Advisory firm HNW Planning has made available a new licensing arrangement that will allow accountants to provide advice in relation to superannuation, and in particular, self-managed super funds (SMSF).
The innovative arrangement comes in the wake of the recommendation by the Cooper review to scrap the accountants' exemption and instead require accountants to be authorised through a full Australian financial services licence before they can provide advice on superannuation funds.
"HNW's Restricted Authorisation is designed to allow accountants to advise and partner with their clients as they themselves would wish to be advised and partnered. This is a 'no-product, strategy- only' offer with a flat annual fee covering professional indemnity insurance, technical assistance and compliance framework. It is designed for accountants who will continue to charge their clients through the accounting enterprises' own billing process," HNW Planning principal Robert Cumming said.
"HNW Planning had the 'Accountants Only' Restricted Authorisation Proposition under development even before the Cooper review's recommendations were announced. Some progressive accountants we work with could see authorisation via an AFSL as a more robust solution than relying on the accountants' exemption and were already asking us for a solution," he said.
The new licensing regime caters for fee-for-service remuneration structures only, deliberately excluding asset-based fee income arrangements so as to satisfy the rules handed down by the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board.
Accountants can gain access to the licence for an annual fee of $3000 including professional indemnity insurance cover.
