The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has disqualified a New South Wales SMSF auditor for breaching fundamental independence requirements.
Robert Taylor was disqualified from being an approved SMSF auditor after the corporate watchdog found he had breached the auditor independence requirements of the APES 110 Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants in auditing his own fund, the fund of a close family member and a fund where he was a director of the corporate trustee.
ASIC commissioner John Price said: “SMSF auditors play a fundamental role in promoting confidence in the SMSF sector, so it is crucial that they adhere to ethical and professional standards.
“ASIC will continue to take action where the conduct of SMSF auditors is inadequate.”
Information on Taylor was referred to ASIC by the ATO under section 128P of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) (SIS) Act 1993.
From 1 July 2013, the SIS Act required all auditors of SMSFs to be registered with ASIC to ensure all SMSF auditors met base standards of competency and expertise.
