Advisers are using financial planning software to aid Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) compliance, according to an Investment Trends report on technology.

“The use of workflow-based compliance benchmarking requires advisers to use much more of their applications than [to] just produce statement-of-advice documents,” Investment Trends analyst Ian Webster said.

“Aligning compliance with increased practice efficiency should deliver a better business and more consistent client outcomes.”

The report says dealer groups put a significant amount of energy into configuring their planning software and adviser training to comply with FOFA.

“They have taken this opportunity to encourage their advisers to use more of the practice efficiency functionality developed in recent years,” Mr Webster said. “Adding planning functionality to other applications is much easier than in the past with the availability of cloud-based modelling modules from XPLAN, Provisio and AdviceOS.”

The report also says planning software providers are helping advisers use mobile devices at client meetings.

“Applications such as XPLANtouch, Coin Connect and Westpac Discover Your World support client-friendly presentation and data-collection tools connected in real time,” Mr Webster said.

“These applications enable advisers to support their value-of-advice proposition, where they spend most of their time with clients while the practice manages client relationships and generates advice documentation.”