The Tranzact Super SMSF Administration and Compliance Bureau  assists trustees and their Accountants and Advisers to satisfy their SMSF compliance responsibilities as well as providing useful information and assistance with fund strategies.        

Where a new fund is to be part of this service we will establish the fund including: 

• the preparation of a Trust Deed (3 copies),                                     

• minutes of meetings,

• obtaining a Tax File Number and an Australian Business Number,

• filing an Application to register for “Pay as You Go” tax,

• filing a Regulated Fund Notification,

• establishing a fund accounting system,

• stamping of the Trust Deed

• GST registration

• setting up a Trustee Company if required including copies of the Company’s Constitution, all statutory documentation required under the Corporations Law, Certificate of Registration and Company Seal (still required under SIS),

•  Macquarie cash account if required.

Tranzact Super works to ensure that all reporting deadlines and audit requirements are met so as to avoid the imposition of penalties. The fund records are maintained in an efficient and auditable manner.  Regular contact with the fund trustees, via their financial advisers, ensures the effectiveness of the process. If we are receiving data once a year then our SMSF administration service will be provided. It is difficult to provide a compliance service when information is not being received on an ongoing basis.

Ongoing services include: 

• maintenance and storage of Fund records including Trustee’s Minutes, correspondence and Investment Certificates,

• annual Member & Trustee Reporting including Member Statements, Minutes & supporting documentation;

• daily on forwarding of evidence of portfolio activities if applicable;

• maintenance of Member accounts’ changing component position & benefit payment documentation;

• maintenance of Capital Gains Tax and Deferred Tax records;

• preparation of drawdown and rollover documentation;

• daily updates to the World Wide Web of Fund details including valuations, transactions and asset allocations

• maintenance of established pensions;

• annual Fund Financial Statements preparation & lodgement;

• preparation & lodgement of GST & Tax returns for the Fund including BAS;

• facilitation of external Audit;

• facilitation of Actuarial Certificate and Solvency Certificate if required; and

• production of Group Certificates.

Note: All tax related services are delivered by a registered tax agent. No additional fees are charged for this service.

The Trustees are responsible for the investment strategy of the fund. It is necessary for an investment strategy to be formulated for the fund and provided to us for the files. The auditor will require the document at audit time. You should ensure that all investments made by the fund are made in accordance with the investment strategy. 

It is impossible for us to guarantee the fund’s compliance as we have no control over the fund activities or investments but we do regard our assistance in this regard as a priority.

Now that the ATO is the responsible body ensuring the compliance of self managed superannuation funds the number of field audits and enforcement actions for compliance breaches is increasing. SMSF compliance issues are numerous and can be confusing to those who are not involved with the various matters on a daily basis particularly in view of the ever changing legislative framework. Though the trustees and their immediate advisers cannot abrogate this responsibility to Tranzact Super we, nonetheless, apply our best efforts to ensure that the fund remains complying. This includes not only our own administrative duties but also being vigilant to trustee actions which seem to be non-complying and advising the fund's financial adviser or accountant accordingly. We suggest that any activity of a strategic or unusual nature be referred to us before it is proceeded with.

Remember that for a fund to be complying for a year it must be complying for every day of that year and the penalty for non-compliance can be severe including fines, a 45% penalty tax on the assets of the fund and jail. These penalties have previously been invoked on funds, trustees and their advisers. Such penalties are rare however. What is more common are fines of up to $550 plus 25% of outstanding tax for late lodgers.

We will establish any pension required as per our fee schedule. Generally we find that pensions in self managed superannuation funds that were commenced prior to the introduction of the fund to us are grossly deficient in appropriate paperwork and actuarial certification. Where rectification work is required a charge will be levied which will vary with the work required but will never be greater than the cost of pension establishment as per our fee schedule.

On an ongoing basis we assist in monitoring the level of pensions paid to ensure ongoing compliance. This process is particularly important where complying pensions, especially assets test exempt complying pensions, are involved. In June of each year we reassess the level of pension that was determined to be paid for the year based on the fund balance as at the end of the previous financial year. We do this as the previous financial year balance on which pensions will have been based for the current year would not have been audited at the time of calculation. Having confirmed or adjusted the level of pension that ought to have been drawn for the year we then compare this amount with what has been drawn to date and contact the adviser if an adjustment is required.

Under traditional administration arrangements the only opportunity the trustee and adviser have of perusing the accounts is at the end of the year. By this time any anomalies or errors may not be present as the accounts will have been audited, the holdings confirmed and any adjustments completed. By providing daily updates to client accounts our processes are quite transparent. Though we pride ourselves on our level of accuracy and compliance focus we do not profess to offer a “perfect“ service on an unaudited daily basis for all funds. Errors and anomalies can arise from time to time as it is not possible to maintain records to audit standard at all times. Additionally, as we have no investment restrictions, we have no standard list to choose from when identifying investments with which we are presented. This may cause identification problems even with conventional managed funds as there are many instances where different funds from the same manager have exactly the same name. This, and other potential problems, are exacerbated by lack of timely and appropriate information. Most administrators have dealt with this problem by not providing this service at all, providing it with severe investment restrictions or providing it in arrears on a quarterly or half yearly basis. We have not imposed any such limitations however we do invite and require the adviser and trustees to monitor the reports we place on the web and alert us to any item which may seem incorrect.

There are several parties involved in the SMSF administration process and it is important that mutual expectations be realistic and clear. The auditor’s duties are to audit the fund once a year and ensure the integrity of the data and the compliance of the fund. The administrator’s duties are to ensure the accurate processing of the data received and to assist the accountant, investment adviser and trustee in maintaining compliance including by advising any problems or potential problems which may be detected on an ongoing basis. Our service standards ensure prompt attention. The accountant and investment adviser’s duties are to advise and liaise with the trustees on all matters and ensure that the flow of information between the trustees and the administrator is efficiently maintained as well as to advise of any errors or potential errors pertaining to the fund to both the trustee and the administrator. The trustee’s role is to ensure that all relevant information is forwarded to the adviser in a timely manner, ensure that only complying activities are entered into and to advise the adviser of any errors or potential errors which may become apparent. The trustee is ultimately responsible for the fund’s activities and accounting. 

The ongoing administration of the fund is a joint process.  Responsibility for the smooth flow and maintenance of all activities rests with all parties. Though we attempt to provide an error free service we cannot do so without the ongoing cooperation and involvement of everyone concerned. Errors on the unaudited, daily accounts will occur and are matters to be dealt with in a spirit of mutual cooperation and goodwill which is the same approach we must take when dealing with inadequate communication and information on fund transactions from the adviser/trustees. We encourage and request adviser/trustee involvement in not only providing us with what we need in a timely manner but alerting us to any reporting anomalies. We, in turn, will provide as accurate a daily service as possible and advise both the adviser and trustee of any problems we detect with their activities. Further detail can be found in our Frequently Asked Questions.

We appreciate, however, that some accountants, advisers and trustees believe that their situation does not warrant this level of ongoing attention and would appreciate a "once a year" SMSF administration service. To cater for this demand we provide such a service on request.