Accountants plan to deliver financial advice
Three quarters of accountants who took part in an MLC survey intend to deliver financial advice to their clients under the proposed new accountant's licensing regime.
Of more than 200 accountants surveyed during an MLC Accountant Seminar Series, three quarters indicated they wanted to deliver financial advice to clients under the proposed new regime. Two thirds of those said they would like to do so in-house.
MLC Accountant Solutions national manager Nick Hilton said the series was focused on promoting licensing solution to accountants and engaging directly to accountants that advise on self managed super funds (SMSFs).
Attendees were largely positive about the changes and much of the discussion centred on the best time frame in which to start implementing changes given they had effectively been given a four year transition period, Hilton said.
MLC is already speaking with some accountants that are interested in delivering advice, particularly those for whom SMSFs represent a significant portion of their business or who see SMSF advice as a significant source of growth, Hilton said.
"We believe the legislative changes will provide an opportunity for accountants to grow and diversify their business and our survey shows that nearly two thirds of accountants agree the licensing changes are positive," he said.
"There is a clear opportunity for accountants and financial planners to work together to help bring advice to more Australians."
The free two-hour seminars were open to any public practising accountants and did not necessarily have to come through aligned channels, with more than 400 accountants attending sessions in Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Glen Waverley, Parramatta and Sydney City.
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