FPA reinforces differences between accountants and planners
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) has again emphasised the key differences between financial planners and accountants, telling the Inspector General of Taxation that the policy and regulatory environment must reflect the significant differences between the services provided by tax agents and tax (financial) advisers.
In a submission filed with the Inspector General of Taxation this week, the FPA said the Tax Agent Service regime had commenced for financial planners in 2014 with a three-year transition period for registration with the Tax Practitioners Board – something which had represented a significant challenge.
“This presented a significant challenge for both the financial planning profession and the TPB of adapting the TPB policies within the TASA law to be appropriately applied to and able to be implemented for the services and business models of financial planners,” it said.
“This is an ongoing regulatory challenge that creates potential risks of inadvertent non-compliance as the financial planning profession, policy makers and regulators grapple with inconsistencies between the requirements of different Regulators, and the impractical application of some laws to the diverse business operations for providing financial advice,” it said.
It was in these circumstances that the FPA is arguing that the policy and regulatory renvironment had to reflect the significant differences between the services provided by tax agents and tax (financial) planners including:
a) the different services provided to clients
b) the different business models used within each profession
c) the additional regulatory oversight of the financial planning profession under the Corporations Act.
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