The accountant’s position as a source of financial guidance has not noticeably di-minished in the past two years, despite reports to the contrary by the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
The accountant’s position as a source of financial guidance has not noticeably di-minished in the past two years, despite reports to the contrary by the Financial Planning Association (FPA).
A Roy Morgan Research commissioned by the FPA shows that 27.9 per cent of those surveyed would approach an accountant first as a source of financial guid-ance. This is only 0.1 per cent less than the same research three years ago.
However, this contradicts a media release by the FPA which showed the figure was down 2 per cent in the past three years, while the executive summary by Roy Morgan Research puts the decline at 4 per cent.
In fact, accountants have had a substantial increase in the number of people turning to them as a source of financial guidance. The 27.9 per cent figure in the latest sur-vey is up more than 6 per cent on the last survey in August 1999.
But while accountants have remained stagnant, the number of people saying they would turn to an adviser or planner has gradually increased. In June 1997, it stood at 27.1 per cent while the latest survey puts it at 32.3 per cent. While the number is high for adviser/ planners, it is only 0.8 per cent higher than those who would ask a family member.
