CPA to review advice arm in 2018

As per the recommendations of former auditor-general Ian McPhee’s review, the new chair of CPA Australia Advice, Suzanne Haddan, will oversee a post-implementation evaluation of the licensing arm, which has lost $7.4 million since its establishment in 2015.

Ms Haddan will be joined by Hong Kong-based Arun Nangia, who joins the board of CPA Australia Advice this week. An additional director is under consideration for 2018, when the entirely new CPA Australia board comes into effect.

CPA Australia Advice has struggled from the start. It was granted an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) and Australian Credit Licence (ACL) less than three months out from the expiration of the accountants’ exemption, which was a key motivator for accountants to get authorised under an AFSL.

Aside from its huge losses, it has also only onboarded 27 authorised representatives as of last month, which is well short of the business case estimates of 250 by this year. If its current pace of growth continues, there is little to no chance of reaching a target of 1,360 authorised representatives by 2019.

However, ifa sister title Accountants Daily has reported that several accountants and training providers that are authorised representatives of CPA’s licence are happy with the service they’re receiving, at a time when many accountants are considering a switch from their original licence of choice.

The association has also revealed it will adopt a more conservative approach to executive contracts as it continues its search for a new CEO.