A lack of awareness and knowledge about small Australian Prudential Regulation Authority funds (SAF) has been identified as the area that will result in many planners and dealer groups attracting the ire of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the ATO.

Cloud-based specialist SMSF document provider NowInfinity will be enhancing its compliance support for advisers with a new service to be launched in March.

SMSF trustees in non-bank limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) who are unable to repay their loan by the approaching 31 January deadline need to seek legal advice and should have already contacted the ATO to discuss their options.

The method SMSF trustees and members must follow to be able to claim a tax deduction for contributions is to be monitored and likely fine-tuned in the foreseeable future.

Compliance activities and associated punitive measures applied by the ATO over recent years have revealed the SMSF sector is in very good shape and with few problems.

SMSF compliance services provided by accountants are unlikely to drive and improve practice revenues as they do not present a unique business proposition, a strategic business consultant has said.

The ATO will concentrate on cases of serious non-compliance from SMSFs in the coming financial year.

The SMSF Association has expressed concerns over the prospect of accountants continuing to provide advice to SMSF clients without being properly licensed in the wake of a poor response to the new licensing regime that came into effect on 1 July.