What's So Important About This?
Much has been written over the past 3 years on the changes to the rules that will (or will not) allow Accountants to continue to provide advice to their clients in respect of self-managed superannuation funds (“SMSFs”). For the past 3 years, there has been a transitional arrangement in place known as the ‘accountants’ exemption’ which has allowed accountants to provide such advice, without the need for an Australian Financial Services ("AFS") licence.
As part of the Future of Financial Advice (FoFA) reforms, introduced in 2013, the accountants licensing exemption ceased on 1 July 2016. FoFA is a government approved regulatory framework brought in to improve the quality of financial advice and consumer outcomes as a result of the failures of financial firms in the late 2000’s. The provision of independent quality advice by accountants through an AFS Licence is viewed as a way to enhance investment in the real economy, improve retirement incomes and deliver better outcomes for consumers of financial services. It’s now law.
Up until as recently as late 2015, ASIC had received only 160 applications for limited AFS Licences from accountants, with only 60 subsequently granted. This was largely attributed to both ambivalence around the likely enforcement of the new licensing regime and also, the extremely time-consuming, complex and rigorous ASIC licensing process (involving not only formal education requirements but also, probity matters of firms and their Directors).
Today, we’re pleased to announce that Koustas & Co SMSF Advisory Pty Ltd has successfully completed all requirements and has been issued an AFS licence, pursuant to section 913B of the Corporations Act 2001. Herc Koustas, Damien Burke and Sanyin Geljic are our accredited Responsible Managers (“RMs”).
This development puts Koustas & Co squarely in the large minority of accounting firms who are now legally able to advise on SMSF-related matters and importantly, our clients (and future clients) can continue to enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that their affairs are being handled by appropriately qualified and licensed accounting practitioners.
As always, we look forward to attending to your SMSF (and broader accounting and tax) matters both now and in the future.
If there is any additional assistance we can provide, or if you would like us to review your situation with a SMSF accountant, please call us on (03) 8530 1600 or by e-mail at matthews@koustas.com.au
