SMSF practitioners need to address the widening gap between technological advancement and organisational change in order to remain effective, an SMSF expert has said.
At the SMSF Association 2020 National Conference last week, Smarter SMSF chief executive Aaron Dunn cited Martec’s Law to highlight the disparity between the fast pace of technological change in relation to the generally slow pace at which organisations change, and the problem this presented for SMSF service providers.
“This concept of Martec’s Law is an important one,” Dunn said at the event held on the Gold Coast.
“As the gap [between technological change and organisational change] gets higher and higher, it becomes a bigger challenge for us to continue to move unless we [have] an organisational reset.”
SMSF practitioners could avoid falling behind by embracing the technology changes that would have the greatest impact and becoming more agile in order to adapt quickly to change, he noted.
He also said organisations should avoid focusing too heavily on the idea of a perfect end result and accept that staying on top of technological advancement in the industry would require continual adjustments on behalf of the organisation.
“One of the things I love about technology in [the SMSF] space is that it has become a great equaliser. It doesn’t matter what the size of your business is, all of us are using the same piece of technology. The difference is just how well we’re actually using it,” he added.
“We’re never going to reach where we want to ultimately get to because everything will continue to move.”
In addition to technological trends, he pointed out regulatory trends such as the licensing framework for advice and auditor registration as key factors affecting the current SMSF environment.
He also said SMSF practitioners should be aware of the ageing population and the loss of trust resulting from the financial services royal commission as key societal and cultural trends likely to affect SMSF business models.
