The Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand (CA) SMSF specialisation has continued its growth path, with more than 300 practitioners now having achieved the accreditation.
CA head of superannuation Liz Westover indicated to attendees at the CA National SMSF Conference 2014 in Sydney last week that the signs were positive that number would continue to increase.
“Over 500 [practitioners] have attended a workshop that was designed to support our specialisation,” Westover said.
“The workshop is one of the few advanced courses available with a robust assessment attached.
“In fact, our specialisation has led the way in standards for SMSF specialisation as the first to require mandatory SMSF education.
“So strong is our SMSF specialisation offering that CPA Australia has adopted a similar model that requires their members to also attend the same mandatory education course.”
On the subject of education, she said the trustee education tool CA launched in conjunction with CPA Australia should be used proactively by SMSF professionals’ clients and not just when directed to do so by the Australian Taxation Office as a result of a compliance breach under its new penalty powers.
“We encourage you all to use the tool for you, your clients, your staff and anybody you see fit, particularly if they are contemplating an SMSF,” she said.
“Don’t wait for the tax office to send your clients off to do the education program. I strongly encourage you to get them to do it if you think that there might be an audit contravention lodged for one of your clients.
“Get them to go and do the education and let the tax office know that you have indeed sent your clients off to do it.
“I strongly believe we can help mitigate any future compliance action by the tax office by showing and demonstrating clients are serious about getting their roles and responsibilities right.”
