Speaking to sister title AccountantsDaily, Class chief executive Kevin Bungard said accountants who administer only a few SMSFs each year cannot deliver the same service as those with a greater focus on the SMSF sector.
Accountants who treat SMSFs as a by-product of other services are unable to compete with those practices devoting greater resources to streamlining SMSF processes, he said.
“The guys doing five funds aren’t going to be able to deliver the service that the rest of the market is able to provide and I think they should either decide to grow that part of their business or they should get out of that market.
“We’ve formed a view that 25 funds is about the point where people have enough work there to be really putting processes in place and making sure they have the expertise and dedicated staff to deliver an appropriate service,” Mr Bungard said.
“Below that, you really don’t have enough focus on it. It’s too complex an area to be just doing it part time.”
While SMSF auditors have been set a minimum amount of funds they must audit to remain registered, in the case of SMSF administration, the market will decide, he said.
“I think in audit it was necessary to have a formal approach because of the importance of the role that audit plays in making sure that funds are being looked after correctly. I think in that space it makes sense to take steps to weed out the small guys. In administration, it’s not as clear cut because ultimately if people want to get poor service then that’s really up to the market.
“I think the market will fix this though. I think that accountants who are, as part of their practice, serious about self-managed super funds will take steps to make sure they have got specialists in the practice and have a focus on this as a business area.”
“I think they will just win the business and we don’t need to have a regulator step in and enforce that,” Mr Bungard said.
Or alternatively, clients who trust their accountants will also trust them to prepare the returns for their SMSF rather then going to a generic provider.
The very small accountants will probably not continue doing a couple of funds when the exemption ends as the cost of getting “qualified” will outweigh the benefits. I can’t see a wholesale rush to larger groups from clients happy with the service provided by their accountant.