SMSF Specialist Auditor accreditation gets RG146 recognition

A significant frustration for SPAA members has been overcome after the association secured RG146 recognition of its SSA accreditation.

SPAA’s Head of Education, Liz Ward, announced at the Pathways to Accreditation session, that those who have completed SSA can now say it satisfies the RG146 minimum training standards for providing financial advice.

Ward said members who had completed the SSA exam were frustrated when employers told them they had not undertaken a RG146 compliant program in SMSF and that they would have to go off and undertake another training course to satisfy the regulatory requirement.

“It was ridiculous that members were taking what is considered a very rigorous and comprehensive assessment of their SMSF knowledge and then being told they do not meeting the minimum requirements,” Ward said.

Highly regarded

Ward said completing the SSA exam means members will not only have highly regarded industry registration, but would now be ASIC compliant in the knowledge area of SMSF.

Ward told the session that SPAA has spent 2013 listening to members and was rolling out a series of initiatives to meet their professional development needs.

One major initiative was the development of CPD Hub on SPAA’s website, which Ward says was essentially a ‘supermarket’ of SMSF education. The Hub listed SPAA-accredited education, allowed members to search topics and gave guidance on the most appropriate courses based on occupation. It also allowed access to the booking facility of most of the programs.

SPAA has also developed a Pathways Program that provided additional support for sitting the SAA exam, including a diagnostic report, self-study models and a group tutorial.