Keeping the ‘brains trust’ in audit sector vital
The recent disqualification of auditors by ASIC is not cause for alarm, says one of Australia’s leading advisers in the sector, but it does highlight the need to ensure the quality of audits is paramount to maintain the integrity of the superannuation system.
Shelley Banton, head of education at ASF Audits, said one of the main reasons that ASIC cancels an auditor’s registration is because they have not met the requirements to be a registered SMSF auditor, including failing to lodge annual statements.
“Auditors may not wish to lodge their annual statements for a number of reasons,” she said.
“Maybe they are on the verge of retiring and don’t want to renew their licenses. There is a $193 fee to resign and rather than paying it, some auditors may decide not to lodge their annual statement and will be deregistered.
“Some auditors may have been previously doing audits in-house and decide for whatever reason to not continue in that line of work and pursue other SMSF advisory roles.”
Alternatively, Ms Banton said that there are also a number of auditors who do a very small amount of audits each year and may find it difficult to keep up to date with the CPD hours, as well as the increasing number of regulatory and legislative changes, especially in the past few years.
The most recent statistics on the number of auditors performing audits from the ATO show around 25 per cent of auditors did less than five funds per year, and she said the expense of maintain CPD hours could mean that it is not financially viable to continue.
“When you think that around a quarter of current auditors are doing less than five audits a year, it is not cost-effective in terms of fees, CPD hours and keeping up to date with changes,” she said.
“It seems we are going to have a natural attrition for SMSF auditors and what that will look like will be determined by how many auditors are coming through the system.
“There will be further rationalisation in the audit industry, and maybe we are nearing a natural number of around, say, 3,500 to 4,000.”
Although the reduction in the number of auditors should not impact SMSF clients, she said, it is necessary that the industry ensures that its “brains trust” remains intact and that the industry provides a viable career path for those who want to pursue it.
“There are lots of areas you can go into with an auditing background,” she said.
“While SMSF auditors enjoy a solid career path, it is also a brilliant platform to move into other areas of the superannuation industry.”
Although the declining number of auditors is not currently an issue, it is something the industry is looking closely at to ensure it is keeping abreast of the changes and “not falling behind”.
“It’s just a matter of reviewing the numbers of auditors and attracting the right people into the sector,” she said.
“We want to see the audit industry continue to have the standards we have come to expect so the integrity of the superannuation system is maintained.”
She said the sector is now working with the SMSFA to improve the number of SMSF specialists in the industry in regard to education and recruitment through its scholarship program.
“The quality and professionalism of SMSF auditors are important to ensure that the audit continues to be of a high standard and that SMSFs remain compliant with the superannuation rules,” she said.
