Valuations still on the radar for SMSF auditors this year

“Some private investments that might have been alright in the past may not have survived the last couple of years and so we could see some significant reductions in super fund values,” explained Ms Schaefer.

Where SMSF trustees have had investments badly impacted, Ms Schaefer said it's important they provide evidence to show why it has reduced so much.

“They’ll have that information on hand, it's just a matter of getting it out of their heads or their email trail and into something that can be presented to the auditor to make a bit of sense,” she said.

Some property investments have also seen large fluctuations in the past year, she said, although this very much depends on location.

“Different places have had different experiences in relation to whether there’s been a spike or a reduction,” she said.

Auditors will likely be paying close attention to valuations in audits again this year, she said.

Last year Ms Schaefer said that auditors are getting pushback from trustees in some cases when they request valuations or ask for additional evidence to support the valuation because the trustee might have had the property valued or appraised at 30 June 2020. 

“Auditors are saying, well, if you're saying it hasn't increased from June 2020, then [you still need] to get confirmation from the person who did the appraisal that the value is still relevant and is still current because there will absolutely be examples where property prices haven't changed, but auditors are not property agents," she said.

Property valuations for SMSFs have been an area of focus for the ATO and auditors for a number of years, with the regulator releasing various pieces of guidance on what SMSFs need to provide to their auditor in order to comply with regulation 8.02B of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994.