Virtual assistant services for accounting & bookkeeping firms

What rules does a virtual assistant follow for accounting?

1. No tax advice or signing. Under IRS Circular 230 and PTIN rules, only your preparers and licensed professionals give tax advice, sign returns or represent clients. In the UK that work sits with the firm's chartered or certified accountants; in Australia only a registered tax or BAS agent under the TPB Code provides tax agent services. Assistants collect, chase, schedule and organize.
2. IRC Section 7216 and client confidentiality. Section 7216 and Treasury Regulation 301.7216 restrict how tax return information is used and disclosed, and the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct rule 1.700 requires client confidentiality. The firm confirms its disclosure and consent position before an assistant sees return data, and the assistant works only inside the firm's systems under NDA.
3. FTC Safeguards Rule and your WISP. Tax preparers are financial institutions under GLBA, and the FTC Safeguards Rule (16 CFR Part 314) plus IRS Publication 4557 require a written information security plan. Assistants operate under your WISP: MFA, managed devices, least-privilege portal access and no local copies, including for files handled from the second office in Pakistan.
4. AML client due diligence and privacy abroad. UK firms run client due diligence under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, supervised by HMRC or their professional body; assistants collect ID and verification documents into the firm's system while the MLRO makes every decision. Canadian firms apply PIPEDA and Australian firms the Privacy Act, including APP 8 for cross-border handling.