De Gori, FPA directors cop pay cuts in FY20

According to the FPA’s annual report for FY20, chief executive Dante De Gori earned $485,000 in total remuneration including salary, bonuses and super, down from $502,000 in the 2019 financial year.

The report revealed that director remuneration for the 2020 year had decreased to $324,000 from $304,000 in 2019, while overall short-term executive remuneration for the association had remained steady at $1.59 million.

The FPA saw a decline in total revenue over the year from $13.39 million in 2019 to $12.43 million in 2020, due to plummeting investment income and a decrease in membership subscriptions and CFP enrolments.

While 1,090 new members joined the FPA in the 2020 year, just 5,550 were listed as CFP members, down from 5,734 in 2019. 

The declines came as the association made substantial cuts to staff over the 2020 year, in order to “align the FPA to new strategic priorities and ensure it continues to best serve member needs”, Mr De Gori said in the report.

The association’s financial statements showed it reduced overall employee expenses from $5.84 million to $5.83 million, cut advertising and marketing from $864,000 to $695,000, and reduced administration costs from $1.54 million to $1.28 million.

The FPA had 13,189 total members as at 30 June, and noted it had seen an increase in the proportion of female members to 27 per cent, compared with the industry average of 20 per cent female financial planners.

The report also noted there had been 21 complaints made against members in the 2020 year, with five still open for investigation as of June.