The Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals Association of Australia (SPAA) has joined in the opposition to the planned ban on asset-based fees for financial planners who also work as accountants.
In a submission to the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB), SPAA has called for amendments to the proposal to ban these fees from July 2011, stating it would impose unreasonable and unsustainable obligations on these financial planners.
"SPAA is committed to the highest professional standards, therefore we support the APESB's proposed ban on commissions," SPAA chief executive Andrea Slattery said.
"However, unlike the APESB, we support an SMSF adviser's right to charge asset-based fees for service where these are not embedded or set by the product provider.
"As long as the fee has not been set by the product provider, advisers should have the right to charge a fee which has been agreed to by the client and reflects the services provided."
Slattery said advisers should have the ability to use different remuneration models in order to offer clients a choice of payment.
"The majority of our members would look at a fee arrangement that they can agree to with the client, rather than a strict model that they will have to follow," she said.
A large proportion of SPAA's members are accountants who also work as financial planners and are likely to be affected by this proposed new standard.
On Monday, Australia's professional accounting bodies including the CPA, Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and National Institute of Accountants asked the APESB to hold off on the introduction of new standards until the outcome of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms are known.
The proposed ban has also been criticised by financial services companies and the FPA as being too harsh.
