SMSF – The Case for Up to Date Reporting

The world is changing and, as it changes, everyone who doesn’t adapt are left behind. This is very true when it comes to interacting with and accessing information electronically.

The years when you could leave everything in a shoebox to be delivered to the accountant some time after 30 June each year is mostly a thing of the past. Receiving and storing Bank Statements, and pretty much everything else, either on a storage device, or in the cloud, is becoming commonplace.

And as these things become automated, data matching and data sharing is becoming more sophisticated. It is becoming more and more likely that the Tax Office knows what you’ve been up to some time before you lodge your income tax returns.

Soon all employers will be reporting their Super Guarantee and Salary Sacrificed contributions to the ATO, not only quarterly as has been the rule, but electronically. Beware those employers who are routinely late in making Super Contribution payments, or who fail to make the payments altogether!

Super Fund trustees are also expected to report more frequently on matters such as the commencement or commutation of pensions, the change of a pension in and out of the retirement phase, etc. The ATO rolled this obligation out with the introduction of the $1.6m cap on tax free pensions.

What does this mean for you?

If your Super Fund has a member with a total super balance of $1m or more, reportable events that affect any member of the Fund, must be reported within 28 days after the end of the quarter in which the event occurs.

Keep in mind, total super balance means the balance that a member holds, not only in a particular fund, but in all super funds, combined. So, if you have a member with a balance $800,000, who also has a super balance elsewhere, say they have a QSuper balance of $300,000, then you must lodge all reportable events, for all members, by the 28th day following the end of a quarter.

In order for a pension to be commenced, commuted, or stopped as and when it suits the members of a fund, it is crucial that the accounts of the fund can be brought up to date quickly.

What’s the next step?

Check with your accountant to make sure they have the software available to allow for efficient data sharing. At Cordner we use Class Super, supported by BankLink, to ensure as many feeds as are available are provided to us.

Ask your financial adviser about the platform they use and how it integrates with Class Super and provide whatever authorities are needed as soon as possible.

Provide the administrator/accountant with information as soon as it becomes available. This could be emailing/mailing copies of bank statements, dividend payment statements, distribution statements, rental statements, property expenses, insurance renewal notices, corporate actions, new investments etc or using tools such as dropbox.

Ask about online access to your fund. At Cordner we are able to provide our SMSF clients with online access to their SMSF. A platform that allows them to monitor their portfolio as a whole, providing valuable information regarding unrealised gains, expected income and asset allocation.

Call us today to discuss how we can get you on top of your obligations.

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