OVERVIEW
The SMSF auditor must form an opinion on an SMSF’s compliance with prescribed requirements of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (SIS Act) and Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (Cth) (SIS Regulations). This comprises Part B of the audit report. This part of the engagement is generally referred to as ‘the compliance audit’.

SMSF trustees must comply with legislative obligations in the SIS Act and SIS Regulations relating to the fund’s operation and administration. There are many such obligations. For this reason, SMSFs are not for the faint-hearted or careless. The SMSF auditor is a vital part of this compliance landscape. As the regulator, the ATO prescribes a list of specific sections and regulations against which the auditor must evaluate and report on fund compliance. The regulator’s guidance is a minimum standard. The auditor may include other sections or regulations as suitable criteria in the compliance engagement.

The ATO’s minimum standard guidance for SMSF auditors conducting the compliance engagement is set out in QC45566. If an SMSF is found to be non-compliant, the trustees may be liable for fines and administrative penalties. In the worst case, the SMSF may lose its complying status and the significant benefits that complying funds enjoy, in addition to attracting some very nasty tax consequences.

In this module, we explore SMSF compliance requirements associated with:

Member contributions / receipts

Member benefits