Outsourcing SMSF accounting? Here is what you should know!
Are you looking for an outsourcing option for a self-managed
superannuation fund that you are managing as an accountant on behalf of your
client? If you have already started looking for this option, just stop and
think. What are those things that you should be considering before you make
this major decision to outsource SMSF accounting? You can relax if you are not
sure about this. We are going to tell you all considerations you need to
keep in mind if you are running an accounting firm or you are a chartered
accountant and planning to outsource the SMSF accounting to another organization.
Read each consideration carefully and make sure you consider each of
these when you outsource your SMSF accounting assignments the next time.
Level of experience
Before outsourcing SMSF accounting to any outsourcing partner, you
need to ensure that the company should have solid experience and proper
expertise in this field. Well, you are outsourcing SMSF accounting for the
client to have stress-free running of your own business so that you can have
extra time to devote to other productive activities. But it would be a total
waste if the company does not do the work as per the standards and you have to review
completed outsourced work at the end of the year. Therefore, the company that
you choose for outsourcing ought to be reliable and expert in this field.
Quality agreement
Do ensure to agree on the quality level of work with the proposed outsourcing
partner for your SMSF accounting. You must have agreed to pay a lot of money for
their services; therefore, you must get the agreed quality level of work as
well. It is better to have signed service level agreements in the outsourcing of
works so that you do not spend all your time reviewing the outsourced work.
Fees and other charges
Money is a consideration that matters everything and that’s how here
also. As a chartered accountant or an accounting firm, you need to ensure that
you have thoroughly read all the contract details to know about the contract
fees and other charges. It is better to ask questions now than regretting later
on.
Qualification check
It is always prudent to check for the qualification of the SMSF accountant employees of the company you are outsourcing the SMSF accounting work. Also, check if the accountants working in the outsourcing firm is fully trained as per Australian laws or not. Since you are managing the SMSF for your client’s benefit, therefore a little extra care is required and wouldn’t hurt anyone
Security and confidentiality
In the interest of your client, you should always check what
policies and software the company, have for maintaining the security and
confidentiality of your client’s information. Encryption, firewalls, and
confidentiality agreement is a must. It is also advised to ask questions
regarding data integrity and security like-
·
whether all the data remains on
the system and who all can access the data
·
whether it is proper the antivirus installed in all the systems
·
how the printing policy works
·
whether any kind of outside
devices like USB are allowed on the company’s systems.
Answer to these questions will help you a lot in understanding
whether the company is responsible enough to take care of your client’s
confidential data.
Exposure to the accounting software
You also need to ensure that the outsourcing partner does have all
the resources fully trained on the accounting software that you are already
using for SMSF accounting purposes. It is always beneficial to check these
small points beforehand so that you do not get stuck in the rut afterward.
These were some things that we suggest you must consider before you
decide to outsource SMSF accounting work to your outsourcing partner. It is
always practical to get these things managed beforehand as you would like to
provide the same level of services to your client as you were doing it before
outsourcing the work. Therefore, the selection of the outsourcing partner
should be based upon the answers to the above considerations, because truly it
is a very critical decision. Happy outsourcing!
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