The Australian Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA) has approved applications for the recognition of coursework to attain a professional designation from the Certified Practicing Accountants (CPA) and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) as part of its education standards for financial advisers. BUT CAANZ is concerned about the limited credits that have been approved.
“The awarding of credits for coursework to attain the CPA and CAANZ designations provides appropriate recognition to existing advisers who have undertaken these further studies,” FASEA Chief Executive Officer Stephen Glenfield said.
“Chartered Accountants have long supported raising the standards of financial advice to better serve and protect consumers,” said Bronny Speed, CA ANZ financial advice leader.
“We agree with Commissioner Kenneth Hayne [who served on the Australian government’s Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry 2017-2019] that for the advice sector the key long term considerations are whether the ‘quality of financial advice has improved, and whether financial advisers are behaving like professionals’.”
However, CAANZ warned that FASEA’s decision as it stands could result in ‘an exodus of Chartered Accountants from the advice sector which is likely to significantly reduce the overall level of training and expertise in the industry and have the complete opposite effect to FASEA’s goal to raise the standards of financial advice’.
