A.S.A.P. licensing ‘Top Tips’
March 2018
- Unlicensed SMSF accountants can (carefully) deliver accounting services, tax advice, compliance advice[1] and factual information to SMSF clients without it being providing financial product advice or needing an AFSL. But there are many transactions that can’t be administered unless supported by a written SOA from a licensed adviser
- It makes sense to have a traditional adviser to refer to (for less confident clients or more complex cases) AS WELL AS a digital adviser to refer to (for more confident clients and/or transactional advice)
- There is nothing wrong with digital advice but you can’t pass off that advice as being your own. Clients must be clear that the advice is being delivered by a different AFSL holder
- Always establish a clear divide between your services and the advice services provided by any adviser
- You can’t comment on whether or not you agree with the digital advice. It must be a distinct hand-off to the digital advice tool to provide the advice
- You can alert your clients and prospective clients to the fact you provide an SMSF accounting service, but you must not imply in any way that you provide personal financial advice or endorse that any specific products/transactions are appropriate for a client’s needs or goals without a license. Refer it.
- A compliant advice process has two key stages. Scoping the advice and delivering good advice. A.S.A.P.’s patented tool is purpose built to cover both of these stages.
- You CAN refer to a licensed adviser who has a limited scope of advice[2]. It is the adviser not the accountant who is responsible for ensuring and validating whether the scope of their advice is suited to the clients needs. An adviser must decline to provide advice if the advice can’t be scoped in the best interests of the client. A.S.A.P.’s scoping tool does this.
- You should ensure your clients understand that when you refer them to A.S.A.P. you intend for them to SEEK ADVICE before making a decision about a product. They must not infer from your conduct that you endorse them using any specific financial products that you work with. We recommend the use of disclaimers to make clear there is no endorsement of any products by the accountant.
- Where a client’s answers on the digital questionnaire require further clarification, there must be a process for the adviser to make further investigations. A.S.A.P. facilitate this process using a human advice team
- See A.S.A.P.’s online support hub or call us for example conversations that you can have with clients about SMSFs that are safe and compliant
Make sure you don’t provide an unlicensed financial service[3]. It’s not only a crime, it’s specifically excluded from your P.I. Insurance. Why take the risk when a standard SOA is just $250?