“These payments may only be small amounts, but when it gets to audit time and they’ve totalled up to quite a reasonable sum and they’ve got to be paid out of the fund within a reasonable timeframe, that’s where it’s going to be an issue,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s just an honest mistake by the trustee and obviously if you’ve got all your accounts with the same financial institution it’s easy to click on the wrong account in the drop down box when you’re banking online. If it continues to be an issue though then it can then become a compliance issue for the client as well.”

The other issue she sees, she said, is where SMSF trustees are no longer able to contribute but they’re still paying fund expenses and they’re crediting that to the pension account.

“The pension has to be paid in cash, and you can’t journalise a pension payment anymore so it’s best from a housekeeping point of view not to allow that to happen,” she said.

Holding assets in the incorrect name she said also continues to be an issue particularly where the trustee uses a corporate trustee but it is used for other entities.

“We continue to see assets such as listed investments being held only in the name of the members or the trustee names. [SMSF practitioners and trustees] need to make sure the asset is held in the name of the trustee of the super fund and also that the super fund is listed as a designated account on the assets,” she explained.

Miranda Brownlee

Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.

Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.

You can email Miranda on: miranda.brownlee@momentummedia.com.au