Even though that’s for sure a major financial decision, the reality is that it isn’t always easy to manage them because they are packed with a bunch of different complexities that need to be perfectly understood if you want to stay compliant.
If you’ve never dealt with them before, then it would be advisable to consider hiring the services of an SMSF accountant because they are the ones who can help you maximize your fund’s potential. There are many benefits that come with their expertise, and below are a few of them that will be enumerated.
You’ll Get Expert Advice
As concluded in the beginning, there are many rules and regulations linked to the self-managed super fund. That’s precisely why connoisseurs of self-managed super funds, at SMSF Australia, want to emphasize how crucial it is to put your trust in the hands of someone who has extensive knowledge when it comes to this. If you fail to do so, you are increasing the likelihood of dealing with serious penalties that strike those who aren’t compliant.
On the flip side, when you have someone in your life who knows all the ins and outs regarding this, it's like practically having a real expert who's going to give you an insight into various Australian Taxation Office rules, regulations, and restrictions.
Their main goal is to make sure you remain compliant (including your funds, too!) with current legislation, and, at the same time, safeguard yourself from any hefty penalties and/or lawsuits.
They Can Help You Maximize Your Savings
If you're looking to maximize your savings, then you can freely rely on the knowledge and advice that these professionals can provide you with. If necessary, they can help you effectively analyze and develop your investment strategy by taking risk tolerance into account.
Besides that, they can also give you advice related to superannuation to make sure that you are receiving the best possible tax returns. In a nutshell, with these experts in your corner, you'll find a relatively easy and simple way to achieve your retirement goals.
Improved Tax Planning
When you have SMSF connoisseurs by your side, then you have a greater chance of properly planning your taxes within the SMSF structure. This process usually includes the following:
- Franking credit optimization from dividend-paying stocks
- You'll be able to efficiently re-evaluate asset planning before the pension stage arrives
- You’ll be able to boost deductible contributions
To put things a bit simpler and make things clearer, let’s take a look at one example. During the accumulation stage, your investment profits are taxed at fifteen percent; however, once you get closer to the pension phase, the money you’ll be making on assets that are supporting the pension may be completely tax-free, including capital gains and rental income.
You’ll Save A Lot Of Time With Them
In the beginning, it was concluded that managing SMSFs is generally very challenging, particularly if this is your first time dealing with it. Apart from that, it can be time-consuming as well, especially if you do not have enough knowledge when it comes to the above-mentioned rules and regulations.
On a more positive note, when you join forces with someone who is familiar with all the ins and outs, such as bookkeeping, record-keeping, compliance monitoring, and many other tedious tasks, then your burden becomes all of sudden a lot less heavy because you can leave all these administrative tasks up to these professionals.
So what does it mean? It means that they can put all their efforts into these things, allowing you to focus on other equally relevant things in your business and life, in general.
You’ll Be Able To Balance Risk And Return Much Better!
Every investor has a different risk tolerance, and sometimes, they cannot easily determine that. But don't fret! If that's the case with you, then just simply make use of an SMSF accountant, because these people are capable of effectively determining your risk appetite, and, simultaneously, helping you have a perfectly optimized portfolio that will help you optimize your returns without endangering yourself financially.
It doesn’t matter whether you are interested in shares, stocks, real estate, or anything else; these gurus are here to make sure all your investments align with your retirement objectives.
They Have A Lot Of Experience With Investing
Speaking of investing, regardless of your experience as far as this is concerned, as an investor, you could always use some guidance that’s going to help you properly navigate things, including your portfolio.
And that’s precisely what you’ll receive from them, since they are known for offering top-notch portfolio management services. As previously mentioned, they know all the ins and outs that are associated with investing, which means they are going to help you craft an effective investing strategy that’s going to help you accomplish your goals and, simultaneously, decrease any risk as much as you can.
Since they are very knowledgeable when it comes to this, they can also help you detect any good investment opportunities that you could potentially benefit from.
They Can Assist You With The Record-Keeping
SMSF management is definitely very complex because it involves a bunch of intricate administrative work. There are various tasks that are part of this process, such as managing audits, crafting annual statements, maintaining precise and detailed financial records, and many other things that require a lot of effort.
If you’ve never dealt with these tasks before, then you may find them challenging and confusing, but don’t worry. In these instances, the best thing that you can do is to put your trust in the hands of these professionals, because (among many other things) they provide accounting services as well!
They are going to help you simplify all these processes, making sure that your self-managed super fund stays compliant and properly organized.
Moving On To Contributions And Withdrawals
Contributions and withdrawals from a self-managed super fund are frequently subject to extremely rigorous restrictions, rules, and regulations. When you have these experts in your team, then they are going to make sure that the contributions do not surpass caps, and, concurrently, are going to offer you an advice that’s related to tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, which is crucial because that’s going to help you steer clear of mistakes that can be very costly.
In case you didn’t know, exceeding contribution caps usually results in excess contributions tax, however, when you join forces with an SMSF accountant, then you’ll be able to properly navigate these restrictions, making sure that you contribute within reasonable boundaries.
The Importance Of Succession Planning
Many people (particularly the ones who are dealing with the SMSF for the first time) have the tendency to overlook the importance of succession planning, which is a huge mistake since it is one of the most essential elements of SMSF management and planning.
If you want to be sure your SMSF assets are properly passed on to beneficiaries in a tax-efficient way, then you need to consult with someone who is seasoned when it comes to this, because they know exactly how it’s supposed to be executed.
They are going to help you efficiently structure your self-managed super fund that will lead to successful succession planning. An SMSF that’s properly structured typically involves binding death benefit nominations, making sure that every single one of your assets is delegated the way you wanted.
That’s something that can easily be achieved with these professionals because they know what steps need to be taken to prevent any delays and avoid any arguments when the time comes to distribute them.
How Will You Be Able To Tell If You Found The Right SMSF Accountant?
If you’ve never worked with these people before, then you may not be able to instantly “recognize” the right one. It’s important to remember that there are certain traits and qualities that an SMSF accountant needs to possess to be considered reliable, professional, and above everything, worth your time. This refers to:
- They need to be experienced and qualified – Before you make any final decisions, you first need to be sure they have the necessary credentials and solid experience, otherwise, they won’t be able to do their job right.
- Being familiar with technology is essential, too! – You should hire a person who is relatively technology-savvy and who is used to utilizing different tools that are going to help them streamline and accelerate different processes.
- Communication skills – Just like in most professions, communication plays a vital role; therefore, you should consider an SMSF accountant who has excellent communication skills and is capable of quickly addressing all your problems and questions if there are things that may confuse you. Ineffective communication often leads to misunderstandings.
