Capstone Financial Planning has entered into a strategic partnership with the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) to provide licensing services for its members wanting to provide advice under the new regulatory framework that will take effect in just under 18 months’ time.
Capstone managing director Grant O’Reilly said the agreement was a good cultural fit for both organisations and provided a non-institutionally aligned licensing opportunity for accountants.
“We’ve held the view for some time that the professional services provided by the IPA to its members and the services offered through Capstone are complementary,” O’Reilly said.
“As a national, independently owned licensee, Capstone is one of the few licensees that is in a position to offer tiered authorisation solutions that are non-aligned to a bank, fund manager or financial institution.
“Our authorisation options and support services are more likely to appeal to accountants who prefer an alternative to licensees that have bank or institutional ownership.”
As an existing licensee, Capstone provides support for its authorised representatives in areas such as training and development, marketing, professional compliance standards and technology.
IPA chief executive Andrew Conway said he was extremely pleased about the partnership and was looking forward to a long and beneficial relationship for the professional body’s members and both organisations.
The move has been made to help accountants comply with the licensing regime coming into effect on 1 July 2016 to replace the current accountants’ exemption.
The new rules dictate accountants will need to hold or operate under an Australian financial services licence if they wish to provide advice to their existing SMSF clients.
