INSIGHTS BY George Haramis

How a digital adviser helps accountants compete in a changing landscape

Accountants are gearing up for one of their busiest seasons of the year. The majority are facing the same issues regarding staff.

Labour markets are tightening. Good staff are hard to find and expensive to recruit and retain, making the idea of growing or future-proofing your practice hard to comprehend.

The competitive landscape is also changing. At the end of last year, the government committed to supporting most of the QAR recommendations and digital advice. This reinforced the importance to the broader financial services industry of using digital advice to achieve scale, affordability, and accessibility.

It has brought forward plans for many, including Banks, Superfunds and Insurers, to offer digital advice.

It leaves accountants wondering how a small business can compete.

Is tech creating opportunities or taking jobs away?

Every day, there’s another article on how technology, AI and robots are replacing jobs across all industries. But there’s less talk of how it is being used to benefit the average working Aussie through new and affordable services that have previously been financially out of reach.

Professional services businesses are leveraging niche technology to open up opportunities and income streams simply and cost-effectively. One such example is financial advice

Before the recent convergence of regulation and compliant tech, it was too costly and time consuming for an accountant to offer financial advice to their clients. Not only did it require a license, it was only suitable for a small section of their book, given the price tag of $2.5-$4.5k*.

The digital adviser: serving the underserved

Now, accountants can implement a digital adviser, such a moneyGPS. Designed specifically for the 90% of Australians who cannot afford comprehensive financial advice, it enables accountants to provide value to clients they can never personally serve, opening up a new income stream for the price of a monthly subscription.

Digital advice is:

Accessible: single-topic personal advice ranges from $90-$270 per SOA.

Scalable: an unlimited ability to service clients every hour or day.

Cost-effective: subscription-based – and not a six-figure sum.

Compliant: delivered via the moneyGPS AFSL, meaning you don’t need your own license.

Total dedication: your digital adviser works 24/7 with no need for holidays.

Ahead of the curve: always up-to-date with regulatory changes.

Cohort neutral: happy to engage millennials, children of HNW, newbies entering the workforce or anyone with simple needs.

Referral-friendly: Keeps potential complex advice clients warm until they need face-to-face advice when they can be referred to your chosen partner.

Now that digital advice is mainstream, and myths around it are being busted, enterprises, institutions and banks are jumping on board. Accountants have a once-in-a decade opportunity to embrace this new technology to take their business to the next level of growth and profitability.

Book a 30-minute chat with me to discuss joining the other accounting practices who’ve subscribed to moneyGPS and brought a digital adviser on board.

* Investment Trends 2022 Financial Advice Report.

moneyGPS is a Finalist for Financial Planning Software of the Year in the Australian Wealth Management Awards for 2024

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accountantsGPS and moneyGPS SaaS products provide affordable, compliant digital advice and SMSF services, to Australians through; Institutions, Accountants, Financial Advisers, Superfunds and Employers.

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