Adelaide-based specialist SMSF firm ASF Audits has confirmed it has appointed Jo Hurley as its new head of technical in a role where she will be responsible for education services and content for clients and the greater industry.
In addition, Hurley noted she will also be working closely with the organisation’s audit team to ensure she will have a voice in continually improving audit quality and compliance practices.
“It’s a role where I’ll be the voice of ASF Audits, which I’m really excited about. It’s a business I’ve had a really long association with and have great respect for so to get this opportunity to come back into the industry is something I’m really looking forward to,” Hurley told selfmanagedsuper.
She identified improving the message as to the value of the SMSF audit function as one her aims in her new position.
“People don’t ask about a lot of what happens behind the scenes in audit, it’s not something people think about when considering say podcast content, but there are a lot of really interesting and engaging stories that come through from the audit process that I think is important we share,” she explained.
“The more we do that, the more people will understand the value of what we do.”
Hurley fills the position vacated by Shelley Banton in September last year and brings to the role extensive industry experience, having begun her superannuation auditing involvement with Deloitte in the mid-1990s. She then went on to establish Engage, one of the first independent audit businesses at the time, and spent a second stint at Deloitte as a result of selling her practice after a decade’s operation to the chartered accounting firm.
More recently she held a senior role at Class and is currently undertaking a Master of Cyber Security at Griffith University, a subject she intends to draw more attention to in the superannuation space.
ASF Audits chief marketing officer Ben Atkins said the opportunity to work with someone of Hurley’s calibre is very exciting.
“Jo is a genuinely rare appointment, someone who has built, led and transformed organisations at the highest level of SMSF auditing, while consistently pushing the boundaries of technology and education. Her joining ASF Audits marks a significant moment for our clients, for us and for the industry,” Atkins indicated.
Hurley holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a chartered accountant designation. She commences her new role on 20 July.
Darin Tyson-Chan
Editor
Darin is the founder and publisher of Benchmark Media, an independent publishing house whose mastheads include financialobserver, selfmanagedsuper and smstrusteenews. He has been covering the financial services space for over a decade and in this time he has worked for a variety of trade publications. Darin has also written for the Money section published in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Articles by Darin