Industry to take stock in helping flood victims

Although it is still early days in terms of the fallout from the Queensland floods, Australia’s financial advisory industry has begun looking into what assistance will be required by those affected.

Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) chief executive Richard Klipin told Money Management that there would definitely be a need within affected communities for relevant and cost-effective financial advice, and that the AFA would look to tap into what was needed as enquiries began filtering into members’ businesses.

“What we are finding from our membership in Queensland is that it is early days, [with] some clients very or significantly impacted. They are assessing the damage and are busy helping their communities or relatives,” he said.

Financial Planning Association chief executive Mark Rantall also said that as people were slowly going back to work the association would look at what was required.

The Australian Taxation Office released a statement saying that it was implementing a range of support strategies to help those affected, including the deferral of lodgement dates and the implementation of General Interest Charge stoppers for businesses, taxpayers and tax practitioners.

Klipin said that floods bring into stark focus the issues around managing risk in one-off events such as the floods, the Black Saturday bushfires and the global financial crisis.

“What will come in ensuing months is that people will take stock and look to get themselves on a clear footing,” he said.

The issue of appropriate general insurance is an important planning issue for those running a business or house, and the right flood cover becomes important, he said.

Access to cash flow is also important, for example if a business is underwater and can’t trade then appropriate business interruption cover and cash flow management is important, Klipin added.

“It is critical that Australian businesses and households understand risk and how to manage and mitigate it,” he said.