Accounting firms to tender for KiwiSaver project
The Investment Savings and Insurance Association (ISI) has put a proposed sector standard for measurement and disclosure of the investment performance of KiwiSaver funds up for tender in a bid to get greater buy-in from the wider industry.Chief executive Vance Arkinstall said the ISI had been working on an industry standard, as recommended by the Securities Commission in its KiwiSaver guidelines out this week, since before Christmas, but had decided to put it up for tender to dampen potential criticism that it may be biased in favour of the industry association's members.
"After the Huljich thing came up, even if we did a good job, there was a risk of being seen as bowing to our own members and the industry setting its own standards and not necessarily for consumers," Arkinstall said. "We've gone to the four major chartered accounting firms and asked them to tender for the undertaking of the project for us."
He says this will have the advantage of bringing a "good degree of independence" and make any industry standard more attractive to funds that are not members of the ISI and consumers alike.
Market regulator the Securities Commission released guidelines for KiwiSaver funds after Huljich Wealth Management managing director and chief financial officer Peter Huljich resigned after it became known he had topped up the performance of his fund.
Arkinstall said he expects whichever accounting firm that wins the tender will make a recommendation on which standard to adopt faster than the ISI could due to the commitments by the industry group's members.
He will discuss the proposed industry standard with the Ministry of Economic Development, Government Actuary and Securities Commission.
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