Louise Biti

Specialist workshops will be a core focus at the upcoming 2023 annual SMSF Association Technical Summit, being held on July 26-27 on the Gold Coast.

SMSF Association CEO Peter Burgess says: “The outstanding success of last year’s event demonstrated the strong attraction that a combination of technical workshops, and engagement with industry experts presents for our specialist members.”

The 2023 workshop sessions are certain to have broad appeal with speakers including, DBA Lawyers’ Bryce Figot focussing on the tips and traps of the Total Super Balance and Transfer Balance Cap regimes, and Colonial First State’s Craig Day presenting his take on the latest in contribution strategies.

In other workshop sessions, Accurium’s Mark Ellem will dive into a series of case studies designed to explore the technical issues that can arise during the preparation of annual financial statements, while Aged Care Steps’ Louise Biti will look at aged care and housing affordability solutions.

In his keynote address opening the Summit, Burgess will provide expert analysis and critical review of Treasury consultation papers (including the proposed $3 million cap), ATO rulings, enacted law and draft legislation impacting on the SMSF sector and the broader super industry.

Heffron Consulting Meg Heffron’s keynote address in the morning on day one, looks at the $3 million cap, with Heffron adding: “Although not all SMSF clients will be subject to the new tax on earnings for balances over $3 million, it is clearly a major issue for our industry. 

“I will explore some of the new challenges and decisions for impacted clients, advisers and accountants whilst also discussing what this means for the future place of SMSFs in our superannuation landscape.”

The Chair of the SMSF Association, Scott Hay-Bartlem from Cooper Grace Ward will wrap up the 2023 Technical Summit with a high energy estate planning update, sharing his predictions on future litigation ‘hot spots’, as well as previewing how the proposed $3 million cap is expected to impact on future estate planning strategies.

Burgess concludes: “It all adds up to an exciting and professionally fulfilling event. The Technical Summit always presents an advanced agenda to elevate the skills of those operating at the highest level in the SMSF sector, and this year is no different. 

“The bonus alongside the several industry leaders we have presenting will be a gala dinner to celebrate the Association’s 20^th anniversary on the Wednesday night.” 

With six technical workshops on the program to ensure high quality discussions, seats at this year’s Technical Summit will be limited, so delegates are encouraged to register early.

Register for the Summit. 

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Clinton Jackson

The SMSF Association 2022 Technical Summit will include a deep-dive session into navigating death benefits with Accurium Head of Education, Mark Ellem, and Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers Partner Clinton Jackson.

SMSF Association CEO John Maroney said the Technical Summit, being held on the Gold Coast from 27-28 July, was the ideal forum to have “hard conversations” about difficult technical issues. Navigating death benefits certainly comes under this umbrella.

“Imagine this scenario. You arrive at the office and start reviewing your task list for the day. Then you receive your first call, a very distraught client telling you their spouse has just passed away. What should be your approach?

“What processes do you have in place? What information do you need to collect? This is the scenario that Mark and Clinton are going to unpack in this session with multidisciplinary professionals from all sides of the SMSF table; the financial planner, auditor, lawyer, and administrator.

“They will highlight the common things that can go wrong when handling death benefits, what can be missing from the client’s data set, tips on how to be alert to common problems and how to manage the process effectively from phone call to the final death benefit payment.

“This will be a session where delegates walk away with information they can use. Being prepared and having some tips in the back of your mind when an unexpected, difficult scenario lands in your lap is invaluable.”

The Technical Summit will offer six SMSF “deep dives”, three keynote addresses and eight technical sessions as well as networking opportunities and social functions.

Maroney says: “We wanted to be bold with our program for this Summit – and I think this agenda achieves that. SMSF specialists have done an excellent job supporting their clients recently through very difficult years. The Technical Summit will provide practical guidance on how they can continue doing so.

“I look forward to a very hands-on Technical Summit this year which takes on a different dimension to National Conference. I am excited about the collaboration of multidisciplinary perspectives from all SMSF professionals in attendance.   We believe this Summit has the potential to be one of our best events yet,” he said.

Early bird registrations are underway for the SMSF Association 2022 Technical Summit.

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John Maroney

The SMSF Association Technical Summit will be a face-to-face event as COVID-19 restrictions ease. The premium event will include a highly interactive workshop discussion and problem-solving Summit on 21-22 July on the Gold Coast that will allow SMSF specialists to network in person for the first time since the February 2020 National Conference.

SMSF Association CEO John Maroney says: “The feedback from members has been that they would prefer to ‘get back together’ as soon as possible, to mix with their peers while receiving high-quality technical updates and earning their CPD hours.

“Considering the success of the 2020 National Conference with members, we have opted to return to the Gold Coast and have a two-day Summit intensively focussed on the latest SMSF technical education delivered by an expert line-up of speakers.

“We have decided to limit the number to 500 to increase interaction and networking opportunities between speakers and SMSF Specialists and their peers.”

The invite-only Summit will offer three keynote addresses and three concurrent streams offering a choice between five practical workshops and eight technical concurrent sessions. Most workshops will be repeated during the Summit so delegates will be able to construct a conference program tailored to their own individual needs.

Keynote speakers include the Association’s Deputy CEO and Director of Policy & Education Peter Burgess, Meg Heffron (Heffron SMSF Solutions), Craig Day (Colonial First State), Bryce Figo (DBA Lawyers), Bryan Ashenden (BT Financial), Belinda Aisbett (Super Sphere), Aaron Dunn (Smarter SMSF) and Mark Ellem (Accurium).

Maroney says: “The workshops will last 90 minutes and focus on issues of growing importance in the SMSF sector and the application of strategies. Day 1 will start with Burgess’s traditional SMSF legislative update and day 2 will start with the Industry Breakfast on the topic of ‘The future of IT in the SMSF sector’ and conclude with a special address from Meg Heffron on SMSFs looking forward: where to from here?

“We are also excited to announce the holding of a special Fellows function on the evening of 20 July that will acknowledge their enormous contribution to the Association and the wider SMSF sector, as well as welcoming the new Fellows to the Association.”

For those unable to attend, there will be an on-demand option. It will be a shorter version of the Summit and be released a week after the live event.

Registrations are now open via the SMSF Association website.

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