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Financial advisory and taxation services in Australia 2010 highlights
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Tax Agent Services Regime (TASR) commences. The policy objective of the TASR, which came into effect on 1 March 2010, is to establish new consumer protection measures and ‘lift the bar’ on the quality of tax advice provided to the public.
The Institute advocates that financial planners do provide tax advice to their clients and it is not merely incidental to their broader financial advisory services. The Institute therefore believes all advisers who provide similar taxation services to the public should be regulated under the TASR.
The Assistant Treasurer acknowledges that the services provided by financial planners constitute ‘taxation advice’ and that taxation is not incidental to their overall offering, but a decision on whether to include financial planners in the scope of the regime is deferred to 23 April 2011.
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The Joint Accounting Bodies (the Institute, CPA Australia and the NIA) establish a financial advisory services working group to present reform solutions in a unified voice to the federal government.
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The Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board (APESB) issues Exposure Draft APES 230 – Financial Advisory Services for comment.
Public consultation on the government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms begins.
The JAB begins a series of regular face-to-face meetings with Treasury and the office of the Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services, Nick Sherry, to discuss the regulation of financial planners who provide taxation services.
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Formal industry consultation begins on the government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms.
Draft regulations are released on the scope of the Tax Agent Services Regime.
The Institute’s policy advisers commence presentations across Australia to public practitioner forums and a range of member discussion groups outlining the Institute’s activities in financial advisory services policy development and how we operate with government, regulators and industry stakeholders.
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The JAB presents its policy position on the Tax Agent Services Regime to the Assistant Treasurer.
The federal election results produce a ‘caretaker’ government, and eventually Labor is returned to office. Bill Shorten is appointed as the new Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services.
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The Institute wraps up more than 25 face-to-face briefings on financial advisory services policy and positioning to members around the country.
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Representatives of the JAB are appointed to the Future of Financial Advice Peak Consultation Group, tasked with driving the financial advice reforms that include defining fiduciary duty, advice models, remuneration and professional standards.
The group will also explore solutions with Treasury on how to develop an appropriate legislative framework that will allow professional accountants to provide some form of financial advisory services to their clients.
The JAB presents to Treasury suggested policy proposals in relation to the Tax Agent Services Regime and the role of financial planners in the provision of taxation services.
The JAB lodges a submission with the APESB on Exposure Draft APES 230 – Financial Advisory Services. The recommendation is for the government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms to be allowed to progress before the APESB sets a pragmatic timeframe for changes to standards for our members who offer financial advisory services. One of the main drivers for this position was to avoid duplication in the regulatory landscape.
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The JAB is appointed to the new Advisory Panel on Financial Advice and Professional Standards, tasked with advising the government on training, educational and ethical standards for the financial planning industry.
The Assistant Treasurer announces new regulations that clarify the coverage of the national tax agent services regime and defers the application of the regime until 1 July 2011 for the estimated 18,000 financial planners currently operating in Australia.
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The JAB meets with representatives of the financial services industry, in order to work through some of the more significant practical issues of regulation, presented in Treasury’s options paper. The group meets with the Assistant Treasurer to discuss the options, with the objective of reaching a solution before July 2011 – the government’s projected timeframe to announce how planners will be regulated.
The APESB announces its intention to extend the consultation on Exposure Draft APES 230 – Financial Advisory Services following receiving 65 submissions to be reviewed and defers the start date (initially planned for 1 July 2011).
The JAB issues a media release in support of the APESB announcement . Given the significance of the government’s Future of Financial Advice reforms currently underway, we feel the APESB needs to consult further with the profession – and in particular, with individual practitioners – before making critical decisions regarding a standard that will affect all professional accountants who practice as financial planners.
The professional accounting bodies will continue to consult with the APESB as it reviews the submissions and completes its due diligence process on the Exposure Draft.
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Article last updated 3 March 2011