The Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has revealed it has received support from its members to lobby for the return of the accountants’ exemption, with plans to notify the federal government as soon as possible rather than wait for the next election.
This follows the IPA’s announcement earlier this month flagging the possibility of the organisation advocating for change in relation to advice given to SMSFs.
At the IPA SMSF Retreat in Noosa yesterday, chief executive Andrew Conway said member sentiment has so far been overwhelmingly positive in relation to the professional body seeking a reversal on the accountants’ exemption.
“Since we announced [our intentions], in all my time as chief executive and working in government and Treasury I’ve never seen such a strong and visceral response on any issue than I have with this one,” Conway told delegates.
“In 24 hours I received 80 written submissions.
“This is in comparison to receiving a handful of submissions for other provocative issues for the profession.
“So I don’t think we can wait for the new government to come in – there’s an assumption there will be a new government – because [commissioner Kenneth] Hayne’s royal commission is going to hand down its decisions prior to that and I believe the current government will go full term, which means legislation would already be enshrined.”
He said the IPA would look to have SMSFs reclassified in regulation to be acknowledged as trust structures and not financial products, in turn removing them from the Future of Financial Advice reforms.
“An SMSF, in my view, is not a financial product. The minister can actually determine and redefine what a financial product is. SMSFs could theoretically be taken out,” he noted.
“Limited licensing is not working and not achieving what it sought to achieve, which was to have all these accountants rush out to get their limited licence.
“We’ve got an opportunity with the lived history to step in and get a better outcome, not for accountants to get another revenue stream for your practices, but for our clients.”
