Banned as planner, operating as accountant
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revealed that while it banned a financial planner for misconduct, that same person was allowed to continue to operate as an accountant providing tax advice.
The revelation has been made to a Joint Parliamentary Committee by ASIC deputy chairman, Peter Kell who said that the circumstances were likely to be frustrating for investors who had been impacted by the actions of the planner.
"I understand that one of the frustrations that some of the investors have is that Mr [Peter] Holt is still practising as an accountant," he said. "We can ban him from providing financial services, but if he wants to provide tax advice as an accountant we do not have the ability to ban him from that."
"My understanding is that the CPA and the Tax Practitioners Board considered the matter and decided that there was no reason to limit the way he operates."
A Senator had earlier told Kell that the planner in question was "supposed to be bankrupt but is still driving a big Mercedes, still operates his business and is in partnership and still lives in his sprawling home".
"It is very concerning, isn't it?" the Senator said.
Recommended for you
As the first quarter of 2024 comes to a close, Money Management looks back on the corporate regulator’s bans and AFSL cancellations in the financial advice sector.
Insignia Financial is holding ‘relatively steady’ onto its rank as Australia’s second-largest financial advice licensee after the Godfrey Pembroke exit but Count is hot on its heels.
Liberal senator Slade Brockman has said the government needs to have a “cold hard look” at the level of regulation in the financial advice space and the costs of running a business.
FAAA chief executive, Sarah Abood, has warned changes in the first tranche of the QAR legislation around advice fees documentation could create more work for advisers rather than less.