Announcement close on accountant regime
After months of negotiations, the Federal Government is likely to replace the so-called 'accountant's exemption' with a limited, non-product licensing regime.
Money Management understands that the Minister for Financial Services and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, is close to announcing the new regime.
It follows the Government's decision as part of its Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) changes to scrap the regulatory exemption which allowed accountants to provide financial advice around the establishment of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).
Under the expected new regime, accountants would be able to apply for a limited licence to provide financial advice around specific, non-product issues - something the accountants hope will enable them to continue playing a role in the SMSF space.
The new regime follows lengthy discussions between the major accounting bodies, the Treasury, and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, and has come amid growing levels of frustration among accountants at the uncertainty hanging over their existing business models.
That frustration continued to grow when the issue of the accountants' exemption was not covered off when the Government tabled the second tranche of its FOFA legislation in October, last year.
Commenting on the process, Institute of Public Accountants superannuation specialist Liz Westover said the amount of time involved had certainly caused frustration among members of the profession.
"It has been two years since the Government signaled its intention, so the frustration is understandable," she said.
Money Management understands that the final issues being discussed between the major accounting bodies and the Government involve some of the detailed regulatory arrangements around the limited licensing regime, including the degree to which accountants would need to hold professional indemnity insurance.
The accountants are understood to have argued that because the limited licence would preclude discussion of products, the level of need for professional indemnity cover would be commensurately lower.
However, there are also broader technical issues to be dealt with, including the regulatory structure around a limited licensing regime.
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