What Can a Registered SMSF Auditor or Self Managed Super Fund auditor do?
A major requirement in the management of an SMSF is that it is professionally audited each year.
Under the Australian Taxation Office’s self-managed super fund regulations, this must be done by an approved auditor who undertakes full financial and compliance audit of your super fund. As trustee of the fund, you must provide the auditor with:
Your fund’s financial statements and tax return. You will also be asked to provide other documentation that relates to the fund and to the transactions that have occurred during the year.
A compliance audit involves assessing the administration of your SMSF to ensure compliance with the superannuation rules. The financial audit looks at how and where you have invested your super funds, to ensure there are no illegal or fraudulent transactions.
What can I expect from my Audit?
Before starting the fund audit, the auditor will ask for a letter of representation from you. This letter is a statement from the trustees that the SMSF trustees believe that the financial statements are a fair representation, and that the super fund complies with the superannuation laws. This is a legally binding document.
To meet the requirements of the ATO’s rules for self-managed super funds, your auditor must:
Provide you with an audit report before the due date for lodgement of your SMSF’s annual return
All our clients are encouraged to contact us at any time for any technical queries they may have. We are one of Australia’s leading SMSF audit firms with knowledge gained from working in the SMSF industry for many years, so having the ability to leverage off our technical knowledge and experience is one of the main benefits our clients enjoy.
Should there be any contentious issues we will outline our findings to you, including whether we believe an Auditor Contravention Report (ACR) is necessary. Where it is concluded an ACR is required, we work with you to ensure the issues are rectified, or a plan is in place to rectify the issues, before the ACR is lodged. Drawing on our vast experience in SMSF audit, we will be able provide you with guidance in relation to the solutions and plans the ATO may find appropriate.
What happens if my SMSF breaches a superannuation law?
Small and minor breaches (e.g. a bank account going into overdraft for a few days) may lead to the ATO requesting your bank statements and issuing a warning not to repeat this.
Major breaches (such as a fund member withdrawing funds before their retirement age) may lead to the fund being deemed as non-compliant. The ATO can tax the fund’s net assets at 46.5% effectively halving your super fund overnight.
