Accountants who want to continue to provide SMSF advice from 1 July 2016 must be appropriately licenced. One of the licencing options is a limited AFS licence which requires the accountant to be a member of an ASIC-approved external dispute resolution scheme (EDR) like the Financial Ombudsman Service Australia (FOS). FOS says it will work to “resolve disputes co-operatively, quickly and impartially”. FOS adds that it has a streamlined membership process for accountants taking up a limited license. Further information is available on the FOS website.
[LTN 51, 17/3/15]