Accountants should not regard financial planners as competitors and should instead use them to complement their existing client value proposition, a senior advisory executive has said.

Recent research on the accounting profession performed by licensing solutions service provider Accountants’ Scaled Advice Platform (ASAP) has led the firm’s chief executive to conclude the impending Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) shadow shopping exercise into SMSF advice is unlikely to expose widespread provision of unlicensed advice by accountants.