Heffron offers outsourced SMSF solution to accountants
Self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) service provider Heffron has extended its outsourced SMSF administration and compliance services to accountants, stating they are facing stiff competition for SMSF advice and services.
Heffron sales and marketing director Ben Smythe said the group had been providing similar services to financial planners but felt that recent promotions of SMSF advice providers had put pressure on accountants to provide more than a commoditised book-keeping and compliance service.
“SMSF clients do not value compliance as a service nor do they regard manual book-keeping as a value-add to their fund,” Smythe said.
The service offering will differ from that offered to financial planners in that it will focus primarily on the compliance and book-keeping aspects of SMSF services and will cost $1650 per fund per annum.
Heffron will also take on the preparation of white label financial statements, fund member statements, calculate annual pension amounts and prepare minutes and an independent audit. Heffron will also prepare a draft tax return; however accountants would continue to act as the tax agent for the SMSF fund and its trustees, unlike the service offered to planners who hand this function over to Heffron.
Smythe said this part of the service was useful for accountants in maintaining their client relationships in a way not available to financial planners. However he said the two services differed, since Heffron found that financial planners were more in tune with the strategic aspects of a SMSF and wanted technical insights and support while accountants usually required compliance services for SMSFs under their advice.
Heffron currently offers SMSF services to 1600 funds which are primarily under the advice of planners, but Smythe said the offering should even up those numbers towards accountants.
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