Accountants must start diversifying away from compliance work and into wealth creation and financial services, says Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) general manager Vicki Stylianou.
She pointed out that the number of people doing their tax returns with tax agents is set to decrease in coming years.
"There's prefilling, E-tax, and the Government has tripled the tax-free threshold which they claim will mean up to a million taxpayers won't have to lodge tax returns," Stylianou said.
"We've been saying to our members: Think about financial services not just because of FOFA – you've really got to start thinking about diversifying your practices. If you want to grow, this is a really good area to grow into because it's obviously a natural fit for accountants," Stylianou said.
Her comments came as the IPA announced the rollout of its online referral program in partnership with the financial advice networks of AMP/AXA and MLC.
The second phase of the IPA's Financial Services Package is aimed at accountants "who aren't interested in a licensing solution" – whereas the first phase of the program, launched last year, was designed to help accountants become authorised representatives, Stylianou said.
"The overwhelming story I kept hearing from members was that they wanted to offer financial planning to clients, but they couldn't find any planners they were happy with," Stylianou said.
Stylianou was quick to point out that not every planner from AMP/AXA and MLC would be included in the referral program.
"It's a filtered pool. There are certain criteria around qualifications, education and experience," she said.
