Speaking to InvestorDaily, Quantum Financial principal Tim Mackay said that financial planning must lift its standards to avoid government intervention when times get tough.
“If you look at the accounting profession, they have their future and their destiny, they have their own standards, they raise their own standards and the government doesn’t butt in,” he said.
“In our industry, because we haven’t in the past done that, it means we are subject to the whim of the government of the day.”
However, Mr Mackay believes the future for financial planning is “incredibly bright” as the industry begins to benefit from regulatory reforms.
“The reforms they brought in will really take five to 10 years to see their benefits … but we view that as an exciting future for the professionalism of financial planning,” he said.
“It needs to be on the same footing as the accounting and legal fraternities. If you look back to the seventies, accounting was at the bottom of the harbour – its reputation was terrible.
“It took them 15 years to build that, and that is what financial planning is working towards,” he said.
