SMSF auditors – what you need to know now
We would like to update self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditors, trustees and professionals about our compliance work with SMSF auditors.
Approved SMSF auditors have a critical role in helping to maintain the health and integrity of the SMSF sector. We work closely with ASIC to support and regulate SMSF auditors.
When it comes to auditor compliance, prevention is better than cure. Our compliance approach is designed to support SMSF auditors as well as identify and deal with those we consider high-risk. We:
provide information and guidance to help SMSF auditors understand and comply with their professional obligations and the super laws
provide specialist support products
conduct audits and reviews of SMSF auditors where our data or intelligence indicates there may be some concerns with their compliance and behaviour.
We also provide information and advice to SMSF auditors where our data indicates areas of concern. The SMSF auditors area on our website provides substantial information on all of the above.
Below are a number of key issues we have found in our work over the past 18 months and also information about our current activities.
Key issues
Auditors who appear to be auditing funds where they have a role or responsibility for preparing the accounts and financial statements
We contacted auditors we suspected of being involved in preparing accounts and financial statements for funds they audited. We are completing full audits of auditors where the contact confirmed this was the case.
In these cases the auditor is generally a sole practitioner (ie sole-registered auditor in the business) but often with some staff. The staff typically prepare the accounts or financial statements and either the auditor, or a senior staff member, signs off on these. Our view is that this still creates an independence issue because the staff report directly to a sole-practitioner auditor.
Low-cost auditors
We have found evidence to support industry concerns that low fees might equal low quality. For example, with some low-cost auditors, we’ve found:
gaps in audit evidence
contraventions identified but not reported
instances where there was no written audit plan
limited or no use of checklists
a lack of key documentation such as trustee representation letters.
An ATO investigator, or another auditor, should be able to pick up an audit file and see how the work was done, including documentation that supports significant judgements.
About Authors : Swan Partners is a progressive service provider dedicated in providing high quality tax consultancy, accountant in victoria park, bookkeeping service in perth, BAS lodgement service in perth and accounting services to individuals, sole-traders, partnerships, trusts, and companies.
No comments:
Post a Comment