CountFinancial Group has for the first time received strong positive feedback from members on a proposal to start its own accounting brand.
Australia’s third largest dealer group used recent professional development days to elicit feedback on its proposal to start an accounting brand, as well as to officially release its CARM Guided Planning System (GPS) and individually managed account infrastructure.
Count managing director Barry Lambert said the idea for a separate accounting brand had been put forward in the past, but had not previously received adequate support to eventuate.
“We’ve had positive feedback in the surveys we’ve received back … There seems to be interest, but it will be some time away before the accounting franchises happen,” he said.
Lambert said most of the required infrastructure was in place to allow the group to attach its brand to accountants in the network, but he said any definite action in the market would not be seen for another 12 months to two years.
Count chief operating officer Marianne Perkovic said forthcoming professional development days would be used to officially introduce CARM GPS, which has been available to Count advisers since its May annual conference on a trial basis.
She said the trial would continue for a further 16 months, with advisers having access to the software licences at a discount during that period.
Over 100 licences have already been issued within Count for the system, which at present is supplied in a stand-alone form, pending advisers’ assessments of the software. Perkovic said that if enough advisers accepted it, the GPS would be integrated into Count’s other systems.
