SMSF Services

A Self-Managed Superannuation Fund (SMSF) is a type of superannuation tax structure that provides its member/s more flexibility in their investment allocation, tax planning and management of their tax reduction strategies. Hence, the name “self-managed”; kind of like a DIY way to control your retirement provision. One of the things you cannot DIY in running an SMSF is the auditing component.

Most employees receive mandatory contributions from their employers (generally, 9.5% of a person’s annual salary) into retail or industry superannuation (super) funds where fund managers make investment decisions on the members’ behalf based on their risk acceptance level. SMSFs have been gaining popularity especially in the past 10 years due some of the following reasons:

• SMSF gives you complete control in the investment of your Super Benefit. This includes using your Super Benefit to purchase investment properties;
• Members can invest in a wider range of investments compare to retail or industry super funds;
• SMSF can be more cost effective than retail or industry super funds (please consult with qualified SMSF experts and advisors regarding your specific circumstance); and
• You can have up to a maximum of 4 members in an SMSF. This allows up to 4 people to consolidate their super balance to lower management costs and reduce risk through wider investment diversification available to larger funds.

The above list does not outline all the benefits of an SMSF. Additional information can be found online (such as the Self Managed Super Fund Association and SuperGuide) or from SMSF experts and advisors.

With greater power (and benefits) comes greater responsibilities (and costs)! An SMSF can be a great superannuation tax structure but it may not be suitable to your circumstance right now. Before rushing in to setup an SMSF, you should consider these things:

• Understand your current super fund (advantages and disadvantages);
• Educate yourself on what SMSF entails;
• Speak with a licensed SMSF expert / advisor;
• Your risk acceptance level if you were to manage your own super;
• Your investment experience in shares, properties and other vehicles;
• Your available time to manage the SMSF: from an administration, financial and legal standpoint;
• Your super balance prior to setting up an SMSF;
• SMSF setup cost;
• Recurring SMSF running cost;
• Insurance;
• Additional security risks against investment fraud;
• Who is going to prepare your financial statements; and
• Who is going to independently audit your SMSF (As a member and/or trustee of the SMSF you take full responsibility to ensure both the ASIC and ATO compliance guidelines & regulations are met).

As a qualified accountant and registered SMSF auditor, C Advisory can help you in these areas relating to SMSF:

• Establish your SMSF under the written instruction of a financial planner.
• Prepare your SMSF financial statements.
• Act as an independent SMSF auditor to meet your compliance requirements to the ASIC and ATO.

Regarding SMSF establishment:

C Advisory is a registered member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. We do not provide independent financial advice nor prepare any Statement of Advice under the Australian Financial Services License (AFSL). We work closely with licensed financial planners to help our clients achieve their financial goals. If you are interested to learn more about SMSF, we can refer you to experienced financial advisors we trust.

A note on Conflict of Interest:

If you decide to hire C Advisory as your accountant to prepare your financial statements, you must appoint another party to conduct your SMSF audit for the reasons of avoiding a conflict of interest required by the ASIC and ATO.

More on SMSF Audit:

Trustees of an SMSF cannot perform their own audit, they must therefore appoint a qualified SMSF auditor to perform this task independently. This is a legislative requirement governed and enforced by the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 and the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations Act 1994.

As a registered SMSF auditor, C Advisory plays a key role in helping our clients comply with the operational requirements in response to the ASIC and the ATO. This annual audit comprises of two components: financial audit and compliance audit.

After receiving all relevant documentation, we will provide you an Independent Auditor’s Report within a period of 28 days. This audit must be completed before an SMSF’s annual return can be lodged.