ASIC’s 2014/15 annual report has shown the number of limited Australian financial services licences (AFSL) issued to accountants remains very low.
According to the corporate regulator’s published statistics, it issued only 28 limited AFSLs in the 2015 financial year.
ASIC recognised the process was an ongoing one.
“ASIC continues to work closely with the relevant professional bodies to help accountants understand their obligations, apply for the limited licence and comply with annual compliance certificate requirements and licence obligations,” the report said.
Since becoming mandatory in 2013, the registration process for SMSF auditors has gained more traction.
ASIC registered a total of 123 SMSF auditors in 2014/15, bringing the total number of registered SMSF auditors to 6669 as at 30 June 2015.
The national financial advisers register has also proved to be a popular initiative with the public.
“In the first three months of the register’s operation, there were over 200,000 searches of the register and more than 62,000 visits to the ASIC website for information about the register,” the report said.
The register was launched on 31 March and since then over 22,000 practitioners have been included on it.
