SPAA urges auditors to register
In the wake of self managed super fund (SMSF) auditor registration, which commenced from 31 January, the SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA) has urged auditors to register early with ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investments Commission) to ensure they can undertake SMSF audits from 1 July 2013.
SPAA said that under the new licensing regime, ASIC had begun the registration process for auditors but had also warned practitioners that applications received after 30 April may not be approved by 1 July, with the end result being that some auditors may miss out on auditing funds from the start-up date.
Andrea Slattery, chief executive officer of SPAA, said it was critical that auditors move quickly to register with ASIC if they have made a decision to remain part of this sector of the superannuation industry and continue auditing SMSFs.
"We are communicating with all our members — and will reinforce the message at our national conference next month — the importance of both meeting the new requirements and the deadline as set out by ASIC," she said.
According to SPAA, auditors who decide to become registered will need to complete at least one audit and meet certain educational requirements, of which the SPAA SSAud designation is on the list of approved qualifications.
There is also an examination required to be completed if less than 20 audits have been signed off in the year before registration.
SPAA stated that another requirement was professional indemnity (PI) insurance and reiterated that it was important that auditors ensure their policy met the SIS requirements.
Slattery said that the importance of the correct PI insurance was sometimes overlooked by auditors.
"But ASIC has made it quite clear it will only accept PI policies, such as the one designed by SPAA, which are specifically designed to meet the requirements as stipulated in the SIS legislation," she said.
"What these new regulations demand is a higher level of competence from advisers, whether they are auditors, accountants or planners.
"The need for all advisers to improve their skills and being able to demonstrate their professionalism has never been more important."
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