ASF Audits has expanded its footprint through the purchase of three SMSF audit businesses during June and July following on from an earlier acquisition that took place in April.
The specialist SMSF audit firm stated it has acquired Veritas Audit in Southport, Queensland, which is headed by Daniel Prunty, Safe Super Audits in Double Bay, Sydney, headed by Craig Karpin, and First Choice Super in Mt Eliza, Victoria, headed by Glenn Hart.
First Choice Super’s SMSF administration business will continue to be run by Hart after the sale of its SMSF audit function to ASF, which added that audit clients of the acquired businesses will receive the same standard of services as in the past, but with the support of ASF’s specialist team and technology integrations.
ASF chief executive Casey McGrath said the three transactions, following on from the purchase of Partners Wealth Group, show its ability to continue to grow and build a position as a leader in SMSF audit services after private equity firm Fortitude Investment Partners took a major stake.
“Executing another three acquisitions in quick succession and seeing our merger and acquisition strategy continue to flourish is a strong endorsement of the path we are on,” McGrath said.
“We set ambitious growth plans following the capital injection from Fortitude Investment Partners early last year and it is exciting to see those plans being successfully executed.”
He observed more consolidation was likely in the audit sector due to increased regulatory complexity and higher demand for specialist expertise.
“SMSF auditing is a highly specialised field and we continue to see more firms recognising the value of partnering with dedicated SMSF audit specialists. These acquisitions bring together respected audit businesses and client relationships with ASF’s scale, technology platform and deep technical expertise,” he said.
Jason Spits
SENIOR JOURNALIST
Jason is a senior journalist with Benchmark Media and writes for the selfmanagedsuper website and magazine and smstrusteenews website. He has covered financial services since 1999 and has written about life insurance, superannuation, investment management and financial advice, in both a freelance and in-house capacity, and also did a brief stint as a media manager for an industry association. He has been the editor of trade titles Money Management and Financial Standard, and was most recently senior journalist with life insurance title Riskinfo.
Articles by Jason