SMSF auditor registrations climb
Applications for the self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditor registration are increasing, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), but are still a long way short of the 2007 number.
The regulator has said it has seen a boost in the number of auditor applications to the beginning of April, increasing from a February result of around 1,300.
"We have now received over 3,381 SMSF auditor registration applications from the commencement of registration on 31 January 2013," ASIC said in its auditor update.
Speaking at the SMSF Professionals' Association Conference in February, ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said ASIC had received over 1,300 applications for SMSF auditor registration, which was more than the regulator had anticipated receiving at that point.
However, he said at the time that ASIC was expecting around 6,000 total applications - a significant drop on the 11,500 reported by the Australian Taxation Office when they conducted an SMSF audit in 2007.
At the time, he stressed that the competence and independence of auditors should be raised because the size of the industry demands it.
ASIC have recommended that applicants register by April 30 to provide adequate time for their application to be processed by the July 1 deadline.
It said auditors will need to stop signing off audit reports for SMSFs if their applications are not processed by the cut-off date.
