Greg Holman
Digital disruption is transforming the accounting industry, scaling back the traditional “hackwork” done by practitioners and will ultimately drive an increasing number to get qualified and licensed to provide a broad range of financial services in order to stay relevant and survive, according to Certified Practising Accountant Greg Holman.
Holman, co-founder of GPS Wealth, said accountants had little choice but to get licensed given their role was rapidly evolving to include helping clients protect their assets, grow business revenue, and build their wealth in addition to standard tax and structuring advice.
“The hackwork traditionally done by accountants around preparing and lodging BAS and tax returns is increasingly being done in-house by bookkeepers using cloud-based accounting software like Xero and MYOB, which means accountants must expand their value proposition in order to combat digital disruption and build sustainable businesses,” he said.
“In the future, the most valued and valuable practices will be those that not only help clients legally minimise their tax but help them to protect their assets using different company and trust structures; grow business revenue and profitability; and maximise their wealth.”
Mr Holman said the first step for accountants who wanted to build a modern, streamlined business was to become qualified and licensed to provide a range of financial services.
He cited the imminent removal of the accountants’ exemption and the introduction of the government’s new licensing regime on July 1, 2016, as an opportunity for accountants to expand their value proposition and future-proof their businesses.
“Whether accountants move quickly to become qualified and licensed to provide advice, spurred by regulatory reform, or choose to act later, forced by digital disruptive technologies, it’s highly likely many more accountants will conclude that they must expand their value proposition and diversify their revenue in order to hang onto existing clients and win new ones,” he said.
In the last 10 months, over 180 accountants and financial advisers have attended GPS Wealth’s professional development courses, which help practitioners to better understand their licensing needs and requirements under the government’s new regulatory framework, and build their skills and competency in key knowledge areas including self-managed super, insurance, lending and strategic advice.
The courses also highlight the enormous opportunity available to accountants. Around 125 practitioners have applied for a limited authority with GPS Wealth. That number is set to rise ahead of the removal of the accountants’ exemption on July 1.