5 Best SMSF Accountants in Toowoomba: Who Also Sets Up New Funds

A self-managed super fund (SMSF) is an Australian retirement fund that its members run themselves as trustees. Before the fund can take a contribution or buy an asset, someone has to put the structure in place: a trust deed, a trustee (often a company), registrations with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), a bank account and an investment strategy. After that comes the yearly cycle of accounts, an independent audit and the fund's tax return.

Many trustees prefer to use one firm for both parts, so that the people who set the fund up also prepare its first annual return. The records from the first contribution then sit with the team that has to report on them.

This article looks at five accountants in Toowoomba whose own web pages say they establish new SMSFs and also look after them after setup. The firms appear in no particular order. The notes below come from each firm's own SMSF page.

A note on SMSF specialists outside Toowoomba

Some Toowoomba trustees also compare a local practice with a specialist based elsewhere in Queensland. SMSF Australia is an SMSF accounting firm with an address in Varsity Lakes on the Gold Coast. It says it services "the Gold Coast and wider Queensland area" and has a page for trustees on the Gold Coast. Its home page adds: "No matter where you are in Australia, our technical directors are only one Zoom meeting away!"

Its setup service is a fixed $2,000 + GST per fund. That fee covers the $636 ASIC fee for a corporate trustee, the legal fees for the trust deed and the trustee company's constitution, the ATO registrations, help with rollovers and the bank account, and a registered office and electronic service address for the first year. An in-house SMSF lawyer prepares the deed.

After setup, its annual packages start at $1,300 + GST, and that price includes the cost of the independent audit. A fund that holds up to two direct properties sits in the $1,600 + GST package. More detail is on its Gold Coast SMSF accountants page.

Five Toowoomba SMSF accountants that set up new funds

1. McConachie Stedman

McConachie Stedman has a Toowoomba office at 160 Hume Street. The firm also has offices in Clayfield, Redcliffe and Kingaroy.

Its SMSF page lists the full life of a fund. The services start with "Establishing SMSFs" and continue with "SMSF advisory and compliance for the operation of their fund" and "SMSF administration".

For members who are close to retirement, the page lists "Retirement and benefits payment strategies". At the other end, it offers the "Wind up of SMSFs no longer required". The firm also lists "Up-to-date information regarding changes to superannuation rules".

This list suits a trustee who wants one local firm from the day the fund starts to the day it closes.

2. Haslam Consulting & Accounting

Haslam Consulting & Accounting works from Toowoomba. Its SMSF page describes the setup work in detail. The page says the firm can "show you how to set up your own fund, including: setting up a corporate trustee and trust deed", "applying for a Tax File Number and GST registration" and "producing a Product Disclosure Statement and all membership forms".

The page also covers the money that moves into a new fund, with "finding existing super and rolling it into your SMSF".

After setup, Haslam lists "managed bookkeeping using specialist SMSF compliance software" and "income tax and GST lodgement". It also helps trustees "produce the documents required for compliance".

On fees, the page says: "You can roll your Self-Managed Superannuation Fund services into an Agreed Price Service Plan". That suits a trustee who wants to agree the year's fees at the start.

3. Fox & Rynne

Fox & Rynne has a Toowoomba office at 2 Mylne Street, and offices in Miles and Taroom.

Its establishment wording is direct: "We handle the entire establishment process, from creating the trust deed to registering your fund with the Australian Taxation Office." The page also lists the "Establishment of investment strategies".

For the years after setup, the firm offers "SMSF Administration using Class Software". Its list includes the "Lodgement of Tax Returns, Activity Statements and quarterly TBAR reports". A TBAR is the transfer balance account report that a fund sends to the ATO for events such as the start of a pension.

For funds with a company as trustee, the page says: "If you opt for a corporate trustee structure, we manage all ASIC-related responsibilities." The firm also describes a wind-up service when a fund closes.

Fox & Rynne suits a trustee who wants a corporate trustee and prefers the firm to handle the ASIC side as well as the tax side.

4. M Group

M Group has an office in Toowoomba. The group also has offices in Victoria and on the Sunshine Coast.

Its SMSF page leads with compliance. The firm says it will "prepare your documents, such as the fund's taxation return as well as financial documents". The service includes "personalised attention to your SMSF by an experienced M Group accountant".

For new funds, the page adds that "we can also help clients set up tailored SMSF packages from scratch".

M Group suits a trustee who wants an experienced accountant from the firm to look after the fund each year and wants the setup to come from the same team.

5. RSM Australia

RSM Australia is a national firm with an office in Toowoomba. Its SMSF service list includes "Self-managed superannuation fund setup".

After setup, the firm offers "total and timely management of all your SMSF compliance obligations (including external audits and ATO reporting)". That wording covers the independent audit as well as the ATO reporting.

RSM is the only firm on this list whose SMSF page names property. Among the areas it can help with, the page lists "Purchasing property", along with SMSF structuring, estate and succession planning, and changes in the law.

RSM suits a trustee who wants a national firm with a local office, and who expects the fund to buy property.

A short note on property in an SMSF

Direct property is one of the main reasons some Australians look at an SMSF. A fund that holds property usually has more records to keep than a fund that holds only shares and cash, and the rent, costs and value of the property all flow into the annual accounts and the audit. If the fund borrows to buy the property, the loan arrangement adds its own paperwork. For these reasons, the fee for a property-holding fund is often higher than the fee for a simpler fund.

What the five firms have in common

Each firm on this list says on its own page that it sets up new SMSFs and looks after them after setup. The main differences are in what each page puts first:

• McConachie Stedman lists every stage from establishment to wind-up.
• Haslam gives the most detail on setup tasks and offers an agreed price plan.
• Fox & Rynne names its software and takes on the ASIC work for corporate trustees.
• M Group promises personal attention from an experienced accountant.
• RSM manages the external audit and lists property purchases.

Conclusion

Setting up an SMSF and running it are two parts of the same job. The five Toowoomba accountants above each say they can do both, so one team can take a fund from its trust deed to its first annual return and beyond. McConachie Stedman and Fox & Rynne both describe the full cycle to wind-up. Haslam goes into the most detail on setup and fees, M Group assigns an experienced accountant, and RSM adds management of the external audit and property work. Trustees who would rather work with a specialist based elsewhere can compare these local firms with a specialist that publishes its fees, such as SMSF Australia.