Concerns have been raised about the discrepancy in prices charged for self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) audits, with suspicions the more cost-effective audits may not be satisfying the minimum requirements of the process.
The angst over the current pricing situation was brought up at the latest Self-Managed Super Fund Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA) super fund audit discussion group.
"It's just not a level playing field for auditors who are charging a reasonable price which does vary from state to state depending upon overheads," BCS Direction director and SPAA discussion group member Ron Phipps-Ellis said.
"My understanding is in Sydney's CBD a minimum threshold of an audit fee, if it's done properly with staffing rather than with just a sole practitioner, would be in the order of $500 to $600," he said.
"Now there are other auditors saying they can do a full audit for $200 to $300. The question really is how can they be doing this sort of audit and what's the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) doing about it?"
Indications from the ATO are that it is currently looking into the situation, however Phipps-Ellis is doubtful if any significant moves to rectify the situation will be made in the immediate future.
"Whether the ATO is adequately resourced to address this situation in a timely manner in conjunction with the Cooper review recommendations is doubtful," he said.
The Cooper review made some recommendations regarding the audit function but not on the subject of pricing. The panel's suggestions centred on improving the independence of auditors and developing an auditor registration procedure.
"In the meantime, there are a lot of auditors out there who may not be satisfying the minimum requirements in performing SMSF audits," Phipps-Ellis added.
"So right now I don't believe the level of all auditors is being consistently applied."
