Compliance the main SMSF hurdle for accountants

The latest study compiled by AMP Capital Investors and Investment Trends regarding self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) has revealed the burden of compliance and keeping abreast of the legislative changes are the biggest impediments for accountants in servicing this segment of the superannuation market.

The SMSF Accountant Report produced jointly by both parties saw 21 per cent of participants cite keeping up to date with legislative changes as the biggest challenge in servicing the SMSF market, with a further 15 per cent believing that compliance obligations were a major stumbling block.

While accountants felt these two factors were a hindrance, no feedback was received regarding a reluctance to service the market because of these issues.

“We didn’t find a lot of accountants saying we’re looking to get out of this market. There is some significant room for growth in outsourcing particular aspects of it that is either the investment advice piece, and we find a lot of firms have already established referral relationships with one or more planners, or outsourcing the admin/compliance burden,” Investment Trends director Mark Johnston said.

The concern accountants had over compliance and legislative issues were consistent with the sentiment of investors and financial planners, two other key SMSF groups AMP and Investment Trends had surveyed earlier. In these two studies, 32 per cent of investors named the same issue as the most difficult to deal with, while 16 per cent of planners responded in the same fashion.

The accountants in the latest survey also revealed they thought the SMSF market would continue to grow at a rate of around 18 per cent over the next three years.

“This is relatively conservative when you consider growth in the value of assets that are already there plus new inflows. It’s also pretty much on par with the last APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) stats that said the annual growth rate for SMSFs was 19 per cent,” Johnston explained.

Accountants also thought that SMSF members wanting control over their own investments was the main driver for the majority of enquiries received on the subject, with the choice of fund regime a less significant factor.

The study was conducted by Investment Trends over the course of last year with 490 participating accountants.