The Federal Court has set aside an earlier decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to overturn the disqualification of a self-managed super fund (SMSF) auditor.
The decision, Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Gilliland, had looked into the disqualification of John Gilliland for breaching independence requirements.
In 2018, the Queensland-based auditor had been disqualified by ASIC upon finding he breached his duties by auditing the Fiscal Consultants Superannuation Fund (FCSF) from 2013 to 2015 while Gilliland, his wife, and his daughters were members and trustees of the super fund.
He stepped down in 2016, but was reported by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) to ASIC during a review of Gilliland’s audits that year.
He sought a review of the decision by the AAT, which set aside the decision, and ASIC subsequently appealed to the Federal Court.
The Court found deterrence was a relevant consideration in deciding whether to disqualify a person as an approved SMSF auditor under section 130F of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) and that the AAT had not considered general deterrence when making its decision.
Gilliland had practiced as a registered tax agent since 1978. He was first registered as an approved SMSF auditor in 2013.
He would be disqualified as an SMSF auditor again, pending a final decision by the AAT who would have to re-determine the matter.
