Financial planning education: turning intention into action

Most superannuation funds in Australia conduct seminars in financial literacy in the belief that they make a difference to their members when considering their retirement strategies. The investment intentions of seminar attendees was captured at the end of the seminar, and this was followed up three months later to see whether the intentions expressed at the end of the seminar had been implemented. The results were mixed, with expressed intentions not necessarily translating into action. The implications of this research is that while such seminars are valuable, they should be specifically targeted

Identifying competency requirements for the financial planning industry in Australia: implications for educators

Compulsory superannuation was introduced in Australia in July 1992, and has led to significant growth in funds under management.  Reserve Bank of Australia data (2004) shows that in September 2004 Australians has AUD$ 767 billion invested in managed funds.  A large portion of this investment is based on the recommendation of financial planners.  This paper provides a brief history of the development of the financial services industry in Australia, with particular reference to the development of the role of the financial planner in investment decisions.

The paper focuses in detail on the set of professional skills required by financial planners given that the widely reported ASIC survey (2003), identified gaps between client expectation and competencies of financial planners.  Birkett (1996) described professional skills as the dominant individual attribute that describes a competent professional.  The individual attributes of a financial planner includes two categories: cognitive and behavioural skills.  The paper provides strong support for the view that financial planning educators should ensure adequate development of behavioural skills to enable financial planners to meet the needs of the investors they serve.

The dynamics of adult education : effectiveness of financial education seminars

This study examines the impact of adult education seminars in superannuation investments for retirement has on the investment intentions and decision making of those adults attending the seminars.  The socio-political context of the data is that of an aging population and a future government being unable to afford the current level of age pensions being paid, and attempting to encourage individuals to plan and provide for their own financial well-being in retirement.  Three themes emerged from the data and were seen to be representative of the major issues found in adult education for financial self-sufficiency: education for knowledge, education for decision making, and education for action.  In an attempt to measure the immediate impact of the seminar on the attendees decision making, the investment intentions of seminar attendees were captured at the start and end of the seminar. This was followed up three months later to see whether the intentions expressed at the end of the seminar had been implemented.  The immediate impact of the seminar was to encourage the respondents to express an intention to increase their investment strategy, however when the follow-up was done three months later, the results were mixed. Some respondents who did not express an intention to change their investment strategy actually made changes, and other respondents who did express an intention to make a change, did not do so.

Loyalty to the profession? A study of Australian financial planners

The purpose of this paper is to examine the demographic variables of age and gender in conjunction with three independent variables: Internal versus external locus of control personality dimension, individualist versus collectivist personality dimension, and perceived environmental uncertainty and to relate same to the professional commitment (PC) of financial planners in Australia. A questionnaire was used to survey a sample of 312 financial planners nationally, with a 36% response rate and statistically significant results. At the 90% confidence level (p=0.10) respondents over the age of 35 demonstrated no difference between their levels of professional commitment than did those under the age of 35, while at the same level of confidence, females demonstrated a statistically significant higher level of PC than did their male counterparts. Respondents with an external locus of control displayed lower levels of PC (p=0.10) that those with an internal locus of control. These findings contribute to our understanding of the professional commitment of financial planners, and are important from a public policy perspective in an era of increasing attention to, and likely increased regulation of, the financial planning industry.

Organisational commitment of financial planners in Australia

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the demographic variables of age, gender and length of service can be shown to be related to the organisational commitment (OC) of financial planners in Australia. The financial planners were surveyed using an instrument derived from established questionnaires. It was mailed nationally to 312 financial planners. A response rate of 36% was achieved, equating to 113 useable responses. The analyses revealed statistically significant results at the 90% confidence level (p=0.10), that respondents over the age of 35 demonstrated a significantly higher level of OC than did those under the age of 35, and at the same level of confidence, females demonstrated a statistically significant higher level of OC than did their male counterparts.

Such findings contribute to our understanding of the organisational commitment of Financial Planners, and have implications for employers in terms of hiring and retention of employees. The analyses are also important from a public policy perspective in an era of increasing attention given to, and likely increased regulation of, the financial planning industry.

