Subject to final audit, management confirms that Count will report Net Profit After Tax (NPAT) of around $52m for 2010/2011, up 118% on 09/10. When earnings are normalised to remove the fair value gains on Countplus of $37.1m pre-tax, NPAT is around $26m, up 8% on 09/10.

Operating profit (EBIT) for 2010/2011 will be around $25.5m, down less than 3% compared to the prior period.

Reported EPS growth for 2010/11 is expected to be around 115%, while normalised EPS growth will be around 6%.

The results are subject to final audit. Count will release its finalised annual results on 29 August 2011.

Final “Risk/Reward” Dividend

The Board of Count has today declared a fully-franked final “Risk/Reward” dividend of 4 cents per share. This brings the annual dividend to 10 cents per share, equal to Count’s previous record annual dividend. Based on current trading prices this represents a yield of 11% fully-franked.

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Reporting to Count CEO Andrew Gale, Ms Tonitto will be responsible for the development of innovative strategies to accelerate growth of Count and of Count franchisees’ businesses. She will also oversee the rollout of a new Practice Management program for Count advisers.

“Lee will develop and implement growth strategies for the Count network and individual advisory businesses at an important time in the company’s development. She will also drive marketing initiatives to enhance Count’s brand and market positioning and to attract new clients in targeted areas,” Mr Gale said.

Ms Tonitto has extensive experience in wealth management marketing, distribution, and licensee network growth. She comes to Count after 15 years with the AMP group, where she was most recently General Manager, Strategy and Direct, and three years at AMP wealth management firm Hillross Financial Services.

At Hillross, Ms Tonitto held National Manager roles covering strategy, practice management and business operations. In this capacity she developed a cohesive practice management strategy and an online practice management hub. She also assisted 115 Hillross advisers with client segmentation and a comprehensive change management program in transitioning to Fee for Service.

At AMP, Ms Tonitto focused on developing and implementing distribution and marketing programs for financial planning services. This included a leading role in growing planner numbers through the creation of the AMP Horizons Financial Planning Academy, establishing a Customer Value Offer Development function and developing new brand architecture and advertising programs.

Chair of leading industry body the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI), Ms Tonitto’s experience is backed by an Executive MBA from the University of NSW’s Australian Graduate School of Management and a Diploma of Financial Planning.

Count provides its network of 350 accounting firms Australia-wide with high quality research, technical, business development and professional training support.

“The appointment of Ms Tonitto also demonstrates our dedication to existing Count franchisees, where we aim to help them grow their accounting and financial planning businesses to their fullest potential,” Mr Gale said.

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The annual conference will still take place on March 13-16 but will now be held at the SkyCity Auckland Convention Centre. Some 750 Count members are expected to attend the conference which includes a comprehensive legislative, technical and investment agenda.

“Our annual conference performs important functions for our membership including a regulatory and investment update, a key opportunity for professional development through CPD points and as an invaluable networking opportunity,” said Andrew Gale, Count CEO.

“Owing to the damage to infrastructure and services in Christchurch following the earthquake, we have acted on advice and moved our conference to Auckland,” Mr Gale said.

However, Count will show its support for the New Zealand economy by keeping the conference in the country, Mr Gale said.

“The Count Charitable Foundation will demonstrate Count’s support for the people of Christchurch at this difficult time by making a donation through the Red Cross Australia Earthquake Appeal, which will be announced at the conference,” Mr Gale said.

High profile plenary speakers at the conference will include Jeremy Cooper, Chairman of Challenger Retirement Income and former head of the Super System (Cooper) Review; John Brogden, Financial Services Council CEO and Andrea Slattery, CEO of the Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals’ Association (SPAA).

A comprehensive workshop program includes sessions on self-managed super fund technical strategies and business opportunities; life insurance, investment, estate planning, mortgages and aged care.

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XPLAN is the leading software solution in the financial services industry, providing a comprehensive wealth management and advice platform. Count CEO, Andrew Gale, says he expects XPLAN to bring substantial productivity gains and benefits to the advice and client review process and help deal with some of the upcoming regulatory changes in the financial services industry, such as the requirement for clients to ‘opt-in’ for regular reviews. Through XPLAN, Count estimates that productivity of the advice process could increase by up to 50%.

“There were several key reasons why Count selected XPLAN,” Mr Gale says. “In particular, the comprehensiveness of functionality in advice modules, the flexibility to be configured to uniquely reflect our value proposition to clients and the wider business efficiency and CRM benefits to our network of advisers.”

As part of the software review process, technology providers presented to a Count Adviser Panel, demonstrating how their software solution would work in practice.

“It was essential that a selection of our Count Members were included in the rigorous process to select our wealth management and advice platform,” Mr Gale says. “They are uniquely placed to comment on the technology and solution required to provide efficient and valuable advice to clients. Ultimately, it was clear that XPLAN could provide the integrated and adaptive solution we were looking for.”

Andrew Walsh, Managing Director of IRESS says IRESS is delighted to be selected as a strategic partner to Count.

“At a time where advice businesses are focussed on efficiency and delivery, we believe we deliver the market leading technology that a licensee of the calibre of Count requires in order to provide exceptional advice and service solutions to advisers and their clients,” he says. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that, in relation to technology, the focus of leading dealer groups like Count has shifted,” Mr Walsh said. “Critical to their strategy is the ability to provide their advisers technology which better exploits the proprietary knowledge and unique content that already exists within the group. A truly effective advice process is just as dependent upon what the dealer group brings to the table, as it is on the software which underpins the actual process itself.”

In January 2011, XPLAN will be implemented for an initial pilot group of Count Members, with a roll out across the group to start in March 2011.

Count released its current proprietary system  “WealthPlanner” in 2000. The system will be decommissioned in December 2011.

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