ATO outlines steps to protect SMSF bank accounts
In light of incidences of SMSFs having funds withdrawn from their bank accounts without appropriate consent, the ATO has offered trustees steps to protect their SMSF bank accounts.
The ATO is encouraging SMSF trustees to take various measures to ensure the security of their accounts, including continuously monitoring third-party authorities on their bank accounts.
Trustees should ensure they remove authorities from anyone who is no longer relevant to the fund, and ensure any passwords associated with bank account authorities are changed, particularly after changing professional service providers, the ATO stated.
The ATO also suggests trustees maintain “secure and strong” passwords for all online accounts, and confirm with anyone who has an authority over their bank account that they have sound information technology security practices.
SMSF trustees should also consider installing anti-virus software to protect any computer that is used for online banking purposes.
