Accountants who add SMSF financial advisory services will not only increase their current revenue streams, but will also reap the benefit of being able to attract a higher selling price for their practices when they are ready to retire, according to the head of a large financial services firm.

Prudential supervision of SMSFs is unnecessary as the current regulatory approach is appropriate and working well, the SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) has said.

With 30 June approaching, SMSF trustees will need to have their affairs in order and ensure their fund is compliant before the end of the financial year, HLB Mann Judd has said.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has announced its intention to make zero interest related-party loans to SMSFs unattractive by defining the income derived from the assets acquired through these loans as non-arm’s-length, which will result in a substantial tax liability.

SMSF specialist administrator SuperGuardian has teamed up with Xpress Convert to launch a service providing a seamless transition to the Class Super administrative platform.

Recent CoreData research on accountants servicing SMSF clients has shown a good proportion of them are still undecided about how they will respond to the new licensing laws.

Class Super chief executive David Smith has left the SMSF administration platform provider after just three months in the role.

Westpac Banking Group has come out in support of an appropriate model for the oversight or analysis of the systemic implications of SMSFs for the stability of the superannuation and financial system.

While technology has helped make the audit of SMSFs more efficient and less time consuming, auditors cannot rely solely on it to perform their professional duties, a specialist in the space has said.