How to check cloud file permissions before end of financial year australia

As the end of the Australian financial year approaches, it is critical to ensure that confidential financial data stored in the cloud is accessible only to authorised personnel. Many small businesses discover during tax time that former employees or external contractors still retain access to sensitive folders in SharePoint or OneDrive. This guide outlines how to audit cloud file permissions, remove unnecessary external sharing links, and secure sensitive folders before 30 June.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Identify folders containing financial records, tax documents, and payroll information.
2. Review current sharing settings for each cloud storage platform.
3. Remove external sharing links and former employee access.
4. Confirm that only current staff members have Edit or View permissions.

Detailed Instructions

Microsoft OneDrive for Business

1. Sign in to your OneDrive account via a web browser.
2. Right-click the folder containing financial documents and select Manage access.
3. Review the People and Links sections.
4. To remove a user, select their name and click Remove direct access.
5. To disable a sharing link, select the link and click Remove link.
6. Repeat for all subfolders containing sensitive financial data.

Microsoft SharePoint

1. Navigate to your SharePoint site and open the document library.
2. Click the settings gear icon and select Site permissions.
3. Review the list of users and groups with access to the site.
4. Select any former employees or contractors and remove their permissions.
5. To check folder-specific access, return to the document library, right-click a folder, and choose Manage access.

Google Drive for Business

1. Open Google Drive in a web browser.
2. Right-click the folder containing tax or financial files and select Share.
3. Review the list of people with access.
4. Click the dropdown next to a user's name and select Remove to revoke access.
5. To restrict sharing, change the link sharing setting to Restricted and click Done.

Dropbox for Business

1. Sign in to Dropbox via a web browser.
2. Hover over the folder containing financial records and click the share icon.
3. Review the list of members under Can edit and Can view.
4. Click the dropdown next to a user's name and select Remove.
5. To disable shared links, manage links in your account settings and delete the relevant link.

Troubleshooting

I cannot see who has access to a folder

Ensure you are the folder owner or have administrator privileges. In SharePoint, you may need to contact your global administrator to review site-level permissions.

A removed user still appears to have access

Access may be granted through a group membership rather than directly to the user. Check Microsoft 365 groups, security groups, or Google Workspace groups and remove the user from the group instead.

External sharing links keep reappearing

Review your organisation's sharing policies. In Microsoft 365, an administrator can disable external sharing at the tenant level to prevent users from creating new public links.

Tip: Schedule a permission review every quarter, not just at the end of the financial year. This reduces the risk of outdated access permissions accumulating over time.

Warning: Removing access to a shared folder may break existing sync relationships for other users. Notify your team before making bulk permission changes.

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