Articles by Jason Spits

Accounting, Estate Planning

Estate planning ripe for accountant involvement

accountants estate planning

SMSF accountants should consider offering estate planning services to clients as few other groups are currently meeting their need for advice.

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ASIC, Auditing

ASIC disqualifies auditors in crackdown

ASIC disqualifies auditors

ASIC has moved against 17 SMSF auditors, disqualifying some and placing additional conditions on others following concerns they were not meeting professional obligations.

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Accounting, Education, FASEA

FASEA exam offers licensing window for accountants

FASEA exam accountants

Accountants who are not licensed to provide SMSF advice should complete the FASEA exam to prevent having to requalify from scratch in the future.

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ATO, Pensions

ATO prompts funds, members to report income streams

SMSF income streams report

SMSF members receiving a defined benefit income stream have been reminded of their reporting duties to the ATO, which has given them about a month to lodge an annual report.

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Investments

Russell launches new suite of managed accounts

Russell Investments managed accounts

Russell Investments has launched multi-asset managed accounts centred around Australian equities and matched to common investor risk profiles.

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Documentation, Estate Planning

Trustee dispute underlines need for deed certainty

SMSF deed power of attorney

Trustees appointed under an enduring power of attorney (EPOA) will remain in the role unless the SMSF trust deed terminates their role, meaning they can direct death benefits to any party including themselves, an SMSF legal expert has warned. Hill Legal principal and senior lawyer Chris Hill gave the warning in the wake of the […]

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Auditing

ATO to identify auditors who report contraventions

auditor contravention reporting

New laws to protect whistleblowers will actually identify auditors who flag problems with an SMSF to the trustees of the fund, the ATO has warned.

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ATO

ATO acts on SMSFs with outstanding annual returns

smsf annual tax return

SMSFs that have failed to lodge an annual return or have been involved in illegal early-release efforts have been blocked by the ATO and will not be able to receive funds.

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Platforms

BT enhances SMSF reporting on Panorama

BT Panorama SMSF reporting

BT has made a number of changes to its flagship investment platform, Panorama, including an enhanced SMSF reporting dashboard.

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ATO, Retirement

Basis for ATO TRIS guidance questioned

TRIS in retirement phase

A recent note from the ATO on how it views a TRIS in retirement phase has been questioned by a lawyer who believes the legal basis for it is unclear.

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