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SMSF Accounting

 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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