with over 15 years experience
with over 15 years experience
SMSF AUDITORS
1. ENGAGEMENT
We agree on terms including fee and issue an engagement letter – we also include our audit checklist to understand documents required and areas of focus of the audit.
3. AUDIT PERFORMED
Audit is performed within 5 business days
2. AUDIT REQUIREMENTS
We outline our audit requirements, based on a tailored process to meet your needs. This will include our audit checklist.
4. AUDIT FINALISED
Happy Days! Our audit report is issued.
Contact Redwood
Contact us to arrange an audit proposal
Why Choose Redwood SMSF Auditor?
As a Chartered Accountant and ASIC Registered SMSF Auditor, we are committed to the highest standards of quality, independence and integrity in conducting the audit process. Our Auditor, Ivan Filipovic has been auditing Self Managed Superannuation Funds since 1999.
Importantly, our audits are conducted in Australia, by qualified staff. We do not outsource at any stage of our audit process.
We specialise in SMSF audits for
Trustees
Accountants
Administrators
Financial Advisors
Discounted fees can apply for 20+ audits.
Request An SMSF Audit
Redwood Advisory is able to audit multiple SMSF’s more efficiently than auditing standalone funds, and can offer SMSF audit fee volume discounts to our professional partners. You can receive SMSF accounting in the most convenient manner, while enjoying complete value for money.
For details of our SMSF audit fees volume discount structure or to learn more about the detailed SMSF costs please contact us and we will discuss a professional partner pack with you.
SMSF Audit Fee Schedule
Our fees are clear and transparent and are competitive based on the assets held by the fund. Fees below are for SMSFs prepared with accounting software such as BGL/ Class. Redwood reserves the right to amend fees based on discretion of the auditor and the risk of the fund.
| Fund Category Fees (ex GST) – SMSF Audit | |
|---|---|
| Standard Fund (Australian Dollars under $1m) | $ 399 |
| Standard Fund (Australian Dollars over $1m) | $ 450 |
| Fund with Property (no borrowing) | $ 500 |
| Fund with Property (with borrowing) | $ 550 |
Our SMSF Audit Process
Within 24 hours of engaging Redwood Advisory, we will send you our Engagement Pack comprising our Engagement Letter, SMSF Audit Checklist, Trustee Representation Letter and Secure File Portal login details. Our fees will be agreed with you upfront to ensure there are no surprises.
We commence our SMSF Audit once the information outlined in the SMSF Audit Checklist is uploaded or mailed. Should there be any items which require additional information or require clarification we will, in the first instance, contact you via email.
Assuming all SMSF Audit requirements are available and there are no contraventions we will have completed our audit within 10 (or fewer) business days.
For practices with multiple funds to be audited, we will agree a process upfront to ensure all audit documentation is provided
For urgent audits, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
We will notify you when the SMSF audit is complete and an invoice will be issued
The Role Of The SMSF Auditor
The SMSF Auditor plays a key role in the SMSF strategy to secure your retirement nest egg and recent regulatory changes may mean that you will find yourself with a new auditor.
SMSFs have been around for many years, however the growth of SMSFs where we have over 500,000 SMSFs and over one million members has resulted in focus from the Australian Securities Investment Commission (“ASIC”) as well as the traditional regulator, the Australian Tax Office (“ATO”).
As we all know, each year, your SMSF is required to be audited. From 1 July 2013, SMSF auditors are required to be registered with ASIC, who will be issued with an auditor number. Therefore, before your SMSF Annual Return is lodged, your SMSF must appoint an independent auditor and receive an audit report. An independent auditor should not be related to any member of the fund and should not have prepared the Financial Statements.
Should I review my current SMSF auditor?
Given the increasing regulatory focus on SMSFs, the introduction of the ATO penalty regime and the ASIC registration of auditors, it may be the right time to review your current SMSF Administrator/ Audit arrangement. A fresh set of eyes may provide value add for the trustee/member in their SMSF Strategy as well as your compliance responsibilities and perhaps outline compliance concerns before a visit from the ATO. It is important for the member to outline any conflict of interest concerns to their current administrator/ auditor.
Further, with improved technology and cloud-based accounting, auditors have streamlined processes and with more auditors and greater efficiency this has resulted in increased pressure on audit fees. Therefore shop around for the berst service and price. Be sure to understand if the auditor conducts their work in Australia or outsources to Asia which may impact the quality of the audit and may be the reason for the ridiculously cheap service offering!
What your SMSF auditor should do for you?
Your auditor must be independent and should deliver a quality service in accordance with agreed timelines. Timelines may be agreed with your administrator or directly with you auditor.
It may be beneficial to develop a relationship with your auditor which will enable you to understand their focus areas (obtain an audit checklist) and in the event that your fund breaches superannuation law, you are consulted in order to fix the problem before it is reported to the ATO.
SMSF Auditor responsibilities
Your SMSF auditor will sign off that the SMSF has complied with certain sections of Superannuation Legislation and that the Financial Statements are free from material mistatement.
In relation to compliance with Superannuation Legislation, this require significant judgement by the SMSF Auditor particularly with application of key concepts of legislation such as the in house asset rules, Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements and the sole purpose test which can be interpreted differently by your accountant, auditor and even lawyer. The relevant sections of Superannuation Legislation ‘in scope’ of the audit will be included in your Audit Engagement Letter and Audit Report.
The second task being the review of Financial Statements is ‘bread and butter’ for auditors and accountants alike. The majority of Financial Statements are produced using accounting systems such as BGL by qualified accounting professionals and the auditor will use their professional judgement to apply a level of materiality to form a conclusion.
Reporting Responsibility
Your SMSF Audit will form a conclusion and either issue a “unqualified” or “qualified” report. An Unqualified report is good news for the trustee/member, as your Financial Statements are free from material misstatement and has complied with Superannuation Legislation.
A Qualified report will result in an “Auditor Contravention Report” or ACR lodged with the ATO due to a breach of Superannuation Legislation or if you Financial Statements are materially misstated. The SMSF Auditor will apply a series of test to determine if a ACR will be issued, and therefore as mentioned above it may be beneficial to establish a relationship with the auditor to work through a commercial solution before the ACR is lodged with the ATO.
If you need an SMSF Accountant in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide or anywhere in Australia. Contact Redwood Advisory today. The experts in SMSF Audits.
This article was written by Ivan Filipovic – Director at Redwood Advisory. Ivan is a ASIC Registered Auditor (SAN 1001 64574) who has over 15 years audit experience in Financial Services specialising in Superannuation.