A limited Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) for accountants is unlikely to see much take-up because it will be too restrictive and expensive, according to accountancy group Accountable Financial Solutions.
The limited AFSL, which is being brought in as a replacement for the accountants' self-managed super fund (SMSF) exemption, would be costly and complex to administer and its restrictiveness would hamper accountants' ability to service their clients, said Accountable director David Moss.
The Government has estimated the initial and ongoing costs of operating the accountants' AFSL to be between $10,000 and $20,000 per year, he added.
"We do not believe that many accountants will go down the path of applying for their own licence," he said.
Instead, accountants will more likely choose to join an existing AFSL such as Accountable, he said.
The restricted AFSL will allow accountants to give product advice on SMSFs, but it doesn't address which specific areas of SMSFs accountants can advise on – such as contributions, rollovers, borrowing arrangements, lump sums and pensions, Moss said.
Accountants will also only be able to advise on superannuation in consideration of a client establishing an SMSF, making contributions or starting a pension, and it is unclear if rollovers are covered, he added.
"Our view is that the draft regulations and the new accountants' AFSL fail to provide accountants with a way to effectively meet the demands of their clients," Moss said.
Accountants will need to be RG146 qualified whether they join an AFSL or apply for the limited licence, so they should ensure they meet those requirements before making a move, Accountable advised.
