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SMSF professionals urged to take time off following disruptive year
While SMSF firms may be behind on lodgements, an audit firm has stressed the importance of SMSF professionals taking a break over Christmas following a demanding and stressful year dealing with COVID-19 requirements.
Speaking to SMSF Adviser, Tactical Super director Deanne Firth said that 2020 has been a challenging year for the SMSF industry and broader accounting profession, with professionals assisting clients with a raft of requirements for different COVID-19 relief measures including early release of super, rent relief and JobKeeper.
“A lot of accounting professionals really do need to take a break over Christmas and relax — it has been pretty stressful with COVID-19 and JobKeeper. JobKeeper really pushed Centrelink onto accountants,” Ms Firth said.
Ms Firth said while SMSF professionals may be concerned about the fact they’re behind on their lodgement programs, they should be aware that many SMSF firms are in the same position, particularly in Victoria.
“Everyone is behind. After comparing the number of funds we’ve received for audit this year to this time last year, we’ve noticed that, on average, firms in Victoria are down by around 25 per cent,” she stated.
“Other states are down by around 5 to 10 per cent. That means that everyone is behind, so don’t panic.”
Given the delays with lodgements for 2019–20 SMSF annual returns, Ms Firth said she expects the ATO may consider extending the lodgement deadline again.
“You would think there’d have to be some kind of lodgement extension because catching up, especially in Victoria, is going to be pretty full-on,” she said.
Ms Firth said the SMSF industry can also celebrate the fact that the proposal to require SMSF financial statements to be prepared at least 45 days prior to an SMSF’s lodgement date has now been dropped.
“We should celebrate that as a win for SMSF professionals,” she said.
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.
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