The new regulations governing self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors included in the Future of Financial Advice (FOFA) reforms have the potential to create a shortfall of practitioners in the sector.
The introduction of compulsory registration with ASIC for SMSF auditors is the main reform identified as having adverse consequences to the profession.
“We’ve now got 11,500 auditors. The belief is that half of those with these new requirements will no longer want to do audits, so we’re left with a population of about 6000,” William Buck Chartered Accountants director Anna Carrabs told delegates at the Institute of Charted Accountants in Australia 2011 National SMSF Conference.
“So we have 460,000 funds in the system and here’s where the problem is and where a lot of the discussion has been about: Are we going to get to a situation where we don’t have enough auditors?,” she added.
In light of this concern, certain potential solutions have already been discussed with ASIC.
“What we’ve spoken to ASIC about is that they basically need to grandfather some auditors [into a register],” Carrabs said.
“The reality is we do need a register. At the moment the Institute really doesn’t know which of its members actually do super fund audits. It doesn’t know if the ATO (Australian Taxation Office) thinks they’re doing a good job, so we don’t have any of that information,” she said.
“So I think it has been concluded that we need a body and we need to be able to regulate that and follow our members and ensure the competencies we have set for them are being adhered to,” Carrabs said.
