The implementation of real-time or continuous audits of SMSFs will not happen in the immediate future and will likely be offered as a service by the large administration platforms, according to a sector specialist.
SuperAuditors director Shelley Banton said real-time audits would not be introduced until well into the future mainly because the technology was yet to be developed.
“SMSF audit has been using technology since Excel work papers in the 1980s,” Banton said.
“Today there is an abundance of SMSF audit software available online that has financial audit automation down to a fine art, whether commercial or developed in-house.
“The reality of a continuous compliance audit is another matter altogether.”
She said the fact there were so many different audit systems in the market made establishing a continuous auditing capability for each impractical and unviable.
“It’s going to take a lot of time, very deep pockets and access to a multitude of resources,” she predicted.
“In the end, only larger SMSF administration platforms will be able to offer continuous SMSF auditing, or a hybrid, mainly due to economies of scale.”
She cited the current standing of the audit process in the SMSF value chain as a further impediment to the implementation of real-time auditing.
“Like it or not, SMSF audit is at the bottom of the assurance and SMSF food chains,” she said.
“There’s fierce competition for technology dollars among stakeholders in the SMSF industry, and the audit industry in general, and it’s hard to imagine real-time or continuous SMSF auditing getting priority anytime soon.”
