TOA Global partners with Smarter SMSF to deliver SMSF foundations course
Outsourced accounting service provider TOA Global is pleased to announce its partnership with Smarter SMSF to deliver a SMSF foundations course that will enable TOA’s team members who specialise in the self-managed super funds (SMSF) area to build their technical skills and earn continuing professional development (CPD) credits. The move marks a first for the outsourcing and accounting industry in the Philippines, where TOA’s team members are based.
“Aaron Dunn (certified practising accountant and SMSF specialist adviser) has written this course specifically for TOA Global’s needs, with the aim of helping our team members be successful in building the technical skills they require,” said Nick Sinclair, founder of TOA Global, based on the Gold Coast, Australia. “No other provider in the Philippines has this type of course available for their team members.”
TOA Global, the second largest employer of offshore accountants in the Philippines, will provide the course through TOA Global Academy, its training academy. TOA’s team members – the employees who work for TOA’s clients – will begin taking the course in early 2021.
“The course is made up of six modules, providing a total of 18 CPD hours,” said Dunn, CEO and co-founder of Smarter SMSF. “It is available as a standalone course, or alternatively can be accessed as a package along with a series of quarterly SMSF technical updates. We are looking to roll out further training materials for TOA team members in 2021.”
Megan Reed, chief people officer of TOA Global and TOA Global Academy, says there is no doubt skills are the new currency for the 21st century.
“In our industry in particular, this could not be more true,” said Reed. “By enabling our SMSF professionals with this dedicated training and resources, we know that our team are building contemporary and critical skills that will make the biggest impact for our SMSF clients.”
The course includes the following modules:
- Introduction to Super and SMSFs
- Investment rules
- Contribution rules
- Pensions and paying benefits
- Taxation of SMSF and member benefits
- Statutory reporting and responsibilities
Dunn and Sinclair came up with the idea for the course when they were both speaking at an event in 2019.
“I was talking about how we were wanting to get a course for our TOA team members to help them with their technical skills and take some of this training away from our clients,” Sinclair explained. “I wanted a course that could be part of their annual training plans. Aaron has written many courses in the past and is a respected and well-known trainer in the SMSF area.”
Dunn added, “Both Nick and I identified an opportunity for Smarter SMSF to partner with TOA to build products that would support existing TOA team members and allow TOA to continue to attract new talent through its market-leading education and development programs.”
The partnership with TOA Global is an important one for Smarter SMSF in that it helps the company play a role in increasing the knowledge and education of TOA staff who are working within the area of SMSF, Dunn said.
“Like any partnership, we see this first opportunity together as something that we can continue to strengthen over time as both businesses continue to grow with additional training and resources to support the growing number of staff working within the SMSF sector,” he said.
