Every year, more and more Australian individuals and families are choosing to manage their super through a Self-Managed Super Fund, or SMSF. These allow them more freedom to choose their own investments, which can include property, stocks, precious metals, and even alternative assets such as art and collectables.
These are required to be audited by a professional third-party auditor every year, even if the fund’s trustees have made no new contributions or withdrawals in the financial year. If you offer an auditing service but currently only serve corporate clients, SMSF auditing is a great way to expand and diversify your business.
Attracting individual and family clients can be different from corporate ones. This is your guide to the things SMSF customers are looking for in an auditor.
- Expertise: Reliability and credibility are going to be the most important things that any potential customers are looking for. Ultimately, there are two major ways that they’re going to assess these things: qualifications and testimonials. These should feature prominently on your website and any other media you use to advertise your service.
ASIC registration and CPA or CA certifications are indicators of professional expertise and experience that are highly sought after. If you’ve got them, make sure people can see them.
- Regulatory compliance: Clients will want an auditor who acts in line with the latest regulations. Make sure any corporate compliance software you use is up to date and that the conduct of both your firm and your clients is legal and transparent.
Thoroughly understanding SMSF regulations can also be seen as a business opportunity for you. If you can spot potential problems or neglected opportunities in the way your clients are investing their money, you can advise them on alternatives. Creating online content such as explainer videos about regulations can also be a good way to promote your service and attract clients.
- Efficiency: It is not unusual now for SMSF trustees to ask about technology and software you use. Let’s face it, nobody really likes being audited and it is a process they would rather get over and done with quickly.
We have already mentioned compliance software, but clients today also expect auditors to be using software to help collect data, analyse it, and reliably spot patterns and potential issues.
- Good communication: The importance of communication in any service business cannot be overstated, and it is no different for SMSF audits. You should remember that clients are judging you on this before they are even paying clients.
They will want to get an idea of how available and responsive you are, so make sure that you respond to queries quickly and accurately. During the audit process, make sure customers are kept up to date. Try to foster the feeling that you are working together, because really you are. When you have queries for them, they are more likely to respond quickly and make your job easier if they trust you and find you easy to communicate with.
As more Australians are choosing to manage their own super, the SMSF auditing business is growing. If you choose to take your business in this direction, it pays to know what trustees will consider when they appoint an SMSF auditor.