Your SMSF auditor

Appointing your SMSF auditor

You must appoint an approved self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditor to audit your SMSF each year, no later than 45 days before you need to lodge your SMSF annual return (SAR).

The audit must be complete before you lodge your SAR. You'll need some information from the audit report to complete the SAR.

An audit is required even if no contributions or payments are made in the financial year.

Your SMSF auditor must be:

• registered with ASIC - Search SMSF Auditor registerExternal Link – if they are, they will have an SMSF auditor number, which you need to provide on your SAR
• independent – they should not audit a fund in which they hold any financial interest, or where they have a close personal or business relationship with members or trustees.

Before the auditor can start the audit, you must provide them with a statement of financial position and an operating statement for the previous financial year. If they request more information, you must provide it within 14 days of the request.

Your auditor’s role

Your auditor examines your SMSF's financial statements and assesses your fund's compliance with superannuation law.

Your auditor must:

• provide you with the audit report
• advise you of any breaches of the rules
• report certain contraventions to us, even if
  • you terminated their engagement
  • they don't finish the audit.

As trustee, you should take steps to rectify any contravention as soon as possible.

If your auditor lodges an auditor contravention report (ACR) and the contravention has not been rectified, we will send you correspondence which may include asking you to rectify it.