In determining a replacement for the accountants' exemption in relation to the provision of financial advice, regulators must take into account a number of significant issues, according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA).
"If it turns out accountants have to come in under the AFSL (Australian financial services licence) regime in some form, how would you do that? How does an accountant demonstrate experience without having previously held an AFSL?" ICAA head of superannuation Liz Westover said.
"There are a number of significant practical issues. Cost is a big one as well."
In the process of finding a suitable replacement for the accountants' exemption, the ICAA has been garnering the opinion of many of its members about the subject and one issue has repeatedly been raised.
"A number of members I have spoken to are saying they do not want to give product advice. They want to give genuine non-product advice in relation to superannuation and other issues," Westover said.
"We are well aware of that and that is why we are talking to government about the provision of non-product advice because it is appropriate for accountants to give non-product advice. They would not fit into the current AFSL regime because it's all about product advice."
She said the discussions were ongoing.
