Can CPA Australia Advice be revived? Poll results

Financial planners are divided about whether CPA Australia’s advice arm can be resurrected after the departure of controversial CEO Alex Malley, according to a poll.

Malley was terminated by CPA with a $4.9m cheque in late June after half the board resigned. It followed concerns from CPA stakeholders about his annual salary, governance and use of members’ money.

His termination came just under a year after the official launch of CPA Australia Advice, the accounting body’s fee-for-service financial advice arm, which Malley said at the time cost “in the millions” (he would not nominate a precise figure).

In July last year, Malley said the linchpin of the offering was independence and the proposal was initially marketed as “a new benchmark for professional and ethical conduct in making independent financial advice available to all Australian consumers”.

Just less than half of the surveyed financial planners on Professional Planner Online (48 per cent) said they didn’t think the advice arm would survive after Malley’s departure.

More than a third (37 per cent) said it would survive, while the remainder (14 per cent) said they were unsure.

Advisers operating under CPA would pay up to $21,120 in licensing fees, depending on their authority level, which ranges from basic to complex. They would also have to meet a set of criteria, including being a registered financial (tax) adviser, having completed RG146 training and having a public practice certificate or being an employee of CPA Australia.