Heffron extends SMSF service to accountants
Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) service provider Heffron has placed a price of $1,650 a year on its SMSF administration and compliance service for accountants.
The company announced this week that it was extending the service to accountants in circumstances where they were facing stiff competition for SMSF advice and services.
Heffron sales and marketing director Ben Smythe said the group had been providing similar services to financial planners but felt that recent promotions of SMSF advice providers had put pressure on accountants to provide more than a commoditised book-keeping and compliance service.
"SMSF clients do not value compliance as a service nor do they regard manual book-keeping as a value-add to their fund," Smythe said.
The service offering will differ from that offered to financial planners in that it will focus primarily on the compliance and book-keeping aspects of SMSF services.
Heffron will also take on the preparation of white label financial statements, fund member statements, calculate annual pension amounts and prepare minutes and an independent audit.
Heffron will also prepare a draft tax return, however, accountants would continue to act as the tax agent for the SMSF fund and its trustees, unlike the service offered to planners who hand this function over to Heffron.
Smythe said this part of the service was useful for accountants in maintaining their client relationships in a way not available to financial planners.
However, he said the two services differed, since Heffron found that financial planners were more in tune with the strategic aspects of a SMSF and wanted technical insights and support, while accountants usually required compliance services for SMSFs under their advice.
Heffron currently offers SMSF services to 1,600 funds, which are primarily under the advice of planners, but Smythe said the offering should even up those numbers by including more accountants.
Originally published on SMSF Essentials.
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