The National Tax and Accountants Association (NTAA) has moved to establish a financial planning representative body reflecting the needs of accountants.
The new body, to be called the NTAA Financial Planners’ Association, is intended to be an umbrella organisation specifically designed to protect the interests of tax agents, accountants and their clients.
According to the NTAA, the body has been set up exclusively to help tax agents and accountants become qualified financial planners and then maintain their financial planning qualifications.
The move to establish the new planning body for accountants and tax agents flows from concerns around the recommendations contained in the Cooper Review relating to advice within self-managed superannuation funds.
The NTAA maintains that tax agents and accountants are already regarded as trusted advisers to more than 95 per cent of businesses and are therefore perfectly positioned to provide educated financial and investment advice.
