SMSF Australia - Specialist SMSF Accountants Gold Coast

SMSF Audit Services

SMSF Audit services are a legally required part of Self Managed Super Fund life. Most of our trustees have never had to experience an audit before as it is generally not a normal part of life. As SMSFS are regulated by the Australian Taxation Office they have put certain requirements on funds such as the annual audit by an ASIC licensed auditor who will independently review the fund.

This audit will include:

• Confirming the veracity of the financial position and performance of the fund via a review of the bank statements and source documents against the financial reports created by the SMSF Accountant.
• Checking the financial transactions of the fund against the SMSF Investment Strategy to ensure the fund has acted in accordance with the rules laid down by its own investment strategy.
• Checking the compliance documents of the fund such as trustee minutes, resolutions etc.

For a full list of the documents reviewed checkout our SMSF Audit Services page for more information.

SMSF Tax Return

Just like other taxpaying entities Self Managed Super Funds are required to complete annual tax returns and submit these to the Australian Taxation Office. This return must include the SMSF Audit sign off and a fund cannot legally be lodged without that audit sign off under the penalties of purgatory. It is worth noting that the ATO checks these audit sign offs with the auditors on an annual basis due to a few bad actors pretending to have received audits when in reality they failed to comply with the rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an SMSF Investment Strategy?

An SMSF Investment Strategic is a legally required compliance document which the trustees must prepare for the fund and update as appropriate. The SMSF Audit will confirm the existence of the strategy although the auditor is not at liberty to judge the correctness of the strategy as, much like us, they are not financial advisers and have no ability to gaze into the proverbial crystal ball and work out which investments will go up or down in value.

This strategy does need to cover off on certain details such as whether the fund chooses to invest in insurance for its members. The other items the ATO considers important includes liquidity, diversification and the asset selection process. For more information about the ATO view on your SMSF Investment Strategy checkout this link to their website.

How to set up a Self Managed Super Fund?

When you set up a Self Managed Super Fund the establishment process includes:

• Creation of an SMSF Deed via the lawyers which will provide the foundation for the fund along with optional binding death nominations.
• Creating the company whose job it is to act as the corporate trustee of the fund which required a specialist constitution from the legal team along with paying the appropriate fee to ASIC.
• Initiate the rollovers of any existing super funds which the members choose to roll, either in part or in full, into the new fund.
• Setup the Class Super license which will allow for tracking the funds income, expenditure and members balances and movements. This will also give you an electronic service address to give to your employer which allows the fund to be eligible to receive contributions. The ESA you will receive once the setup is complete is ‘smsfdataflow’.

For more information on exactly how the Self Managed Super Fund Setup process works checkout of SMSF Setup services page.

Can a Self Managed Super Fund Purchase Property?

The simple answer is yes, a Self Managed Super Fund can purchase property whether residential or commercial, but it is limited by a number of unique ATO rules along with the general rules governed by the Sole Purpose Test. A few basic rules to remember is that the fund cannot purchase a residential property from, or rent it too, a member or any related party. If you are unsure whether a property investment is right for you then you should check with a financial planner who is licensed via ASIC holding an Australian financial services license.

What is an SMSF?

When clients are right at the start of the super journey, they will often ask us what is an SMSF? This is a complex question as there are numerous ways an SMSF can be used. As a general rule a Self Managed Super Fund is a flexile way of controlling the savings for your own retirement. The key difference between an SMSF and other types of funds is that the members of the fund are generally also the trustees allowing a unique degree of control for those members as well as making them responsible for meeting the tax laws under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993. Keep in mind our role as SMSF Accountants does not include giving advice on whether an SMSF is right for you! This is something best discussed with a licensed financial planner who is registered with ASIC holding an Australian financial services license.