Financial planners and dealer group chiefs have seized on the eight-page statement of advice (SOA) idea mooted by the FPA to slash red tape, disclosure and costs.

The plain English short-form SOA knocks 50 per cent off the cost of preparation and slashes production time by half, FPA chief executive Jo-Anne Bloch told delegates at the FPA 2007 National Conference.

The industry body will hold the new Federal Government to its pledge of slashing red tape and will urgently present the short-form SOA to Financial Services minister Lindsay Tanner.

"Reducing the size of SOAs is a fantastic goal for the FPA to pursue as it's critical to improving transparency and client understanding," MLC Advice Solutions general manager Greg Miller told InvestorDaily.