ASF Articles
Accepting EOFY Contributions After June 30
Typically, SMSF contributions aren’t counted until the payment is received in the fund's bank account. The problems start, however, when June 30 falls on a weekend or Monday as this provides minimal scope for contributions to be accepted at the last minute. The secret...
read more
3 Simple Rules for Related Parties
Trying to identify related party transactions in an SMSF can seem like pulling apart a set of Russian dolls: the first entity links to another entity, which, in turn, has another entity inside of it, and so on. The question is how far do you continue searching to...
read more
The Hidden Path to Independence
ASIC recently announced that seven (7) SMSF auditors with independence issues were either deregistered or had a condition placed on their registration. It's beyond belief that SMSF auditors continue to be pinged by the Regulator for auditing their own, or a related...
read more
What’s the Value of an Unlisted Asset?
Two recent cases[1] involving SMSF auditors have focused industry attention on the obligation of SMSF auditors to verify assets valued at market value. The headaches start, however, when a fund invests in unlisted assets, such as unlisted companies and trusts. The...
read more
ASF Audits Acquires Nest Super
We are proud to announce that ASF Audits has acquired Melbourne-based specialist SMSF auditing firm, Nest Super as we expand our business in Australia. Nest Super director Casey McGrath has joined the ASF Audits board. ASF Audits managing director Richard Smith said...
read more
Potential Problems with Pension Payments
There’s no doubt the new rules and regulations associated with Super Reform are confusing. We are now seeing new issues starting to emerge that will have adverse tax consequences for unsuspecting SMSFs. This is a timely reminder to help SMSF advisers avoid potential...
read more
Lessons About How Not to Meet SMSF Professional Standards
One of the most critical aspects of the Ryan Wealth Holdings Pty Ltd vs Baumgartner [2018] NSWSC 1502 case was the auditor failing to confirm that the fund’s investment strategy had given appropriate consideration to risk, return, liquidity and diversification and...
read more
Navigating Simple TRIS Mistakes
It’s a whole new TRIS world out there, with some SMSF advisers starting to make simple mistakes that could have far-reaching implications for SMSFs. Getting it wrong may be the difference between an SMSF being able to claim exempt current pension income (ECPI) or not....
read more
Putting the SMSF Brakes on Three-Yearly Audit Cycles
We’ve heard many reasons why the three-yearly audit cycle won’t reduce red tape or SMSF audit fees, and how it will increase the burden on SMSF trustees resulting in more auditor contravention reports (ACRs). But the SMSF industry has ignored one critical reason as to...
read more
5 Reasons Why a Data Feed Isn’t an SMSF Audit
There is a perception in the SMSF industry that once a data feed is in place, there is nothing left for an auditor to do. While technology has provided enormous benefits through the automation of repetitive SMSF audit tasks, an SMSF auditor is still required to meet...
read more
Proposed Change to SMSF Audit Cycle
As announced in the 2018 Budget, the Government has proposed a change to the annual audit requirement for SMSFs to a three-yearly cycle where an SMSF has a history of good record-keeping and compliance. The proposal is effective from 1 July 2019, however, there have...
read more
The Keys to Effective SMSF Reporting Criteria
A recent review of the 2016 SMSF annual statistics released by the ATO indicates that some SMSF auditors are continuing to lodge ACRs unnecessarily. The key to effective SMSF reporting criteria lies with how SMSF auditors interpret the twenty-two (22) sections and...
read more