Does an SMSF accountant have to be different from an SMSF auditor?
Yes, they must be different. It’s the law. Every self-managed super fund must go through an annual audit. It’s a requirement set by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The audit includes two things: a financial audit and a compliance audit. The audit is done to make sure that your SMSF is working within the superannuation laws, and all your financial records are accurate and duly recorded. Here is an important thing: your SMSF accountant and your SMSF auditor cannot be the same person. They can’t even be a part of the same team doing both jobs. It’s like saying that the person giving an example is the same person who checks the paper. The reason is simple. The person reviewing the work ( SMSF auditor) shouldn’t be the one who prepared it ( SMSF accountant ). That’s the only way the auditing remains fair, transparent and reliable. If your SMSF accounting and auditing are handled by the same person or the same agen...