ASIC has cancelled the registration of a further 29 auditors of self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) who failed to lodge their annual statements.

This is in addition to the cancellation of 374 SMSF auditors in January 2023 (23-012MR) and 10 SMSF auditors in May 2022 (22-121MR), as part of ASIC’s current compliance program.

ASIC Commissioner Danielle Press said, ‘ASIC expects SMSF auditors to comply with their regulatory obligations given the important role they play in promoting confidence in the SMSF sector. ASIC will continue to monitor whether SMSF auditors are complying with their obligations and take action where their conduct falls short.’

Notices of cancellation were sent to this latest group of cancelled SMSF auditors on 22 May 2023. They had been advised on 3 August 2022 and 21 March 2023 that they still had outstanding annual statements and that ASIC was considering cancelling their registration.

ASIC communicated to over 1,400 SMSF auditors that they had outstanding annual statements. Most of these auditors subsequently lodged their annual statements.

While many of the cancelled SMSF auditors were active, they had failed to lodge their annual statements. This may be due to poor administrative practices such as failing to keep their contact details up to date on the SMSF auditor register.

SMSF auditors need to ensure they complete and lodge their annual statements as required, or they risk cancellation of their registration. They also need to ensure their contact details are kept up to date. Lodgements of annual statements and updates to contact details can be completed via the ASIC Regulatory Portal.