How It Works Guide Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

How It Works Guide Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Contents 1. What is the problem we’re addressing? 2. How does A. S. A. P. help? 3. How do you and your client use A. S. A. P? 4. Frequently Asked Questions Copyright © 2016 ASAP Advice Pty Ltd. | Patent Pending Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Key points A. S. A. P. have received assistance from the ASIC Innovation Hub Received sign-off from financial services lawyers, Mills Oakley We are an authorised representative of Interprac Integrating with several major SMSF platforms/suppliers Using A. S. A. P. is equivalent to referring your client to a license holder, albeit a digital one. Accountants Scaled Advice Platform 3

Why are Statements of Advice compulsory? Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Key laws after July 1 SMSFs are a financial product, by law Most transactions between a member and their SMSF must now be advised by an AFSL holder, using a written Statement of Advice (So. A) A So. A is a highly regulated process Takes 3 -5 hours+ to produce Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

SMSF transactions needing a So. A after 1 July Starting a SMSF Rollovers into a SMSF Making additional contributions Many TTR strategies Starting and stopping a pension Making withdrawals Winding up a SMSF Accountants Scaled Advice Platform For a detailed guide on what unlicensed accountants can and can’t do without an Australian Financial Services license, see this link (downloads a word document)

What’s involved with an SOA? 1. 2. 3. 4. Fee and scope agreement Formal client questionnaire Documented research Written So. A meeting ASIC’s guidelines 5. Formal client authority to proceed 6. Compliance oversight (regular file-checks, registers etc) Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

How does A. S. A. P. help? Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

A. S. A. P. flow chart Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Getting started Accountant registration is free of charge Enter relevant details to create an account for your company Choose to invite employees to access your company account Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Company dashboard Manually input your client’s data or choose to import data from one of our partner software platforms Input as few or as many clients as you like. The details will be stored on your dashboard and used as the basis for our Statement of Advice service Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

How to use the platform to request So. As Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 1 – Input client data Set up clients one at a time, or use a bulk import Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Input client data As licensed advisers, A. S. A. P. must validate the client’s ID (accountants can scan and certify a copy) The client must also receive our Financial Services Guide (attached to our Welcome email) Accountants Scaled Advice Platform 14

Step 2: Client Meeting Meet with your client as you would normally Ideally, you will have pre-loaded the client’s details onto your A. S. A. P. dashboard prior to discussing their advice needs If your client requires SMSF product advice, you will then commence the order process with them present Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 2 – select client Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 2 – select scope of advice A. S. A. P. provides scaled financial product advice that is specifically designed to integrate with SMSF accounting processes. Our ‘drag and drop’ advice scoping tool lets the client direct what advice they need in relation to the following type decisions : - SMSF establishment Rollovers Concessional contributions Non-concessional contributions - Pensions Withdrawals Direct property Insurance review We automate as much of the advice process as feasible, but fulfilment of the client’s ‘best interests duty’ will sometimes require in-person intervention. Our usual fee for a So. A covering any of the above is $250+GST. Additional fees of $100+GST per rollover apply and there is a $100+GST fee for cases that require manual intervention from our advice team. E. g. An SMSF establishment case with 1 rollover would cost $350+GST Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 3 – Client Fact Find Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 4 – Advice Validation A. S. A. P. checks for errors or inconsistencies If issues are detected, manual input by the A. S. A. P. team may be required in order to ensure we fulfil our legal duty to act in each individual client’s best interests In this case, staff will get in contact with the accountant and/or client in order to clarify relevant details Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 4 – payment via CC or invoice Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 5 – Statement of Advice Scope: validates the appropriateness of using an SMSF for the client’s superannuation transactions. Fees Client objectives Validation rules ASIC guidelines Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Step 5 – view all Statements of Advice A full audit trail is available for future reference. Includes client decisions, correspondence, advice documents and e-signature records Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Support & assistance We are pleased to provide: Help guide Personal screen-share training (free) Webinars Phone support on 03 6240 1575 Call or email to discuss your clients advice needs info@asap-advice. com. au Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Frequently Asked Questions Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

FAQs What can my staff discuss without a license? There is still a lot that an unlicensed accountant can discuss without a license, or is an exempt service under Regulation 7. 1. 29. But great care must be taken to avoid inadvertently breaking the law See here for further detail: www. huntergreen. com. au/wp-content/uploads/unlicensed-advice-by-accountants. docx NB: A. S. A. P. provides accountants with a simple scoping tool to use, free of charge, to help determine when licensed advice is required. The accuracy of our tool has been verified by our legal advisers and licensee, but naturally we must always recommend that accountants exercise their independent judgment, and/or receive compliance advice themselves. Unlicensed accountants (who are tax practitioners) can still: Provide factual information and explain rules but cannot lead the client down a certain route Provide tax advice including the tax consequences of transactions* Provide compliance advice Complete administrative tasks where the client has received advice *But cannot recommend a specific financial product (e. g. an SMSF) be used for the clients transactions, nor recommend transaction amounts other than maximums or minimums to minimise tax. Must provide a specific disclaimer set out in Reg 7. 1. 29(4)(c)(ii) telling the client to take advice from an AFSL holder. See next slide. Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Reg 7. 1. 29(4): (Tax advice) “For this regulation, a person also provides an exempt service if: (a) the person provides advice to another person on taxation issues including advice in relation to the taxation implications of financial products; and … ii) the advice constitutes financial product advice to a retail client and it includes, or is accompanied by, a written statement that: (A) the person providing the advice is not licensed to provide financial product advice under the Act; and (B) taxation is only one of the matters that must be considered when making a decision on a financial product; and (C) the client should consider taking advice from the holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence before making a decision on a financial product. The CAANZ and CPA recommend that “where a member who is unlicensed is requested by a client to set up a SMSF, that is provide an execution only service, the member refers the client to external resources first in order to assist the client to validate their decisions … It is highly likely that ASIC will review and question practices that frequently establish SMSFs as an execution only service. ” Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

A. S. A. P. platform What is the cost of A. S. A. P. registration and use of Scope tool? $0. A. S. A. P. has no upfront or recurring fees – payments are only required when an So. A is ordered. Can other staff members access my company account? Yes. When setting up your account, you will have the option to invite other staff members to create a login to your company account. Are there different levels of access for my company account? Yes. Administrator privileges will be granted to the person that creates the account. Administrators will be the only staff able to edit credit card details, edit company details and add/remove other staff members. Can I cancel my So. A request? You will be able to cancel your request up until the payment stage. After this, the statement of advice will arrive promptly. Accountants Scaled Advice Platform

Pricing What is the cost? Initial So. A = $250 + GST Fee per rollover = $100 + GST A manual processing cost of $100 may be incurred in some complex situations. You will be advised if this cost will apply. What are the payment options? Our preferred method of payment is via credit card at the time of ordering. However, we may offer a bank transfer option so you can pay invoices. How do I know which clients still require payment? There is a link on your membership dashboard which will take you directly to the applications that still require payment. Accountants Scaled Advice Platform