The accounting body has decided to enter the financial advisory industry in Australia, arguing that there is a need for unconflicted guidance.

CPA Australia, the accounting body, is set to enter the financial advisory market in the form of CTA Australia Advice, it announced last week, with the firm saying it is responding to a need for unbiased counsel for people who had been poorly guided in the past.

The new company will soon work to secure an Australian Financial Services Licence and an Australian Credit Licence to operate as a financial services business, CPA Australia said in a statement.

“Too many everyday Australians have suffered as a result of poor financial advice driven by conflicts of interest,” Alex Malley, CEO of both CPA Australia and CPA Australia Advice, said.

Australia’s financial services industry has been affected, as have many others, by sagas of poor financial advice. Regulators in a number of jurisdictions, such as the UK, have sought to stamp out biased advice by outlawing trail commission payments and by forcing firms to be more transparent on their fees and charging policy.

“As an organisation committed to the public interest, and approaching our 130th year, the CPA Australia board has made the unanimous decision to take action and offer a solution,” Malley said.

“CPA Australia Advice represents a game changer for financial advice in this country,” he continued.

Malley said the business will have “no commissions, no hidden incentives, no asset based fees - just pure and transparent fee-for-service…..This means the operation of CPA Australia Advice will be consistent with Section 923A of the Corporations Act 2001 which allows us to use terms like ‘independent’, ‘impartial’ and ‘unbiased.’”

“We go into this with our eyes wide open. We know that the big financial institutions, some of the biggest companies in Australia, dominate this sector but we believe Australian consumers seeking financial advice deserve a fully transparent and independent alternative,” he continued.