The ATO reminds SMSF trustees that they need to appoint an approved SMSF auditor for each income year, no later than 45 days before they need to lodge their SMSF annual return.
An SMSF’s audit must be finalised before the trustees lodge their SMSF annual return, as the trustees will need some information from the audit report to complete the annual return.
An SMSF’s auditor is to perform a financial and compliance audit of the SMSF’s operations before lodging.
An audit is required even if no contributions or payments are made in the financial year.
An approved SMSF auditor must be independent, which means that an auditor should not audit a fund where they hold any financial interest in the fund, or have a close personal or business relationship with members or trustees.
If a fund doesn’t meet the rules for operating an SMSF, the auditor may be required to report any contraventions to the ATO.
