Robert MC Brown

Articles written by this Author 55

Robert MC Brown AM is a chartered accountant with more than 30 years’ experience in taxation, superannuation and financial planning. He is independent chairman of the ADF Financial Services Council, and a member of the government’s Financial Literacy Board.

Opinion

Transforming a shrinking industry into a growing profession

Many industry participants are inclined to blame ASIC and the government for the advice deficit when, in fact, the blame lies squarely at the feet of the industry, says Robert M.C. Brown.

Robert MC BrownApril 9, 2021

Opinion

FASEA’s demise: Be careful what you wish for

Industry leaders should endorse the spirit and substance of the Code of Ethics and accept that there will be inconvenient commercial consequences for some of the industry’s participants, argues Robert MC Brown.

Robert MC BrownFebruary 3, 2021

Opinion

Time to embrace Code of Ethics and get on with it

With failed leadership and associations that act more like medieval guilds, professionalism was always going to be a struggle for the advice industry according to Robert M.C. Brown. But a growing cohort of advisers embracing the Code of Ethics are paving the way for the industry to become as trusted as it is profitable.

Robert MC BrownNovember 13, 2020

Opinion

Remember that thing called the Code of Ethics?

The industry must be fully on board with the clear intentions of the code. Instead of complaining about its 'uncertainties', practitioners should recognise that it is deliberately not a technically prescriptive compliance-style laundry list, Robert MC Brown writes.

Robert MC BrownSeptember 1, 2020

Opinion

Ethics advocacy a shortcut to less red tape

Once the ethics overlay is accepted and absorbed by the industry, much of the unnecessary compliance weighing advisers down can be lifted according to Robert MC Brown.

Robert MC BrownJune 14, 2020

Opinion

Time to think big about our advice future

Instead of slipping into a reactionary mindset, advisers should use this crisis to reset the kind of industry they want to be part of. Robert MC Brown uses his experience with the Australian Defence Force to put forward an approach that could benefit the greater good.

Robert MC BrownApril 14, 2020

Opinion

Preserve the Code: The case for avoiding all conflicts

Any plans to lobby government and FASEA to amend its plain words or to dilute its principles or interpretation should be dropped; it is simply not in the interests of the new profession, Robert MC Brown reckons.

Robert MC BrownDecember 11, 2019

Opinion

Cracking the code: Life under Standard 3

FASEA's Code of Ethics will force a fundamental review of the motives and business models of industry participants, Robert MC Brown writes.

Robert MC BrownOctober 23, 2019

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