Since 1 July 2021, ASIC confirmed that it has taken action against 19 auditors; 12 were deregistered, while additional conditions were imposed on the registration of seven others.
For seven of those deregistered, ASIC accepted voluntary cancellations.
Actions resulted from breaches of obligations such as auditing and assurance standards, independence requirements and registration conditions, or because ASIC deemed the individual not a fit and proper person to remain registered.
ASIC also revealed that 13 of the breaches identified were referred to by the Australian Tax Office (ATO), while six were identified directly by the regulator.
“SMSF auditors play a fundamental role in promoting confidence and instilling trust in the SMSF sector, so it is crucial that they adhere to ethical and auditing standards,” ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes said.
“ASIC will continue to take action where the conduct of SMSF auditors is inadequate and fails to meet the requisite standards.”
Maybe ASIC can also ask how all these SMSF were setup? Who gave the advice?
What!!!…..no naming & shaming like they do if an adviser innocently misses the timing of an FDS by 14 days !!!!! or mistakenly missed one more than the dozen signatures a client needs
to complete just to engage the advice process!
These people are provided with the significant responsibility of ensuring a fund complies with the law are somehow completely anonymous whilst it seems the regulator has an
overwhelming obsession with reporting the names of advisers for a minor oversight that has not resulted in any adverse effect or
disadvantage to a client at all.
Disgraceful.
Why wasn’t there a press release for each one, like they do with financial planners? More ASIC bias?