The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAA) has reminded accountants and accounting firms that they cannot simply sign off on self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) audits as "an employee of a firm".
ICAA head of professional standards Paul Meredith has used the institute's website to express concern at the number of accounting company employees who suggest they will "only be signing the SMSF audit reports as an employee of the firm", or will be signing "in my capacity as an employee".
He pointed out that under the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993, the appointment of an auditor was the appointment of an individual, not of a firm or other entity.
"Accordingly, when the auditor signs the audit report, it follows that he or she does so in their personal capacity as the appointed auditor under the Act, and not therefore as the representative of a firm," he said.
"The individual provides the audit opinion which they have formed in their own professional capacity. They are not conveying the audit opinion of an employer.
"In the exercise of their audit function, the auditor needs to put aside a concern for their employer's interests which they might otherwise exhibit as an employee. It's not always clear that the auditor understands or appreciates this distinction if they talk about signing audit reports in their capacity as an employee.
"Reinforcing the point that auditor independence is defined to encompass both independence of mind and of appearance, the SMSF auditor should be prepared to issue an audit opinion that their employer might not agree with."
