FPA concerned over accountants’ FSRA relief

THEFinancial Planning Association(FPA) has expressed deep concern over the Federal Government’s decision to allow accountants relief under the Financial Services Reform Act (FSRA) to provide advice to their clients on the acquisition and disposal of self-managed superannuation funds.

FPA chief executive Kerrie Kelly says the FSRA is being unravelled even before its official start and that the relief provided for accountants is an unnecessary further complication of superannuation.

“It sets a dangerous precedent for further exemptions and creates an unlevel playing field for other financial planners,” she says.

Kelly says the FPA will need to see the precise wording of the exemption to establish just how it will work, but she believes it is likely to create difficulties for accountants, their clients and regulators.

The Federal Opposition has expressed a similarly negative view.

“This cave-in by the Treasurer in relation to accountants will further undermine the regulatory framework applying to the financial services industry,” ALP’s spokesman on financial services Senator Stephen Conroy says.

However,CPA Australiais claiming the Treasurer’s announcement as a major victory gained after 18 months of hard lobbying.

“This is an excellent outcome for the accounting profession... We’ve always said that if accountants are not providing advice about a particular superannuation fund or particular investments, then that advice does not constitute financial product advice and should not require an Australian Financial Services Licence under FSRA,” CPA Australia chief executive Greg Larsen says.

The Federal Treasurer, Peter Costello, says the new regulation is intended to promote certainty for accountants.