The members of three major Australian accounting bodies have now been bound to abide by a new set of competency requirements when auditing self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) that will provide a clearer understanding of the minimum standard expected.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants, CPA Australia, and the National Institute of Accountants adopted the measures which stipulate four main requirements for members who sign SMSF audit reports.
The requirements are that the member must hold a practicing certificate from their professional body, must have relevant professional indemnity insurance cover, comply with continued professional development (CPD) obligations, and ensure the proper supervision and knowledge of people who perform audits on their behalf.
SMSF auditors who belong to these bodies will be expected to complete 30 hours per triennium to meet their CPD requirements.
"That's to be made up of a minimum of eight hours of super, eight hours of audit, and four hours of financial accounting, with the final 10 hours being made up with further work in those three areas," CPA Australia superannuation policy adviser Michael Davison said.
In addition to these rules, members who sign SMSF audit reports must have obtained a public practice certificate from their professional association.
Most accountants working within the SMSF space would already be satisfying these commitments according to Davison.
Adoption of these new standards as soon as possible is being encouraged, however they will not be officially made compulsory until financial reporting periods commencing on or after July 1, 2008.
"We'll be policing this through our quality assurance program where we randomly review members across the board to see if they're complying or not. If they're not they'll fall into our normal disciplinary process.where the ultimate action would be fines or having their membership revoked," Davison explained.
"And all three bodies operate on a similar basis," he said.
