Tax Practitioners Board and Financial Planning Association of Australia Sign New MOU

SYDNEY, Australia, June 25 -- The Financial Planning Association of Australia issued the following news:

In the first agreement of its kind between the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) and one of its recognised professional associations, a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed with the Financial Planning Association of Australia (FPA).

TPB Chair, Mr Ian Klug AM, said the MOU will facilitate information exchange about matters of mutual interest including compliance with the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 (TASA) and the Code of Professional Conduct.

He said that it sets out a clear and practical framework for engagement, cooperation and proactive information-sharing between the two organisations. 'This is our first finalised MOU with a recognised professional association, but we expect more to come as we continue to work closely with other associations to develop similar agreements,' Mr Klug said. 'The purpose of this agreement and the others that will follow, is to make it clear that both organisations are committed to working collaboratively for the betterment of the tax profession,' he said.

'It also highlights what information we can legally share about registered tax practitioners who are members of the respective association.'

The MOU allows for the exchange of information between the TPB and the FPA on issues including:

* misconduct by registered tax practitioners

* intelligence, operational matters and de-identified data trends

* continuing professional education opportunities.

FPA CEO, Mr Dante De Gori CFP(R), said the FPA was honoured to be the first professional association to enter into an MOU with the TPB.

'The FPA has built a strong and close working relationship with the TPB over the past eight years as tax (financial) advisers have integrated into the TPB and we have seen the benefits of a regulator whose primary focus is on the relationship between a professional and their client,' he said.

'The FPA has demonstrated a commitment to enforcing and holding members accountable to professional codes of ethics for over 25 years and we welcome the opportunity to work more closely with the TPB on encouraging professional behaviour for the protection of consumers.'

Mr Klug said that since starting MOU discussions with the FPA earlier this year, the TPB has received several expressions of interest from other recognised professional associations.