Advisers and accountants have the ability to benefit from referral relationships, but only if a structured offering is in place.
There were a few "absolutes" that must be provided in the relationship, Australian Unity Personal Financial Advice Services (AUPFS) head of financial advice Craig Meldrum told InvestorDaily.
"We've found accountants [have concerns] over clients not liking the financial planner, not agreeing with the advice provided or that the planner doesn't work in a particular area," Meldrum said.
Meldrum's comments come after AUPFS announced it had grown its number of referring accountants from 160 to 250 in the past 12 months.
The company's Accountants Partnership Program was established in 2007, but the removal of the accountants' exemption was now driving accountants to look at options for referral relationships in order to provide more holistic services beyond tax, he said.
Furthermore, the Tax Agent Services Regime is having the same affect on motivating advisers to consider a referral relationship with accountants.
A personality match was the most vital factor to ensure accountants and advisers saw eye to eye, he said, adding that professionalism, a high level of knowledge and having a referral protocol in place were also critical.
"You don't want any surprises at the end of the day," he said.
"It might work partially for six months or a year and after that things start to unravel, so you've got to have an action plan in place so that accountants are protected - you can't approach it piecemeal; it must be a robust and structured offering."
He said a successful referral relationship would deliver benefits to both accountants and advisers.
Customer Return managing director Nathan Williams said that while it may be in the financial interest of accountants to refer to advisers, many still do not do it due to a sense of perceived risk.
"If accountants aren't clear on what's going to happen when they refer because the planner doesn't have a clear referral process, this can present a roadblock," Williams said.
"Most businesses focus on the financial opportunities inherent in referral relationships, but without first addressing the potential concerns of the accountants and what's most important to them, the ideal referral numbers won't be achieved."
The challenge is to gain the trust of the accountant by validating the service level of the advisers practice and presenting a clear process that outlines who to refer, how to refer, when to refer and why the accountant should refer to the adviser, Williams said.
Educating the accountant and providing validation of the firm's service levels is key to earning the right for the referral, he said.
"From an accountant's point of view, the majority of their revenue is recurring so they don't want to do anything that could upset that existing relationship with their clients," he said.
