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Home / SMSFs / SMSF compliance

SMSFs: What advice can your accountant provide?

December 14, 2019 by Janine Mace 6 Comments

Reading time: 4 minutes

On this page

  • What are the advice rules for accountants?
  • When you need to use a licensed accountant
  • What services can accountants without an AFSL provide?
  • Who can provide tax advice to an SMSF?
  • For more information…

Being the trustee of an SMSF can be challenging. But while many SMSF trustees turn to their accountant for assistance, they can only provide advice on some SMSF-related matters.

To keep your fund compliant, you need to ensure you are getting assistance from someone licenced and qualified to do so. But what matters can your accountant assist with?

To help SMSF trustees navigate this tricky area, SuperGuide has compiled a checklist to help you work out if your accountant is the right person to ask for help.


Background: Before explaining who can do what, it’s worth understanding the background.

Until 30 June 2016, accountants could provide a range of services to SMSFs under the so-called accountants’ exemption contained in Regulation 7.1.29A of the Corporations Regulations 2001. This exemption allowed accountants to provide advice on the establishment and winding up of SMSFs without needing to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

As part of the financial advice reforms (FoFA) introduced in 2016, the government removed this exemption and made accountants subject to the strict rules relating to financial advice.


What are the advice rules for accountants?

Put simply, accountants can provide a wide range of advice and services to the trustees of an SMSF, however, if the financial advice and services involve personal advice, the accountant must hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

This is the same licence financial advisers are required to hold to provide personal advice about financial products and services. (For more about financial advice, read SuperGuide article What are the different types of financial advice available?)

If your accountant does not hold an AFSL, they can still assist you with basic SMSF administrative tasks (such as the paperwork for fund establishment and rollovers) and provide factual information about investments and strategies.


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If you want advice and information about the suitability of an investment product or strategy for the SMSF, your accountant must hold an AFSL.

When you need to use a licensed accountant

Only accountants holding an AFSL can provide personal advice such as:

  1. SMSF establishment
  • Establish or wind up an SMSF
  • Advise on the appropriateness of an SMSF for your personal circumstances
  • Explain the suitability of different super investment options and funds
  • Recommend one super structure over another
  • Suggest consolidating or rolling over assets into a single fund
  1. Contributions
  • Recommend additional super contributions
  • Suggest establishing a salary sacrifice arrangement
  1. Pensions and withdrawals
  • Recommend starting a super pension or transition-to-retirement pension (TRIP)
  • Calculate the super pension amounts needed to meet your income requirements based on your account balance, life expectancy and estate plans
  • Organise an ad hoc lump sum withdrawal
  • Recommend rollovers out of an SMSF
  1. Investment assets
  • Recommend purchasing property through your SMSF
  • Prepare a tailored investment strategy for the SMSF
  • Recommend specific assets to buy when establishing an SMSF, including basic deposit products and cash management accounts
  • Recommend establishing a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA)
  1. Estate management
  • Organise a binding death benefit nomination
  • Recommend appropriate beneficiaries for a binding death benefit nomination. (For more on death benefit nominations, read SuperGuide article Who gets your super when you die? A guide to death benefit nominations.)

Source: Information compiled by author from material produced by CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, including ‘Financial advice and Regulations: Guidance for the accounting profession’ September 2017.


Good to know: If your accountant doesn’t hold an AFSL, they cannot get you to sign a form stating you understand the advice they are providing is from an unlicensed source. Disclaimers or waivers cannot override the licensing requirements in the Corporations Act.


What services can accountants without an AFSL provide?

Despite these rules, accountants without an AFSL are still able to undertake many routine services for an SMSF.

In addition to providing factual information about financial services and products (general advice), they can help with:

  • Taxation advice
  • Traditional accounting activities
  • Broad asset allocation advice
  • Referrals

If your accountant does not hold an AFSL, they can provide services such as:

