Modern Identity Management platforms unlock access to Government Gateway - Mike Newman

In the digital age, organisations across the globe are benefiting from advances in technology to improve their operations and cut back on costs.

But, given these advances, this begs the question why one of the core functions of UK accountancy firms is still so manual and completely inefficient?

The issue centres around the login process for HMRC’s Government Gateway, which unnecessarily absorbs the time of accountants every day, while exposing them, and their clients, to security risks.

Mike Newman, CEO of My1Login (Picture: Andy Forman)

Government Gateway accounts and Agent Service Accounts (ASA) are critical services for any accountant; being used to file client tax, payroll and VAT returns and access client tax accounts. But when it comes to accessing them, the process is extremely cumbersome.

Each firm will have several Government Gateway accounts they need to access, and these typically are shared among many accountants.

Sharing passwords is a well-known security faux pas, but when it comes to sharing passwords that access an organisation’s financial records and process tax refunds, it is downright dangerous.

Furthermore, sharing one password among multiple team members creates efficiency issues, and often leaves accountants hunting for the correct User ID and password. Once they find them, they must manually enter the 12-digit User ID and password into Government Gateway. This takes time to get right and if the password is wrong, they can lock out colleagues from Government Gateway for several hours, negatively impacting productivity.

The process is also a major security risk. If Government Gateway User IDs and passwords fall into the wrong hands, they can be used to fraudulently process tax rebates to fraudster’s bank accounts. Sharing passwords compounds this risk, while insecure storage methods means they could easily be lost, stolen or intercepted by malicious actors. While if the accountancy firm doesn’t provide regular security awareness training to staff, there is also a risk they could be tricked into handing Government Gateway logins out via phishing scams.

Finally with all access to these Government Gateway accounts being shared across the firm’s workforce with limited controls, what happens when leavers exit the organisation? They potentially still have access to a multitude of Government Gateway and ASA accounts as they were privy to the passwords for these.

Surely there is an alternative process to modernise this convoluted and insecure process.

Fortunately, technology is once again the solution to tackle this challenge.

By using Modern Identity Management platforms, which integrate with Government Gateway, this can provide a secure and far more efficient way to manage access.

These platforms enable accountants to share access to their permitted, subset of Government Gateway and ASA account login details. This means they can access any Government Gateway accounts they are permitted access to with one click, without searching through documents or emails to find User IDs and passwords. The approach also significantly improves security, because a further feature of these platforms means the passwords for Government Gateway can be hidden from the accountants. They simply log in to the corporate network and they are provided with access to all the accounts they are authorised to use but without seeing any passwords. This means passwords can’t be lost or stolen or accidentally disclosed via a phishing attack and it addresses the risk of leavers retaining access to the firm’s Government Gateway accounts.

Once again, modern technology has come to the rescue, while offering accountancy firms with a safer and more efficient way to manage client tax accounts.

Mike Newman, CEO of My1Login