Statement from the Board 13 September 2019

1. Policy and Advocacy Roadshow 

Advocacy and thought leadership remain central to CPA Australia’s goal of influencing policy for the benefit of the profession. As part of this, CPA Australia’s Policy and Advocacy team is continuing its Policy Update Roadshow. Series two of this roadshow will visit capital and regional centres across Australia, as well as New Zealand, to discuss with members current topics impacting the accounting profession. These include:

• The Federal Government’s tax and superannuation policy agenda post-election
• Financial planning, superannuation, retirement savings and aged care reviews
• Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into the regulation of auditing in Australia
• Regulatory burden
• Financial reporting
• Climate Change policy 

To check dates and locations for the Policy Update Roadshow, visit the Courses and Events pages.

2. Public Practice advertising campaign

To assist with our goal of promoting the CPA designation, CPA Australia is running the public practice advertising campaign we originally launched in April 2018. The campaign, which is running Australia-wide on TV and radio, highlights the value of choosing a CPA and promotes the broad range of services that CPAs offer. In doing so it aims to support members working in public practice by increasing the number of people who contact CPA public practitioners for professional services. 

3. Divisional Council elections

Elections will be held for Divisional Councillor positions in 11 of CPA Australia’s 13 Divisions: Australian Capital Territory, Europe, Malaysia, New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, Singapore, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.

Two Divisions, Greater China and Northern Territory, will not proceed to election as the number of nominations for these Divisions did not exceed the number of vacancies available. 

In total, 85 members have nominated to fill 47 positions on Divisional Councils. This reflects a strong desire by members to serve their communities and the profession and the Board thanks members who have expressed an interest in contributing.

Elections will be held from 30 September to 21 October 2019 with eligible voting members to be sent voting information at the opening of the polls on 30 September. The Board encourages members to participate.

4. FASEA transition period extended

The Board welcomes and supports the Australian Federal Government’s recent announcement to extend the transition period for registered financial advisers to meet the exam and qualification requirements of the new Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority’s (FASEA) standards.

Under the new requirements, existing financial advisers who were registered on the Financial Adviser Register on 1 January 2019 must:

• complete the FASEA approved exam by 1 January 2022 – one additional year
• meet FASEA’s qualification requirements by 1 January 2026 – two additional years.

CPA Australia is continuing to work with the Government and FASEA to achieve a smooth transition for members.

5. Quality Control Manual Tool (APES 320)

As a follow on from the successful release of CPA Australia’s Risk Management Framework Tool, CPA Australia is set to launch the Quality Control Manual Tool this September. This tool, which is in final stages of testing, has been designed to assist CPAs working in public practice to develop a quality control manual which is not only tailored to their firm, but to help comply with Australian Professional and Ethical Standards Board obligations (APES 320).

As with the Risk Management Framework tool, the new tool uses an easy to follow process to guide the practitioner through to the creation of a compliant quality control manual tailored to their firm’s circumstances. We will be communicating shortly with CPA Australia’s public practitioners to provide further information.

6. CPA Congress 2019

CPA Australia’s flagship event, Congress opens next week in Fiji. Running in 13 locations across seven countries around the world, CPA Congress brings together accounting and finance professionals to hear from keynote speakers, participate in workshops and discuss the big issues impacting the profession.

The theme for Congress 2019 is Business as Unusual which explores the future of money, accounting for the robots, innovation and how technology, automation, Artificial Intelligence, data analysis and the digital world are transforming business. For more information and bookings, visit the CPA Congress pages. 

Peter Wilson AM FCPA

President and Chair
On behalf of CPA Australia’s Board of Directors