The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will investigate a large number of SMSF auditors who it believes may be failing in their obligations for independence, Australian residency and complying with audit standards.

Whether to provide annual or daily administration services for SMSFs comes down to several factors, including what is appropriate for the client/adviser combination.

All SMSF practitioners would like to maximise the value of their business when it’s time to leave. Craig West details some of the critical elements in accomplishing this goal.

The SMSF Professionals’ Association of Australia (SPAA) will release best practice guidelines on limited recourse borrowing arrangements for lenders and advisers as one of its key initiatives for 2014.

Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos yesterday said the government would not undertake a specific review of limited recourse borrowing arrangements (LRBA) in the SMSF sector.

The new administrative penalties to be applied via a sliding scale by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) have presented a more compelling argument to employ a corporate trustee as opposed to individual trustees for SMSFs, according to a technical expert for the sector.

The infrastructure funds sector has been cleaned up since the global financial crisis, which saw the failure of many heavily geared products resulting in considerable investor losses, the head of AMP Capital’s infrastructure area has said.

SMSF auditors must address and take greater notice of compliance issues at the start of the audit process, as many practical problems were still occurring regularly, according to a leading SMSF auditor.

Segregating funds within a single SMSF can offer cost savings and tax advantages, but in many cases it can be a recipe for disaster, a lawyer specialising in the area has warned.