Govt must recognise SMSF auditing courses: SPAA

The SMSF Professionals' Association of Australia (SPAA) has argued for the increased recognition of professional SMSF (self-managed professional fund) auditors.

In a submission to the Government on the SMSF Auditor Registration Regulations, SPAA argued for the inclusion of SMSF-specific courses to the list of prescribed auditing courses under regulation 9.2.03 of the Corporations Regulation 2001.

"The courses prescribed under regulation 9.2.03 are appropriate for company auditors but do not focus on the competencies required for SMSF auditors," said the submission.

Specifically, the courses under regulation 9.2.03 do not deal with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1994 (SIS Act) or the SMSF auditing standards explained in the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board 'Guidance Statement GS009: Auditing SMSFs', according to SPAA.

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"SPAA suggests current SMSF audit courses provided by professional organisations such as SPAA, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and the Association of Tax and Management Accountants (ATMA) be added to the regulations as courses that will meet the needs of draft regulation 9A.01(3)(b)," said the submission.

While SPAA agreed with the proposal in the draft regulations to require approved SMSF auditors to complete 120 hours of continuing professional development (CPD), the submission argued the 120 hours should be satisfied on a three-year rolling basis.

Regarding independence standards, the SPAA submission said there should be more than one standard for SMSF auditors to follow. The current approach in the draft regulation uses APES 110, which SPAA argued is biased towards the joint accounting bodies whose members must follow the standards of the Accounting Professional and Ethical Standards Board.

"SPAA already has best practice customised independence standards that address the potential conflicts and independence requirements for SMSF auditors," according to the submission.

SPAA also argued for the independence standards contained in AUASB GS009.

When it came to the transitional arrangement for the registration of SMSF auditors, SPAA argued for the removal of the third item in draft regulation 14.01, which states that one of the prescribed circumstances for an application to become an approved SMSF auditor is that "an approved auditor is a registered company auditor before 1 July 2013".

Instead, the SPAA submission said the prescribed circumstances in 14.01 should be limited to items one and two, which requires that an auditor has signed off on at least 20 SMSF audits in the last 12 months.

"SPAA acknowledges that a registered company auditor is likely to have extensive practical experience and competency in company audits, but a company auditor should not be presumed to have experience in the audit of SMSFs," said the submission.