Lodgement deadlines fast approaching

It's that time of year again — how quickly the year flies by!

How to get your SMSFs through audit before the lodgement deadlines

The lodgement deadlines are fast approaching and, as is the norm for this time of year, our audit team is flat out attending to the audits streaming through our doors. 

Due to the investment we made in our resources and processes, our turnaround performance this year is the best it has been for many years, so we are well-positioned as May beckons.

Therefore, we ask for your assistance in helping us to maximise the number of completed audits and have compiled a list of 8 requests/tips for your action:

1. Confirm the due date

Prioritise your funds and let us know if they are due for lodgement by 5 June, rather than 15 May.

2. Advise us of lodgement extensions

If you have a lodgement extension, please let us know the details so we can prioritise the funds which don't.

3. Provide information to us ASAP

We can guarantee that funds sent to us for audit by the close of business on Friday 5 May will be reviewed before the first lodgement deadline.  If a fund is received by us after that date, there remains a good chance we will be able to review it but we are not able to guarantee this.

4. Provide all required information

We don't take pride in raising lots of audit queries, instead, we would much prefer to simply issue the audit report.  Therefore, you can assist by providing all necessary information from our audit checklist in the first instance.  If you have misplaced the checklist, please reach out to us.

5. Ensure all assets are valued at their current market value

It is imperative you ensure the market valuation for each investment has been considered when preparing the financial statements and that the valuation process has been clearly documented.  Do not simply provide last year's valuation without any explanation or supporting evidence as to why this has been used.  If there is no evidence to support the value or to demonstrate the consideration given to it, then it will be queried.

6. Review the investment strategy

Make sure it was reviewed during the preparation of the financial statements to ensure it still complies with Regulation 4.09 and accurately reflects the current investment approach of the fund.  If we identify an issue, we will query it which in turn will delay the completion of the audit.

7. Answer all queries at the one time

To maximise our efficiency, we will only address the answers to the audit queries when all queries have been addressed.  Therefore, we ask that you only send the answers to us when you have gathered a response for each query.

8. Have the client sign the required documentation before the lodgement due date

Remember, we will not issue an audit report without the signed documents and you can't lodge the fund’s annual return without the signed audit report.  Please do not ask about this as no exceptions will be made.

If you have any questions in relation to another of the points above or any other matter, please do not hesitate to reach out to your client relationship manager.

We encourage you to contact our team at Baumgartner Super Australia-wide by calling us on 1300 04 SMSF (1300 047 673) with any queries or comments you may have regarding this or any other audit issue.