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  1. Super basics
  • Explain factual information about super, including choice of fund and contribution limits (concessional and non-concessional)
  • Explain the benefits of consolidating super assets into a single fund (but not recommending a specific super fund)
  • Advise which assets can be contributed into an SMSF prior to establishment, provided the advice is to ensure SIS Act compliance
  • Explain rules for one-off lump sum withdrawals
  • Highlight the insurance coverage risk in changing super funds
  • Advise on adding new members to an existing fund
  1. SMSF administration
  • Advise on SMSF administration and operational issues, including suitability of a corporate or individual trustee
  • Advise on compliance with super reforms
  • Provide compliance information about in-house asset rules
  • Maintain SMSF trustee and member records
  • Prepare annual returns, allocate expenses or undertake annual audit
  • Arrange paperwork from service providers, such as deeds, corporate trustee and rollovers
  • Highlight deficiencies in, and monitor compliance with, the SMSF’s trust deed
  • Track member account balances and investment valuations
  • Explain death benefit options and their tax treatment
  1. Pensions
  • Explain the tax implications of a transition-to-retirement pension (TRIP) without mentioning a specific fund or required contributions
  • Set up a super pension on the SMSF trustee’s instructions
  • Provide calculations on minimum and maximum pension amounts, but no guidance on how much to withdraw to meet your income needs
  • Administratively commute a super pension from an SMSF or set one up on instructions from the client
  1. Investments
  • Document the SMSF’s investment strategy
  • Provide a generic investment strategy template to ensure compliance (including broad asset allocation advice) but not advice on specific asset selection
  • Explain SIS Act investment restrictions (such as in-house asset rules)
  • Value SMSF assets
  • Assist with rolling over assets (on trustee instructions)
  • Recommend holding direct shares (as an asset class) but not recommend the specific shares (unless hold an AFSL)
  • Arrange off-market transfers
  • Implement a Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangement (LRBA)
  • Implement strategy or product placements (on trustee instructions)
  • Recommend buying an investment property for negative gearing purposes

Source: Information compiled by author from material produced by CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, including ‘Financial advice and Regulations: Guidance for the accounting profession’ September 2017.


Need to know: Although accountants without an AFSL are permitted to provide execution-only services (like implementing an LRBA or investing assets) to an SMSF, they may require a Statement of Advice (SOA) from a licensed adviser before they will do so. This is to prove the accountant did not provide you with personal advice.

You may also find accountants who don’t hold an AFSL unwilling to comment on product recommendations in an SOA. However, they are still able to comment on the tax implications of making such an investment.


Who can provide tax advice to an SMSF?

If all this sounds rather complicated, you may be thinking the easiest solution is to go to a financial adviser for all your SMSF’s financial and tax advice needs – but it’s not that simple.

Since 1 January 2016, financial advisers offering advice on how the taxation laws (income tax, superannuation and SMSF laws) apply to a client’s personal circumstances must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) as a tax (financial) adviser. This means they need to meet the TPB’s ongoing education and experience requirements, plus remain a licensed financial adviser.

Many financial advisers are not registered as a tax (financial) adviser, so they are unable to provide advice about the tax implications of the products and strategies they recommend. Instead, they will refer you to an accountant or tax agents qualified to provide tax advice.

For more information…

For more information about SMSFs and financial advice, read SuperGuide articles:

  • What happens when you meet with a financial adviser
  • What are the different types of financial advice available?
  • Independent financial advice: Why it’s important and how to find it
  • Find an Australian independent financial adviser
  • Financial advice: What are the risks and benefits?
  • How to evaluate whether an SMSF is right for you
  • SMSF compliance: A guide to trustee responsibilities
  • What are the SMSF borrowing rules?
  • How to compare super funds in 7 easy steps
  • Super advice: How to find a suitable financial adviser
  • Who to turn to if you have a problem with your super or financial adviser
  • 3 steps to making a complaint about your super fund
Want to learn more about running an SMSF?

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Learn more about setting up an SMSF in the following SuperGuide articles:

How to create an SMSF investment strategy (including example documents)

August 6, 2020

The SMSF trustee declaration explained

June 1, 2020

SMSFs: Corporate or individual trustee?

December 3, 2019

How to set up an SMSF correctly

December 3, 2019

Is $1 million really the magic number to start an SMSF?

August 20, 2018

Learn more about SMSF administration in the following SuperGuide articles:

Your SMSF calendar

January 4, 2021

What you need to know about six member SMSFs

December 1, 2020

SMSF trustee housekeeping checklist for 2020/21

June 29, 2020

Guide to the ATO SMSF supervisory levy

June 1, 2020

The SMSF trustee declaration explained

June 1, 2020

Guide to SMSF trust deeds

June 1, 2020

SMSF annual admin checklist

April 22, 2020

Top 5 mistakes SMSF trustees make with their annual returns

April 22, 2020

Guide to SMSF administration, reporting and record-keeping

January 1, 2020

How to wind up an SMSF

December 4, 2019

How to record SMSF minutes

November 3, 2019

Guide to SMSF audits

June 14, 2019

Real DIY super: Ways that SMSFs can be ultra low-cost

May 2, 2019

Estate planning, super and SMSFs: Getting your house in order

February 11, 2019

Related topics

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IMPORTANT: All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it. If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions. Comments provided by readers that may include information relating to tax, superannuation or other rules cannot be relied upon as advice. SuperGuide does not verify the information provided within comments from readers. Learn more

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All information on SuperGuide is general in nature only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

You should consider whether any information on SuperGuide is appropriate to you before acting on it.

If SuperGuide refers to a financial product you should obtain the relevant product disclosure statement (PDS) or seek personal financial advice before making any investment decisions.

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