All SMSF auditors are required to be registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) from 1 July this year. However, only 50 per cent of the sector’s auditors are expected to register.
Many auditors are finding it difficult to prove their university accounting degree includes a course of study in auditing, particularly those auditors where a significant “passage of time” has passed since they gained their qualifications, Shelley Banton, director of SuperAuditors, told SMSF Adviser.
“It’s not so much an issue with the younger auditors, but certainly the older auditors who went to university 20 years ago,” said Ms Banton.
“Some of them are having struggles in terms of trying to find academic transcripts and documentation showing that their accounting degrees do in fact have that audit component in them.
“I’m not saying they haven’t been able to register at the end of the day, but… it’s a difficult process.”
Ms Banton added she is hopeful compliance standards will be raised as a result of registration and will “weed out” auditors who potentially aren’t keeping up with the legislation and auditing effectively.
Read more on auditor registration from Shelley Banton in an upcoming issue of SMSF Adviser magazine.
SMSF auditing is entirely different than auditing a company. If you don’t have enough subjects in accounting, I wonder how you became auditor at the first place ? Loophole i would say. A TAFE skilled is signing audit reports.
It will be interesting to see how many auditors are approved by June 30. According to the Cooper Review there were approximately 11,000 auditors. By the end of this process I would expect that there will less than 6000. Invariably this will lead to an increase in fees – not necessarily an increase in the auditing standards
I also had problems as I qualified in the UK in 1974 after serving 4 years as an articled clerk – before university degrees were a prerequisite for chartered accountants.
I have been an auditor for 40 years including serving as a senior audit manager with Touche Ross and KPMG, am a registered company auditor, SPAA accredited audit specialist and have audited up to 1500 SMSFs per year as well as performing audit consultancy assignments for the British government Technical Assistance Group in Africa. I sent my UK membership certificates to ASIC which proves I passed the exams but they wouldnt progress my application without a letter from the UK Institute showing I passed the audit module over 40 years ago.
I contacted the UK, apologising for the Australian bureaucracy, and they provided the relevant document. I do find the ASIC mentality in this regard quite mind boggling.
I was one where the lady at ASIC said my degree in Accountancy did not have enough Accounting subjects??? Nothing about Audit subjects which I had but at first denied my application on not enough Accounting. As a registered company Auditor I could sign off BHP but not a mum & dad SMSF???I ssked where in the legislation it mentioned Accounting and she could not answer. I think ASIC needs the training not the SMSF auditor?
Obvious that the young man at ASIC demanding information to complete the registration has no idea of the time constraints we work under by his 7 day period for returning information.