Topdocs has teamed up with Australian fintech start-up Accountants Scaled Advice Platform (ASAP) to help accountants servicing Australia’s 580,000 SMSFs deal with an expected unprecedented compliance squeeze at the end of the 2017 financial year.
Under the integration, unlicensed accountants can use ASAP’s online advice service to obtain statements of advice (SOA) for SMSFs and pensions, and at the same time create the necessary documents through Topdocs.
This integration is the first of a number of new services Topdocs will be launching at the SMSF Association National Conference in Melbourne this week.
“Many won’t realise it yet, but this traditional tax planning period will present extraordinary compliance costs and risks for SMSF accountants, whether they’ve chosen to become financial licensees or not,” ASAP chief executive Jim Hennington said.
“The rule change imposes a burden on all SMSF accountants because they need to know when the advice line would be crossed.
“The rules are technical and safeguards are needed. Yet, at the same time, the government is introducing the biggest reforms to superannuation in a decade.”
Hennington said with the number of accountants being licensed still remaining very low, many practising in the area of SMSFs were looking for a solution to mitigate their risk but to still continue to be active in the space.
Topdocs managing director Jake Spakman said he believed the new offering Topdocs and ASAP had developed together provided accountants with such a solution.
“Without a licence, accountants must refer their clients to a planner for financial product advice,” Spakman noted.
“This integration offers a streamlined alternative to obtain SOAs and the necessary legal documentation.”
