiry, the application and any letter.

“Do I have to involve my accountant at all?” No. Plenty of cash flow loans are assessed mainly on bank statements and BAS, which you can supply yourself. Bringing your accountant in is most useful when the file has complexity: trusts, multiple entities, a loss year, an ATO balance or figures that need context.

When an adviser makes the introduction

Some owners prefer their accountant or bookkeeper to make the first contact. That’s fine. They use the same enquiry form and note that they’re referring a client, and we then confirm everything directly with you. The adviser referral guide covers how it works from their side.

Let the expert explain, while you stay in charge

If you’d like your accountant involved from day one, say so when you make your enquiry and include their name and firm. We don’t run a credit check at the enquiry stage, your details go to one carefully selected lender rather than a pile of them, and a real person will call you before speaking to anyone else. Clear, accurate answers on the form help us link you with the right lender first go. Start your enquiry now.