Technology can add to relationship between SMSF clients and accountants: CEO
Technology can help accountants deliver strategic guidance and affordable advice for their SMSF clients, says the founder of an innovative software platform.
George Haramis, CEO and co-founder of accountantsGPS and moneyGPS, said technology enhances both an accountant’s ability to deliver tailored strategic guidance to SMSFs, affordable advice to individual member clients, and their reputation as their clients’ trusted adviser.
“Research we did a couple of years ago overwhelmingly showed accountants were the most trusted financial advisers to offer personal advice services, and that extends to the area of supporting SMSFs,” he said.
The research, which looked at what the needs of clients were in regard to digital advice in financial services, showed that while individuals thought digital advice was a great idea, they also trusted their accountants to offer that advice.
“This was one of the reasons which influenced our business to offer our digital platforms to accountants, because of that trust factor,” Mr Haramis said.
Mr Haramis said accountantsGPS was developed from this feedback.
accountantsGPS is a SaaS platform designed with SMSF specialists in mind and enables accountants to do weeks, if not months, of analysis in just a few minutes and produce a comprehensive factual digital report, called the SMSF Check-Up Report.
“We looked at the specific business needs of accountants in a financial sense but also the needs of SMSFs – trustees and members,” he said.
“Technology is a great enabler and these days it is at the point where we can support accountants, by leveraging our digital capability to offer factual advice and guidance to individuals and SMSFs respectively.”
Mr Haramis said that from his previous experience, owning a boutique ASFL firm which had 35 accounting firms licensed to offer SMSF advice, he realised that while accountants are very good at compliance work, they may not be as good at “looking behind the numbers”.
“In my previous business, when I showed accountants the analysis of an SMSF using a spreadsheet, and how much the SMSFs had in assets, where those assets were, reviewed their insurance, documentation and other key aspects of a fund, they were gobsmacked,” he said.
He added the technology developed by accountantsGPS to produce the factual SMSF Check-Up Report is an Australian first.
The report was created in collaboration with BGL Corporate Solutions and allows accountants to leverage their capabilities by producing a strategic analysis of SMSFs in under five minutes.
Depending on the fund structure, the software can review, categorise, and determine the overall weighting and performance of hundreds or thousands of individual assets in a fund.
It can perform an apples-for-apples comparison and benchmarking against similar SMSFs and APRA funds.
“We don’t want accountants to be caught up in technology,” he said. “Whilst it’s a very important enabler, it’s how we use technology that’s critical.
“Technology gives accountants the tools to better engage with clients and discuss a range of strategies – not advice – to better assist them”
Tailored guidance promotes trust
The technology behind accountantsGPS can be used to identify compliance shortfalls and risks, such as a corporate trustee with more members than directors, or if any assets are outside of an acceptable range. It also ensures that tailored guidance is within the accountants’ regulatory parameters. If there is any advice requirement, the accountant can either engage their own financial adviser or the services offered by accountantsGPS.
“Traditionally, this kind of insightful and strategic guidance has not been profitable for accounting practices due to the significant research and analysis required,” Mr Haramis said.
“But with technology doing the heavy lifting, accountants and their SMSF clients can reap the benefits and achieve a stronger relationship and improved compliance and financial outcomes.”
Mr Haramis said although SMSF clients do often seek other financial advice, from his own experience, they want to remain with their accountant because of the high level of trust.
“SMSF members are wanting their accountants to be able to assist them in all financial matters,” he said.
“Even to the extent that they will ask for all their data to be sent from their accountant to help pre-populate our fact-finds because of the trust they have in them.”
Mr Haramis said one of the advantages of accountantsGPS and moneyGPS is that accountants don’t need to be a licensed financial adviser to access and use the digital platforms to their advantage.
“And when accountants can use technology like ours to engage not just their clients, but the children of those clients, and expand their services to them, they can grow their business. This is particularly the case given the massive transfer of intergenerational wealth that is occurring,” he said.
To hear George Haramis talk about how technology can help accountants in the SMSF space come along to the SMSF Adviser Technical Strategy Day 2023.
It will be held in the following locations:
17 October 2023 at Four Seasons, Sydney
18 October 2023 at Rydges Southbank, Brisbane
25 October 2023 at Grand Hyatt, Melbourne
Click here to buy tickets and don’t miss out!
For more information, including agenda and speakers, click here.
