Financial services company Spring FG has announced it will launch an online SMSF establishment, operation, administration and investing service early next year.

Providing advice and services for SMSF clients remains an outstanding opportunity for accountants as the accounting-only business model for these practitioners is rapidly becoming obsolete, according to the head of a specialist software organisation.

Trustee lobby group SMSF Owners’ Alliance (SMSFOA) has hit out at the Grattan Institute’s recommendation that yearly concessional superannuation contributions caps be set at $11,000.

Accountants looking to provide financial advice need to be mindful of the litigation risk associated with those services, according to an insurance specialist.

An SMSF education specialist has recommended advisers and trustees alike should hold conversations with the ATO to negotiate workable compliance outcomes, no matter how unlikely the suggested solution may seem.

The corporate watchdog has disqualified Manoj Abichandani of New South Wales from being an approved SMSF auditor, after it was determined he provided untruthful statements that were deliberately misleading and he was not a fit or proper person to be an SMSF auditor.

Former Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) head of superannuation Liz Westover has been appointed as PwC Private Clients director, as part of its plans to bolster its SMSF practice.

The ongoing controversy around the taxation of Australian superannuation was damaging public confidence in the system, despite current operations working well, according to the SMSF Association (SMSFA).

SMSF advisers must be mindful of purpose-built trust deeds as they might restrict the activities of a fund, which could result in an inadvertent compliance breach and possible legal action against the practitioner, according to a leading sector educator.