Sundaram Business Services, a business process outsourcing (BPO) provider for self-managed super funds (SMSFs) expects to see significant growth in the sector for 2013.
The firm anticipates that the number of SMSFs it processes will increase from 6,000 funds in 2012 to 10,000 in the next 12 months.
Growth is expected following a rapid increase in the number of SMSFs being established, and also because more accountants and administrators are having to deal with the challenge of finding and retaining staff to manage this growth.
Figures released in December 2012 by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) show the SMSF sector has grown by almost one third since 2008, increasing to $440 billion in assets shared around some 480,000 funds.
The ATO found that SMSF investors are contributing around $17.5 billion a year, which is more than double the amount contributed by employers.
"We spent many years refining our systems and created one of the most secure processing environments possible, and are now moving from that establishment phase into a strong growth period," Sundaram Business Services' global head of business development, Harish Rao, said.
"There is no doubt that some accounting firms and administrators are experiencing real challenges managing this growth boom and will benefit from the scalable back office that our services provide," he said.
In some cases, he explained, the growth in SMSF work is diverting accounting firms from high end accounting.
"The sector as a whole has grown by around a third in just four years, while some firms have seen their SMSFs grow even more," he said.
Sundaram Business Services provides back office support for accountants and SMSF administrators but not to the trustees of funds.
The company, which pioneered BPO services for SMSFs, currently processes more than 6,000 funds annually for accountants and superannuation administrators and has targeted growth to 20,000 funds over the next four years.
