Accountants add to Monitor Money’s bottom line

Axa-owned dealer group Monitor Money will take its accountant alliance program nationwide next year and plans to sign up an additional 20 accounting firms over the next 12 months.

“We have a dozen smaller firms signed up already and two dozen in the pipeline,” Mark Meehan, Monitor Money executive director, said. Under the arrangement Monitor Money assists accountants with their self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) clients. In addition to essential investment advice for SMSF trustees the dealer group also provides accountants with marketing and communication support and access to a series of seminars. Under FSR legislation accountants can no longer give SMSF trustees financial product advice if they do not have an Australian Financial Services Licence. “Our program is for the smaller accounting firms that will find it difficult to invest in licensing,” Meehan said. Each accounting firm signs an alliance deed with Monitor Money that may include a financial arrangement but usually outlines a revenue-sharing plan and places a value on the accounting business. Meehan would not disclose financial details of the deeds. “The deed gives both parties reassurance regarding the arrangement,” Meehan said. The group will also take its series of accounting seminars to other major capital cities outside of Sydney next year and will offer a new series of seminars for the SMSF trustee clients of its alliance accountants. Monitor Money currently has 25 advisers, all specialist SMSF professionals, who can support up to 40 alliances, according to Meehan “We’ll look at expanding staff and resources once we’ve reached that target hopefully sometime next year,” he said. Meehan said Axa will continue to allow the group to retain its SMSF focus despite the appointment of former head of ipac Peeyush Gupta to the new position of Axa head of advice in April this year. Meehan now reports to Gupta.