Sherry confirms accountant licensing back on agenda

Licensing of accountants giving advice is back on the agenda, the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, Senator Nick Sherry, has confirmed.

“I have spoken to the three accounting organisations about the issue of advice,” he said at an Association of Financial Advisers (AFA) event in Melbourne yesterday.

Asked if the accountants have been given the same ultimatum that was given to the Financial Planning Association (FPA) over commissions, Sherry did not deny the organisations were under pressure.

The focus to date has been on accountants advising clients on self-managed superannuation funds, but this will now spread to agribusiness managed investment schemes.

Great Southern had pushed the schemes through accountants as a tax-effective solution for clients needing deductions at the end of the financial year.

The minister said he was looking forward to hearing the views of the accounting bodies on some of the issues being raised by events such as the collapse of Great Southern and Timbercorp.

“It is about having a level-playing field when it comes to licensing of the financial services industry,” Sherry said.

“The Government is taking action on a number of fronts to modernise the regulation of our financial services industry.”

He said the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services will be looking into the issues associated with some financial products and recent service provider collapses, such as Storm Financial.

“As part of this inquiry, the committee is examining a wide range of issues,” he said.

“These include the role played by financial advisers, current remuneration structures, such as fees and commissions, and the current regulatory environment, including licensing arrangements, for financial service providers and financial advisers.”

The committee will look at the role played by accountants in agribusiness schemes as well as its other lines of enquiry.