Licensing decision year for accountants

2015 represents a year of decision and opportunity for accountants as they contemplate the new accountants licensing regime, according to two key dealer group heads.

The new accountants licensing regime comes into effect from 1 July, next year, but both Count Financial chief executive, David Lane and Premium Wealth Management chief executive, Paul Harding-Davis, believe the key decisions are already being made by accountants with an eye to the future of their businesses.

Lane believes that in an environment where technology has been eroding a number of traditional revenue streams for accountants, they will see good sense and opportunity in becoming suitably licensed to provide financial advice.

He said Count had already detected a spike in enquiries from accountants for its licensing offer and he believed that smaller accountancy practices in particular would see merit in becoming part of the new regime as a means of diversifying their revenue base and offsetting the erosion of other revenues such as tax compliance and Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) administration.

Premium Wealth Management chief executive, Paul Harding-Davis said he believed 2015 would prove an exciting year for the financial planning industry as growing numbers of accountants made their decisions.

He said he believed the entry of accountants under the new licensing regime would have a significant impact on the financial planning industry and broader industry structures, including vertical integration.

Both Count and Premium Wealth Management have structures in place to accommodate accountants wishing to become either partially or fully licensed under the new regime.