Summary of requirements
CPA Australia, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and the National Institute of Accountants have developed a set of competency requirements for auditors of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs).
The competency requirements will become mandatory for members of these professional accounting bodies wishing to audit SMSFs for financial years commencing on or after 1 July 2008.
Members are not required to comply with these requirements before 1 July 2008, however, they are encouraged to adopt these requirements earlier.
Auditors of SMSFs will need to have, and be able to demonstrate, competencies in a number of key areas, including:
- client acceptance and retention
- audit planning
- controls evaluation and testing
- substantive testing
- forming an opinion
In order to address these areas adequately, members must be familiar with the Australian Auditing Standards, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act and Regulations, and the relevant Australian professional and ethical standards.
Members will be required to complete a course in the audit of SMSFs prior to commencing in the area of SMSF audit. They will also need to complete at least 30 hours of relevant continuing professional development activity in each rolling three year period, comprising the following as a minimum for each category, with the balance made up from any of these categories as necessary:
- eight hours of superannuation or training
- eight hours of financial / compliance audit training
- four hours of financial accounting training
Members will be able to undertake courses provided by other professional accounting bodies. However, members must ensure the course meets our CPD guidelines. The brochure, CPD Life long learning, examines the CPD requirements of members of CPA Australia and the various ways members can meet those requirements.
Public practitioners must also ensure those undertaking audit work on their behalf also satisfy the requirements and are properly supervised.
Compliance with the competency requirements will be monitored through CPA Australia's quality assurance program and the ATO is also considering inclusion in their auditor review program.
Further information