An examination of the organisational commitment of financial planners

This paper sets out to determine whether the demographic variables of age, gender, length of service can be shown to be related to the organisational commitment (OC) of financial planners in Australia. The financial planners were surveyed using an instrument derived from established questionnaires. It was mailed nationally to 312 financial planners. A response rate of 36% was achieved, equating to 113 useable responses. The analyses revealed statistically significant results at the 95% confidence level (p=0.05), that female respondents demonstrated a statistically significant higher level of OC than did their male counterparts.Such findings contribute to our understanding of the organisational commitment of Financial Planners, and have implications for employers in terms of hiring and retention of employees. The analyses are also important from a public policy perspective in an era of increasing attention given to, and likely increased regulation of, the financial planning industry.

Professional commitment of financial planners in Australia: an examination

The purpose of this paper is to examine the demographic variables of age and gender in conjunction with three independent variables: Internal versus external locus of control personality dimension, individualist versus collectivist personality dimension, and perceived environmental uncertainty and to relate same to the professional commitment (PC) of financial planners in Australia. A questionnaire was used to survey a sample of 312 financial planners nationally, with a 36% response rate and statistically significant results. At the 95% confidence level (p=0.05) respondents over the age of 35 demonstrated no difference between their levels of professional commitment than did those under the age of 35, while at the same level of confidence, females demonstrated no statistically significant difference in their level of PC than did their male counterparts. Respondents with an external locus of control displayed lower levels of PC (p=0.05), than those with an internal locus of control but these were not statistically significant. These findings contribute to our understanding of the professional commitment of financial planners, and are important from a public policy perspective in an era of increasing attention to, and likely increased regulation of, the financial planning industry.

Financial planners in Australia : an examination of loyalty

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the demographic variables of age, gender and length of service, and the levels of the three independent variables of internal versus external locus of control personality dimension, individualist versus collectivist personality dimension, and perceived environmental uncertainty can be shown to be related to the organisational commitment (OC) and professional commitment (PC) of financial planners in Australia. The financial planners employed by one major Australian bank, during the period November to December, 2004 were surveyed using an instrument derived from established questionnaires. It was mailed nationally to 312 financial planners. A response rate of 36% was achieved, equating to 113 useable responses. The analyses revealed no statistically significant results at the 95% confidence level (p=0.05), that the level of OC and PC for respondents over the age of 35 differed from those under the age of 35. At the same level of confidence, females demonstrated a statistically significant higher level of OC than did their male counterparts, however there was no difference between their levels of PC. Financial planners employed for a period of over 3 years showed no difference in their levels of OC or PC than those employed for a period of less than 3 years (p=0.05). Respondents with an external locus of control displayed  statistically significant lower levels of OC than those with an internal locus of control, however there was no difference between these groups in their levels of PC (p=0.05). Such findings contribute to our understanding of the organisational and professional commitment of financial planners, and have implications for employers in terms of hiring and retention of employees. The analyses are also important from a public policy perspective in an era of increasing attention to, and likely increased regulation of, the financial planning industry.

Accounting services and SMEs : an Australian study

Background: The observance of regulation has become a fundamental part of life for the conduct of business around the world. Governments and their duly appointed designates, acting in the interest of the collective public, have relied on regulation to moderate economic and social behaviour through the imposition and enforcement of rules. While it can be commonly accepted that such a prescriptive framework may be necessary for the achievement of desired economic and social outcomes, regulation does impose costs on society and on individual firms. These costs, which can include the costs for government departments to administer, the cost for firms to comply, and the multitude of indirect costs such as lost innovation and productivity or their interrelated opportunity costs, have received ample attention.

Accountants are key advisers to all businesses on all aspects of doing business, including regulation. As such, it is appropriate that ACCA has sponsored this study, which explores the regulatory issues facing SMEs and the critical role that accountants and other organisations play in helping SMEs be aware of, comply with and generally manage effectively the regulations that apply to their business.

