While it is an exciting and yet somewhat daunting task, I welcome the challenge. Though I must say I have towering heels to fill.
Julia Newbould has been a guiding light for this publication, both in news gathering and her reputation within the industry.
Yet it is not only the footsteps that I am to follow in that will be challenging. It is also a difficult time for the industry.
The fallout from the global financial turmoil continues to be felt overseas, with the domino effect now clearly creeping onto Australian shores.
There appears to be a new R word doing the rounds, one similarly unfavoured by all as the first - recession.
However, in the past few weeks, major financial institutions have announced that they have made or will be making redundancies. For some the purse strings are truly being tightened.
For some financial planning dealer groups the past few months have called for a personal and professional review. For others the period offered a small breather as precautions were already in place.
The common ground for all is the feeling of uncertainty and expectation never being far from our minds.
This week, the FPA will hold its national conference on the Gold Coast.
While the tough markets have made it a difficult time for financial planning, the need for investment advice has never been in higher demand.
So there is little doubt the FPA will move to calm its members by addressing the financial crisis at its conference.
In the lead-up to the annual event, in this week's IFA FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch speaks with Victoria Papandrea about the challenges facing the financial planning community and her vision for the future.
I look forward to meeting many of you at the conference and hearing about your thoughts on the industry.
