Your clients are about to start asking for a new type of letter

State and Federal government agencies are now asking your clients for accountants' letters. The requests are for licence and permit applications, and in some cases the legislation now requires the documentation.

CA ANZ, CPA Australia and the IPA have updated their Accountant's Letter Toolkit to include a new viability letter template for these requests. The toolkit was originally built for lender requests. It now covers government agency requests as well.

What was added

The toolkit was originally issued to help members manage requests from lenders for client financial data used in credit assessments. The templates, working paper file checklists, financial templates and client information fact sheets were built around that use case.

The August 2026 revision adds a viability letter template for clients applying for licences or permits. The professional bodies state that relevant legislation now requires this documentation as part of some application processes. The toolkit was also updated in December 2024, so firms should treat it as an actively maintained resource.

What this means for firms

Firms that have processes for lender letters may not have equivalent processes for licence and permit letters. The templates are different. Firms will need to work through whether their current process covers the new letter type or whether a separate process is needed.

Practical questions to work through

• Who in the firm handles a viability letter request.

• What working papers need to be on file before the letter is issued.

• What client acknowledgements need to be in place.

What the toolkit contains

The toolkit sits behind a members' login on each of the three bodies' websites. It advises members on guidelines and expectations to follow before issuing an accountant's letter, alongside the templates themselves. The resources include:

• The accountant declaration checklist, which walks through what needs to be in place before a letter is issued.

• The accountant capacity to service debt template, which is the standard lender letter format.

• The viability letter template, added in August 2026, for clients applying for licences or permits.

• Guidance on what accountants must consider when preparing a viability letter.

• Client information fact sheets, which firms can give to clients to explain what an accountant can and cannot attest to.

The client fact sheets

The client fact sheets are designed to be given to clients, per the toolkit's own description. Firms can hand them over at the point the letter is first requested rather than after the work has begun.

The toolkit's purpose

The three bodies describe the toolkit's purpose as helping members manage requests. It is built around what firms can attest to under professional standards, and around giving clients the information to understand those limits.

A view being raised in professional discussions is that the toolkit is designed to help firms reduce the incidence of unreasonable requests. Writing more letters is not the goal. Whether firms use the toolkit that way is a decision each practice makes.

Practical steps

• Log into the CA ANZ, CPA Australia or IPA website and download the current toolkit. Older copies do not include the August 2026 additions.

• Review your current process for accountants' letters. Most firms have a process for lender requests. Fewer have one for licence and permit applications. Build one.

• Brief the team members who handle these requests. They need to know the viability letter is a separate template with its own working paper requirements.

What is changing

The parties asking accountants to write these letters are no longer only banks. State and Federal government agencies are now asking as well, with legislation behind some of the requirements.

The toolkit is available through the CA ANZ, CPA Australia and IPA member portals.