ACCA has consistently argued for a balanced view to be taken on regulation, recognising that certain rules are necessary for the fair development of business and for employees’ rights. Yet at the same time, ACCA recognises that SMEs are likely to be disproportionately burdened by regulatory requirements and, as a consequence, it actively campaigns for fairness in regulation, recognising the issue as a significant factor in the success, productivity and growth of small businesses.

Overview: This study complements similar research commissioned by ACCA in the United Kingdom and Canada (Blackburn et al. 2006), with the aim of helping to provide a more international picture of the effects of regulation on adviceseeking by SMEs and how accountants can help SMEs meet their regulatory obligations.

The research commenced in November 2006 and was conducted over the Australian summer period 2006/7, among SMEs and accounting practices, as follows:

* telephone survey among 250 SMEs
* postal survey among 130 accounting practitioner firms.

Key findings: The SME section of this study revealed the following points.

* Most SMEs (between 70% and 80%), agreed that the regulations under review were reasonable, however there were significantly high levels of concern regarding:
* the number of regulations affecting their business (80%)
* staying up to date with changing regulations (80%)
* complexity of regulation or the ease of understanding regulations (77%)
* inequity, or the cost of regulation in proportion to the business (66%)
* duplication, or being required to provide the same information to more than one government department (55%).
* External accountants were the most common source of advice, being used by 72% of SMEs; this was followed by federal government agencies,    62%; trade or industry bodies, 61%; and a lawyer or solicitor, 53%.
* Highest levels of satisfaction with the advice provided were recorded for lawyers/solicitors (94%), banks (91%) and external accountants (90%).
* Overall, 80% of SMEs who had used accountants rated their service as excellent or good. Thirty per cent gave accountants an excellent rating.
* Accountants rated particularly well on the following attributes:
* the potential for a long-term relationship with the business (81% excellent/good)
* technical understanding of the regulatory requirements that apply to the business (79%)
* ability to meet the needs of the business (77%)
* understanding of the business of the SME and its operations (73%).

The survey of accounting practitioners produced the following information.
* The results indicate that SME firms with fewer than 10 employees are the main source of revenue for the respondent accounting practitioners.
* Virtually all accountants provide regulatory advice, primarily in the areas of taxation (particularly Goods and Services Tax, GST), and Do-It-      Yourself (DIY) superannuation requirements. These services provided the accountants with their largest business growth in the two years before the time of the survey.

Seventy-nine per cent of accountants referred their SME clients to external professional advisers. Their comments indicate (see Appendix 4) that some accountants consider their role to be as convenors or advisers for their SME clients. Importantly, according to the accountants, SME firms with fewer than 10 employees did not update their knowledge of regulatory requirements; they relied on their accountant for the right advice. The main types of external adviser to whom accountants referred their SME clients were lawyers and financial planners.

* Accountants expressed their concern regarding the complexity and amount of regulations affecting their SME clients.
* The accountants also stated that they would like to provide additional advice to their SME clients.
 
Confidence intervals – SME survey:  The survey sample size was 250 SMEs from the total of 1.2 million Australian SMEs. Any estimate of proportions agreeing or disagreeing with particular statements must be considered with respect to the margin of possible statistical error. Owing to the small sample size, generalising the results from this study to a wider population of SMEs may be constrained.

A 95% confidence interval of the sample mean for the following estimates based on a percentage agreement of 75% to a proposition with a sample size of 250 would be from 69.5% to 80.5%. The 95% confidence interval for estimates of any other value will diverge slightly in magnitude from the numbers given.

In general then we can be highly confident that the actual sample mean will be within approximately ± 5% of the figure given, with a survey of this size. Confidence intervals – acounting practitioner survey IBISWorld estimates reveal a figure of 9,222 accounting practices in Australia as at June 2006 (IBISWorld 2007). The sample size of 133 accounting practitioners gives a 95% confidence limit that the results reported from the mail-out survey are within the ± 5% confidence interval of the reported values.

Conclusions:  This report describes the results of two parallel surveys undertaken on the impact of business regulation on small and medium-sized enterprises in Australia and on the perceptions of accounting firms about the ways in which the regulatory impact on the SME sector drove their business.

