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Fintech start-up to capitalise on new licensing regime
With the end of accountant’s exemption looming, robo-advice software provider Mafematica says it will be targeting accountants looking to strengthen their financial advice offering with its information and data services.
According to Mafematica managing director Derek Condell, who spoke to Accountants Daily, SMSF Adviser’s sister publication, while there are some accountants reluctant to introduce their clients to something which could result in professional insurance risk, there are also those accountants who want to strengthen their services in the financial services space.
“[If] I want to strengthen my services in the financial services space what do I need to provide those services?” asked Mr Condell.
Mr Condell said this will involve obtaining an AFSL or the accountant associating themselves with a big dealer group with an AFSL and undergoing the relevant education to become qualified, and then filling out the ASIC forms and paperwork to prove they’re capable.
“Then I need systems, and for an accountant, the sort of systems that we want to provide are culturally aligned with accountant’s needs,” he said.
“We’re going to provide them with information and data about the investments and information and data about the output, so as to give them a really good conversation that they can have with their client.”
Mr Condell said if the accountant is having a conversation with the client where the client is learning, the accountant is also learning and getting excited with the new tools they have to access answers, then the client is getting a higher level of service.
“So they’re the sorts of things we’ve got to do,” he said.
Mafematica, he said, is not going into the administration area, however.
“One of the reasons we’ve decided that is ... a lot of accounting firms are starting their own administration business, they might be even aggregating with even three, four or five firms in the town or suburb,” he said.
Mr Condell said the business will be able to tap into administration services such as these.
“There's definitely plenty of vendors trying to sell them licences and education and everything else, but there's not many vendors that are offering them the sort of automated adviser help type service that a group like Mafematica is doing,” he said.
“Not many people are focusing on accountants as a significant distribution channel for their business, and [accountants] are so different to financial planners that the big institutions don’t actually know [what] to do.”
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