We've completed more than 200 SMSF auditor reviews in 2024–25. Our goal remains the same – supporting a high-quality audit profession that underpins confidence in the SMSF sector.
As a result of these reviews, we referred 41 auditors to our co-regulator ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) and 36 voluntarily cancelled their registration during our reviews.
The main reason for a referral was due to an auditor failing to comply with the auditing and assurance standards. Most auditors reviewed did not obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence to form an opinion on the fund's financial statements and compliance with the super laws.
A number of auditors were also referred as a result of failing to meet the independence requirements by conducting in-house audits and by failing to demonstrate they had the necessary practical experience to carry out SMSF audits.
We've also focused on educating auditors through market valuation and disqualified trustee reviews, 51 auditors received targeted guidance to help them meet their obligations.
The most common compliance issues we identified from our auditor reviews were a lack of evidence to support that:
- fund transactions were at arm's length (section 109)
- fund assets were correctly reported at market value (regulation 8.02B)
- there were no charges over fund assets (regulation 13.14)
- the fund's limited recourse borrowing arrangement had met the borrowing exceptions (section 67, 67A).
We also found many auditor's files contained unsigned financial statements (section 35B).
For more information, see Compliance audit of an SMSF or SMSF auditors.
Our high-volume auditor program continues to be effective, with ACR lodgments rising from 2.2% to 3.6% following our reviews.
We'll keep a strong focus on this group in 2025–26, along with high-risk auditors, auditors conducting in-house audits and auditors who may be failing to conduct adequate compliance checks in relation to ensuring trustees value their assets at market value each year.
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