Are you ready?

When the Accounting exemption comes to an end in June 2016, what are your plans?


Important decisions need to be made now as to how you manage the imposed change and be in the best position to enable you to advise clients in SMSF advice.

At Lonsdale, we are advocates of aligning accountants and financial planners with the necessary licensing, accreditations and qualifications that meet with the stringent regulatory requirements. We also have the experience, knowledge and capability in partnering with aligned accounting practices in preparing them and their business models to advise and service self-directed clients particularly in SMSF's. We are also known for providing premium level quality licensee services, practice solutions and ongoing support for our network and this is now, more than ever, a critical requirement.

It is important to understand,  for those accountants who wish to continue advising in this complex and highly regulated arena post 30 June 2016, decisions need to be considered whether there is a need to:

  1. Become an Authorised Representative of another entity's license (eg Lonsdale). If yes, another decision is required, what level of authority is required?

    2. * SMSF Specialist licensing (basic) tends to be limited to advice on the establishment and wind up of SMSFs. These is no provision to provide advice on investment or risk strategy, or on product selection. Hence limited by nature.

    * Strategic licensing tends to mirror the Limited licence that is now available through ASIC. It will allow accountants to provide a much broader range of financial advice but exclude involvement in specific product recommendations

    * Comprehensive licensing allows you to provide a full range of financial advice including investment strategies, risk insurance and as the name suggests a comprehensive range of product recommendations, advice and services to trustees and to clients.

  2. Obtain a limited Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) – with certain restrictions and limited levels of advice – as above
  3. Obtain a full AFSL and be able to provide a comprehensive level of advice to clients
  4. Refer your SMSF advice to a qualified financial planner
  5. Establish a joint venture with a licensed financial planning practice.

There are advantages and disadvantages to these options and will require due diligence, particularly in line with the level of advice that accountants wish to pursue and offer their clients post 2016. Three other considerations stem from the above:

  1. Start thinking now about the initial training, education and accreditation which will be required to enlist in any of the licensing options above. It will take anywhere between 12-18 months to obtain the minimum RG 146 requirements, plus any additional licensee pre-requisites such as SMSF specialist accreditation.
  2. We recommend all accountants complete advanced SMSF training courses available from numerous registered training organisations.
  3. To become licensed you will need induction and transition support. There is an obligation and necessity to become familiar with the advice process including fact finding questionnaires, needs analysis, investment risk profiling and imperatively, the preparation and delivery of advice documentation including Statements of Advice (SoA). You must also have an understanding to act in the clients' best interest and accommodating this in your advice. Considerable time needs to be allocated to be fully cognisant in all of the advice process and transitioning an accounting business to offering financial and SMSF advice

So what are your plans and will you be ready for June 2106?

For more information on how we can help you be ready, call 1300 533 732.