The survey of SMEs provides empirical support for many of the concerns raised with the Regulation Taskforce, which reported to the Australian government in 2006. Many businesses are concerned about the volume and complexity of government legislation as it applies to their business. They are concerned that they are unable to keep up with new legislation and that there is apparent duplication of reporting requirements across the various tiers of government.

The survey of accountants revealed that accounting firms derive a significant proportion of their revenue from SMEs. While the SMEs are concerned with regulatory changes, the accountants surveyed reported that the major growth areas in their businesses were in what could be seen as traditional accounting areas of tax and superannuation. Some SMEs sought advice on areas such as employment law, environmental regulation and health and safety but it appears that many accountants refer their clients to specialists in these areas. Recent changes to the laws regarding financial planning in Australia may lead to changes in the market for financial advice in Australia, with many accountants apparently regarding this as a key driver of future business opportunities.

The surveys were conducted using a similar instrument to similar surveys conducted in the UK and Canada and reported in Blackburn et al. (2006). Comparisons of the Australian survey results with those from the UK and Canada seem to support the perception that Australian business is not over-regulated, but the SME sector is concerned with the volume and complexity of regulation. This suggests that the SME sector wants to see improvements to Australia’s regulatory regime as a result of the work of the Regulation Taskforce undertaken in 2005/6. In its response to the work of the Taskforce the government agreed with 158 of the 178 specific recommendations of the Taskforce. This now needs to be followed through at all levels of government.

Accountants in all three countries understand their SME clients’ concerns with the burden of regulation and they are prepared to advise their clients where appropriate or refer them to specialist advisers. Most business growth for accountants has come from the taxation area. Very few accountants in the UK or Australia specialise in providing advice in the areas of environmental regulation or health and safety regulation.

International comparisons show that in all three countries accountants are generally highly regarded by SMEs for their professionalism and competence. The major area of client concern is the value for money offered by the accountant’s service. In an era of rapidly shifting professional and technical boundaries, accountants need to be more strongly attuned to levels of client satisfaction. Lawyers, financial planners and a plethora of specialist advisers operate in the business services market and if they have an opportunity to take business from accountants by competing on price they may well do so. This suggests a stronger role for professional accounting bodies in monitoring the broader business services market for opportunities and threats on behalf of their membership.

Agent-Based Hybrid Intelligent Systems: An Agent-Based Framework for Complex Problem Solving

Pt. I. Fundamentals of hybrid intelligent systems and agents -- 1. Introduction -- 2. Basics of hybrid intelligent systems -- 3. Basics of agents and multi-agent systems -- Pt. II. Methodology and framework -- 4. Agent-oriented methodologies -- 5. Agent-based framework for hybrid intelligent systems --6. Matchmaking in middle agents -- Pt. III. Application systems -- 7. Agent-based hybrid intelligent system for financial investment
planning -- 8. Agent-based hybrid intelligent system for data mining -- Pt. IV. Concluding remarks -- 9. The less the more -- App. Sample source codes of the agent-based financial planning system

The establishment of large private nature reserves by conservation NGOs : key factors for successful implementation

Private nature reserves created by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are increasing, and their growing number and extent means that they can potentially contribute to biodiversity goals at a global scale. However, the success of these reserves depends on the legal, economic and institutional conditions framing their creation and management. We explored these conditions, and the opportunities and challenges facing conservation organizations in managing private nature reserves, across several countries, with an emphasis on Australia. Results from 17 semi-structured interviews with representatives of private conservation organizations indicated that while private reserves may enhance the conservation estate, challenges remain. Legal frameworks, especially tenure and economic laws, vary across and within countries, presenting conservation organizations with significant opportunities or constraints to owning and/or managing private nature reserves. Many acquired land without strategic acquisition procedures and secured funding for property acquisition but not management, affecting the long-term maintenance of properties. Other typical problems were tied to the institutional capacity of the organizations. Greater planning within organizations, especially financial planning, is required and NGOs must understand opportunities and constraints present in legislative frameworks at the outset. Organizations must establish their expertise gaps and address them. To this end, partnerships between organizations and/or with government can prove critical.