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Accountants Exemption Solution

Beware of Credit “hawking” risks, accountants told (RG146)

Fwgs is well aware of the challenges for accountants around borrowing arrangements and has developed a specific module in their RG146 accountants training course on the topic.

Fwgs CEO, James Barger-Bos, has been a corporate banker for over 2 decades and in additional to running an AFSL also runs an ACL. He said, “Credit hawking is not new to bankers but is yet another field the suburban accountant will need to avoid without an appropriate authority.”

Dermot Lindsay, National Manager of Alliance Partners at Perpetual, said accountants must be aware of the upcoming regulatory changes that they will face.

“We understand that the removal of the accountants’ exemption is probably the biggest change to the accounting industry for decades, and they’re moving into a new environment. They’re going to struggle to get the nuances and fully understand what the law says, what they’re entitled to and what their obligations are,” he said.

Jaime Lumsden Kelly, solicitor at The Fold Legal, said that in particular, practitioners must be careful they do not fall into the trap of hawking, a concept involving attempting to sell unsolicited products in the course of a meeting or phone call.

“If someone calls you up for life insurance advice, you’re absolutely permitted to talk to them about life insurance, but you can’t just start talking about this great managed investments scheme or platform that they might be interested in,” she said.

A note of caution from fwgs CEO, James Barger-Bos, “an accountant is able to discuss risk insurance as a product class but is unable to give personal advice now or when the accountants’ exemption expires on June 30, 2016.”

Article continues tomorrow. Source: SMSF Adviser Written by Mitchell Turner Monday, 14 September 2015

Our RG146 course is a two-day facilitator lead training program. We understand the difficulty accountants have with time so our philosophy is that we come to the accountant. Our first RG146 course is being held in NSW on October 7 and 8 and costs $1,250. To register please send an email to [email protected]

Source: SMSF Adviser Written by Mitchell Turner Monday, 14 September 2015

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