29 April 2010 If adopted, the recommendations within the Cooper Review would see a major change to the way SMSFs were managed by Trustees and their advisers.

On 29 April the panel appointed by the Australian Government to complete a Review into the Governance, Efficiency, Structure and Operation of the Australian Superannuation System issued a preliminary report titled Self-Managed Super Solutions.

Otherwise known as the Cooper Review the panel says “It is intended that this document gives stakeholders a clear picture of the likely shape of the final recommendations on SMSFs to be made by 30 June 2010.”

Key recommendations include:

Compulsory registration of SMSF auditors
Full SMSF auditor independence such that where the individual or the firm provide any other services to the SMSF or its trustees they are specifically precluded from auditing that SMSF
Removal of the 5% in-house asset concession
Prohibition of the acquisition of collectables and private use assets by SMSFs
A review of the current borrowings

The recommendations are quite extensive and we recommend that any practitioner who has an involvement with SMSFs read the recommendations and Knowledge Shop’s brief. Log in and click here to download the report.

More information
Self-Managed Super Solutions: Phase Three Preliminary ReportWebsite of the Review