Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) has revealed it is finalising its 2017/18 practice support program for licensed and unlicensed members.
The program will aim to provide members with a choice of service providers and a range of free resources, as well as access to additional resources at a discounted member price.
The announcement comes following the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) licensing liaison meeting on 16 March.
ASIC limited licensing senior manager James Nott said the regulator had around 200 limited Australian financial services licence (AFSL) applications yet to be finalised.
This included draft licences offered to 58 applicants and requisitions for additional information issued to 120 applicants, with only a small number of remaining applications still to be reviewed.
ASIC advised the key trends observed across all applications still being assessed included the need to complete training requirements, demonstrate appropriate insurance cover and provide financial statements that accurately reflect the legal entity applying for the licence.
CAANZ has informed its members that anyone experiencing difficulties in meeting any of the requirements to seek assistance from the body.
Members were also reminded ASIC will continue its focus on SMSF advice in 2017 through site visits to limited AFSLs, surveillance of accountants operating under full or limited licences and accountants without licences or authorisations who may not be complying with the new AFSL requirements.
Further, CAANZ reminded its members the regulator had commenced a review of SMSF advice provided to consumers.
