Accountants seek regulatory certainty on SMSFs
As self-managed super funds (SMSFs) and their various service providers wait to see what consequences may arise from the limited licensing regime currently proposed for accountants, Sharyn Long, managing partner for Sharyn Long Chartered Accountants, said she hoped that increased clarity would be at least one positive result.
"As an accountant, you're generally in a position where you can't advise the client that it's in their best interests to actually set up a self-managed super fund. You can talk to them about the tax concessions associated with investing in super, but you can't really make that recommendation (to establish an SMSF) if you don't hold a licence.
"Many accountants obviously do, but there are a pool who don't - so if you don't hold a licence, you've got to be very guarded about the information that you impart to a client," Long said.
According to Long, accountants' current discussions focused on the would-be trustee's obligations and responsibilities.
"So the types of things that you generally discuss with them are the responsibilities associated with establishing a self-managed super fund and what they can and can't do.
"You want to make sure that they protect the fund and that they don't end up with issues of non-compliance that could ultimately lead to penalty tax regimes," she said.
But for Long, regardless of whether the SMSF advisor is a licensed financial planner or a licensed accountant, the key for trustees is trust.
"People want to feel that they've got somebody that they can trust taking care of their affairs. They want to control their own investments, but they also want to make sure that somebody competent who they trust is taking care of the compliance aspects for them.
"They just want that professional connection with somebody that they trust," Long said.
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