SMSFA

Exciting program to mark face-to-face return

JOHN MARONEY is chief executive of the SMSF Association. The decision to postpone the SMSF Association National Conference at the Adelaide Convention Centre for obvious COVID reasons until 20 April has delivered some unexpected benefits. Firstly, the federal budget will have been handed down three weeks earlier, so delegates can expect association policy and education director Peter Burgess to analyse all its implications for the SMSF sector in his Legs & Regs update on the opening morning.

Secondly, it means BT Financial Group head of financial literacy and advocacy and SMSF Association board member Bryan Ashenden will be able to deliver a policy update in the second plenary session at the end of the first day, but more about that later.

Thirdly, the ATO’s Paul Delahunty, recently appointed director of SMSF auditors, will participate in the audit discussion group Q&A session on the second day. It will be a great opportunity for SMSF auditors to meet and hear from the regulator’s new director in this critical position for our superannuation sector.

Ashenden’s session, appropriately titled “It’s (or is it) the end of the world as we know it?”, will be a must attend for delegates as he discusses the changes 2022 will usher in. As he will explain, this year marks the start of significant reforms in the regulatory landscape for those providing financial advice and related services. Consider the following: • the Australian Law Reform Commission is exploring the simplification of financial services laws, • Treasury is conducting its Quality of Advice Review following the royal commission, • the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics

Authority has been disbanded, with Treasury now setting the standards and responsible for the code of ethics, and • the Australian Securities and Investments

Commission will have greater oversight of compliance.

The list does not stop there. With adviser registration with the Tax Practitioners Board no longer required, will exemptions for accountants providing non-investment-related advice to SMSFs become part of the advisory landscape again? Will there be additional education requirements or will the existing requirements change? It all seems very daunting – at the very least, there will be much to ponder.

The Thought Leadership Breakfast has become part of the conference’s staple diet, providing the opportunity to crystal ball gaze a future industry trend. This year the two-hour session on the opening day will dissect how technology is having an impact on the sector today, where it is heading and what this will mean for practice owners, practitioners and at-scale SMSF service providers.

Once again, an expert panel has been assembled, this year comprising David Smith, founding director of Smithink, which assists professional service firms with their strategy, business management, governance, mergers and acquisitions and succession, association chief executive John Maroney, BGL managing director Ron Lesh and OpenInvest cofounder and chief executive Andrew Varlamos.

In what will be a conference first, a symposium will be held on day one. Titled “Resetting retirement income advice – Building a retirement advice-centred community and best practice system”, it boasts four high-calibre speakers: Allianz Retire+ investment specialist Tim Dowling, SMSF Association board member and former Retirement Income Review panellist Dr Deborah Ralston, Hub24 senior business strategy manager Greg Hansen and Encore Advisory Group executive chairman Tom Reddacliff.

Two other plenary sessions certain to garner interest will be delivered by Cooper Grace Ward partner and association board member Scott Hay-Bartlem, who will address the topic of “The SMSF estate planning narrative – Joining the dots and bringing it all together with common conference themes and other current SMSF estate planning issues”, and Heffron managing director Meg Heffron, who will dissect the contribution strategy landscape in 2022.

The popular workshops, which have become such a feature of these events, will not only provide delegates with a deep dive into current technical topics, but also offer an excellent opportunity for them to be discussed and debated in an open forum.

The national conference has always been the ideal event for industry trends and changes to be analysed. But it’s not just an educational experience. Over the years it has allowed delegates to network at the many social functions that help make it the pre-eminent event on the SMSF calendar. This year, after more than two years since the last face-to-face event, this opportunity to engage with their peers at all levels will be savoured all the more. See you in Adelaide in April.