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Discuss your SMSF Audits with us and discover your personalised solution for your accounting firm.

Contact Us to get started on your auditing needs

Talk to Christopher to discover solutions for your Self Managed Superannuation Funds and to be worry free!

Every Accounting firm and their clients are different – tell Christopher about your personalised needs and he will provide you with valuable next steps.

Empower your firm with SIS Compliance and up-to-date understanding of Regulatory interpretations.

Use the contact form or his below contact details to get in touch with Christopher.

Find Christopher at:

Christopher would love to talk with you

He is only a simple phone call or email away. Find his details below or contact him using the form above!

Email Us

info@mcmaudits.com.au

Call Us

07 3473 3995

Address

42/25 Northmarque Street, Carseldine QLD 4034

Frequently Asked Questions

Have any of the below questions?

The common impression is that SMSF Audits are a necessary rubber stamp, so all SMSF Auditors are the same.  ASIC (and the ATO) don’t see it that way, with over 400 auditors (almost 8% of total registered SMSF Auditors) being disciplined or removed in H1 2023 (and inadequate new registrations to replace them).  Our testing, compliance procedures, problem-solving and contact with the ATO regarding compliance challenges comes from a pro-active mindset that respects SMSF Audits as an integral part the system.

No. We understand that each firm has a system that works best for them and want to receive files and deliver audit reports in the most seamless way for the firm. BGL360 documents and workpapers? Great! Want to use Dropbox and have us access files? Great again! Want to email them manually? Works for us!

No.  ASA500 plus the ATO (as regulator) require auditors to gather sufficient evidence to support audit conclusions (both on the financial statements and compliance parts of an audit). This can’t be done with a flat fee, as a fund invested in cash and a small share portfolio won’t have the same needs as a fund with multiple investment classes or LRBA. The ATO have used analytics and will likely do so to look for flat fee charges and seek explanation whether an adequate audit has been done in every case (as they did with low fee auditors).

These are the same as a standard property audit, as long as the bare trust deed, loan agreement and loan statements are supplied and the LRBA is (or remains) compliant. I have been working with LRBAs since 2009 (as an accountant then auditor), as they are an excellent way to grow a SMSF property portfolio using leverage, the same as an individual (but with CGT concession that are insanely better).

Absolutely.  This is a free service, and we encourage this, especially in cases of unusual compliance problems.  We find that ‘prevention is better than a cure’ and either avoiding a problem before it starts, fixing it before the audit report is signed off or getting the required information to speed up the audit is the best solution for your clients.

APES110 addresses auditor independence and was updated to take effect from July 2021 (along with the ATO’s understanding of it). In house audits are viewed as generally less independent. Our experience when taking over from in house audits is that compliance issues are more likely to be unaddressed, which places the accounting firm and their funds (even the compliant ones) at increased risk of ATO activity.

Also, some auditors are unable to audit all of an accounting firm’s funds, because the ATO view >20% of fees from one firm to be a potential independence risk (due to fee reliance). Many accounting firms are spreading their audits out across a number of firms, a practice we are happy to help with.

We welcome this opportunity. There are many excellent auditors and firms out there and we respect our SMSF Audit colleague who, like us, care about their clients, compliance and their role in the system.  The accounting firm will benefit from a wide range of opinions, knowledge and specialisations by spreading out a large number of audits, as well as better workflow management (especially approaching May 15th deadlines).

As a smaller practice ourselves, we understand that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work for smaller firms.  We were educated in, come from and remain committed to regional areas, as well as having worked in large top 20 and single partner firms, and understand that ‘prompt, old fashioned service’ is important for smaller and regional practices, as well as the ability to pick up the phone or send an email for help and have a quick response.

SIS Reg 8.02B states that all investments must be valued at market value. It used to be standard practice to value a property every three years. However, this practice has been specifically addressed by the ATO as never having been adequate. This makes sense given the down up down up down nature of the property market before, during and after COVID-19.

An appraisal from a real estate must be supported by surrounding sales around 30th June of the year involved (values can change even in a few-month window). Residential properties are easier because there will likely be plenty of publicly available information on realestate.com.au or onthehouse.com.au. Commercial properties are a little tougher to find that information (but not necessarily impossible – realcommercial.com.au sometimes has some good sales figures).

For difficult to value properties (unusual, or inadequate supporting documentation), we suggest a paid for appraisal, which is available via a specialist in SMSF property requirements (and often cheaper than a full valuation).

It’s a combination of the ATO’s focus, successfully sued SMSF Auditors (Cam & Bear court case, and soon to be Melissa Caddick’s SMSF clients), and the protection of clients. See our blog articles (or LinkedIn articles) for more detail.