The auditor is required to furnish the smsf trustees with an audit report confirming that the smsf has complied with the relevant legislation. Under the SIS Regulations, the auditor of a smsf must be on of the following:
- a Member of CPA Australia Limited or The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia;
- a Member of the National Institute of Accountants;
- a Member or Fellow of Association of Taxation and Management Accountants;
- a Fellow of National Tax and Accountants Association Ltd;
- a SMSF Specialist Auditor with SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia Limited; or
- a Registered Company Auditor (ASIC)
The smsf auditor is required to disclose their registration number to the trustees of the fund so that it can be reported in the smsf’s tax return. All fund breaches must be reported to the Australian Taxation Office via a Contravention Report. On receipt of a Contravention Report, it is at the discretion of the Commissioner of Taxation to deem the fund non-complying or allow the fund to retain compliant status. Generally, the actions of the Commissioner will depend on a range of factors including the materiality of the breach, and the intent of the trustees. The SMSF audit places responsibility on the auditor to disclose breaches to the trustees of the self managed super fund. In many cases, the breaches may be minor and due to the extensive rules and regulations governing self managed super funds, many breaches may be minor and may have occurred without malice. Nonetheless, it is the responsibility of smsf trustees to know understand the law and know how to apply it when conducting affairs on behalf of the members of the self managed super fund.
