A national group of financial advisory firms predict the ‘territorial dispute’ between accountants and financial planners will soon be a trend of the past. This theme is explored in the recently released white paper Crossing the Divide: Financial advisory, accounting and the SMSF opportunity.
“The industry experts got it wrong,” says MD of Certainty Advice Group, Jim Stackpool.
“Across all media outlets, experts were expecting thousands more than the few hundred accounting firms that applied for their own financial services license in advance of the June 30 exemption cut-off date.
“The reason they got it wrong? It’s simple. The advice is different.”
Certainty Advice Group believes that today, Australians are more informed and far better aware of the differences between why they see a financial adviser and why they see an accountant. A large part of this is the great job accountants have done to build their clients’ trust in their advice.
“Gathering trust is the big issue,” says Scott Farmer, the principle of Bravium, a Canberra- based Certainty Advice firm. “Accountants aren’t thinking about us and our role as financial advisers. They will never do anything to endanger their trusted role, so logically they will focus on their accounting expertise. Any professional dispute has been overstated for years”.
According to Travis Martin of TWD, a Certainty Advice firm based in West Perth, these perceived disputes had more to do with issues of conflicted advice models inherent in vertically integrated operations. Travis sees that this has rightly caused significant damage to the reputation of the financial planning industry. “We just don’t see disputes in our world because we don’t have any of the industry’s incentive barriers affecting our advice. Like the medical profession we seek to collaborate and find solutions that work for the client, the accountant and our firm”.
Annette Pulbrook of FinBiz, a Certainty Advice firm from Warner’s Bay, believes former disputes were mainly between the financial product-based firms whose future is being commoditised. “Those financial planning or accounting firms fighting over the same clients are destined for a frustrating future. The rising level of professionalism will overwhelm them if they really believe their competition is one another. Their biggest competition is their mindset and old advice habits which will just keep them busy but less productive every year.”
Overall, accountants with a similar advice niche to Certainty Advice Group just get it. As ‘fourth generation advisers’ (whose main priority is the client’s needs, best interests and greater good), we could have much in common. Jeff Thurecht of Evalesco, a Certainty Advice firm based in Sydney says: “We accountants that get it, we both talk a common language, we have extensive experience who have similar complexities, aspirations and fears, which, though lots of work, makes it enjoyable and fruitful for all involved”.
Certainty Advice Group’s new white paper Crossing the Divide: Financial advisory, accounting and the SMSF opportunity is available on the website.
