New research has revealed multidisciplinary accounting practices have a larger number of SMSF clients and have greater profitability growth, with the shift away from pure accounting specialists expected to continue.
At the recent Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand National SMSF Conference 2018 in Melbourne, Investment Trends head of wealth management research Recep Peker said the firm’s latest report found the average accountant wants to take their share of business income from SMSF clients from 24 per cent to 30 per cent by 2021.
“Interestingly, a third of SMSF accountants work in a multidisciplinary practice, which means it’s not just accountants; there could be financial planners, lawyers and other specialists that can help their SMSF clients,” Peker told delegates.
“Multidisciplinary practices tend to perform better than accounting specialist firms, they are focused on enhancing their advice proposition further and their business is growing at a more rapid rate.
“And then they’re also doubling down on what they’ve already been doing for clients.”
The research found compared to accounting specialists, multidisciplinary practices have a larger number of SMSF clients, over 46 per cent more, as well as greater profitability growth, with 60 per cent of multidisciplinary accountants surveyed reporting an increase versus 56 per cent for specialists.
In addition, multidisciplinary practices are more focused on improving advice delivery, educating clients and demonstrating value for money.
“Accountants are recognising the client desire for a service provider that can meet their needs holistically,” Peker told selfmanagedsuper.
“Financial planning is a key component of this, so more are looking at establishing relationships with financial planners.
“The recent success of accountants in multidisciplinary practices in winning and retaining SMSF relationships is an indicator that accountants are likely to want this trend to continue.”
He underscored that although some have gone down the licensing path to increase their foothold in the broader advice area, it is not the only option for accountants.
“You can join or build out a multidisciplinary firm where advisers are in-house or have really strong referral relationships since the intention is to broaden the proposition from just administration or tax to the wider needs of clients and being able to service that,” he noted.
“Accountants, as a whole, want to play a greater role in servicing the SMSF segment and there are hurdles to overcome, but you’re in a really unique position right now because the financial planning and banking industries are struggling with trust, even more so with the royal commission.”
