Top 8 SMSF Accountants in Melbourne

Gartly Advisory prepares annual SMSF financial statements and lodges the fund’s annual return. Its site says an independent, ASIC-registered auditor must audit the fund each year, and Gartly coordinates that audit for trustees. Geoff Gartly is listed by CA ANZ as an SMSF Specialist, and Patricia Chan, who has a superannuation background, works on superannuation and client support. Trustees switching from another accountant can leave the changeover to the firm, which collects the prior year’s accounts and audit report. It also helps people establishing a fund, and Geoff Gartly’s work includes SMSF exits.

42 Advisory prepares SMSF financial statements ready for audit, lodges the annual return and builds the audit file, then appoints an independent ASIC-registered SMSF auditor on the trustees’ behalf. The firm states that it does not audit SMSFs. It also does not advise on whether to set up a fund, because that is financial product advice, but it gives factual information on SMSF tax and compliance and can work alongside a licensed adviser. Both directors are CPAs, and meetings are held online or at the Moorabbin or Chadstone offices.

Kennedy Tax & Business Services takes trustees through setting up a fund, including the trust deed, trustee structure, registration and investment strategy documents. Each year it prepares the financial statements and lodges the fund’s income tax return. The firm is also a registered SMSF auditor, but its site says the independence rules stop a firm auditing a fund whose accounts it prepared, so for those funds it arranges an independent approved auditor. Founder Kennedy Weldemariam is a registered tax agent, and the Footscray office opens on Saturdays.

Liston Newton Advisory gives each fund a personal SMSF administrator and helps trustees set up a fund, its trust and its investment strategy. Its compliance team prepares the profit and loss, balance sheet, member statements and annual return, and the firm arranges the annual audit. Stewart Lane, partner and head of tax, is an SMSF Association Specialist Advisor, and Kieran Liston, Andrew Phelan and Daniel Baldwin are also part of the SMSF team. The firm’s own financial advisers can help with insurance and investment questions.

Beyond Accountancy establishes self-managed super funds and then prepares their annual financial accounts and the ATO tax and regulatory returns. It also advises on compliance, pension setup and commutation, tax benefits and limited recourse borrowing in super. Trustees can meet the team online from anywhere in Australia, and the firm’s financial planners can help with investment questions. Founder Jarrod Rogers is a CPA.

DJ Smith Group sets up and winds up funds, prepares annual financial statements and income tax returns, and starts and maintains pensions. It also updates trust deeds, advises on limited recourse borrowing and property in super, and applies the small business CGT concessions where they fit. The firm liaises with the fund’s auditors, investment advisers and the ATO. Its team includes a dedicated SMSF accountant, and partner Darren Smith is a Chartered Accountant. Retirees and SMSFs are among the client groups the Clayton firm names.

ML Tax Solution sets up SMSFs as part of its business registration service and then prepares the fund’s accounts and tax reporting each year. Director Ming Li belongs to CPA Australia, CA ANZ and the IPA, and the firm has worked from Chapel Street in Prahran since 2005. Trustees who also run a company or trust can keep registration, structure planning and every return with one firm. The firm also plans tax for overseas investors and business migrants, and its site is available in English and Chinese.

Bon Conseil Advisory Group manages SMSF setup from start to finish, including the trust deed and ATO registration. After that it looks after record-keeping, reporting and correspondence, monitors the fund against super laws and ATO guidelines, and prepares and lodges the SMSF tax return. Founder Navid Dorostkar is a CPA and registered tax agent, and the team includes financial advisers. The Kew office suits trustees in Melbourne’s inner east, and the firm also has a Sydney office in Chatswood.