Class chief executive Kevin Bungard said while it’s relatively easy for SMSF practitioners to access information about any events that might occur in their client’s fund, accountants have traditionally not looked at their client’s SMSF until the next lodgement season.
This could cause problems under the transfer balance account reporting (TBAR) he warned, where an SMSF trustee starts a pension for example and the accountant is unaware or not watching what is happening.
“The practice [may need] to have someone whose job every morning is to watch what’s happening and look out for anything that the firm needs to be on top of, [who] contacts the trustee to say ‘hey, I’ve just noticed you’ve taken money out above your pension minimum, we’re going to have to do some extra work around this now’,” explained Mr Bungard.
If the SMSF practice is not watching, he said, there is a danger that four months will go past and the reporting deadline will be missed and there could be a fine or the client might miss out on the ability to claim that credit from their transfer balance cap.
“I think that’s where you’ll start to see some disappointed people if the administrator or accountant hasn’t been on top of what’s happening and they end up missing their deadlines,” he warned.
