May 30, 2026 – 5.00amQ: My husband who is 79 and I (69) are both in pension phase in our SMSF. A few years ago, a $2.4 million lump sum was withdrawn to repay a Division 7A loan to our company, going via our partnership account. Our instruction was that it be drawn equally from both member accounts, but our accountant took the entire amount from my husband’s account, and we failed to notice when signing the returns. The imbalance now favours me by about $1.5 million. Is there a way to correct the difference? – VickiA: Discovering an error in SMSF accounts does happen, and the instinctive question is the same one being asked here: can it be fixed? The answer, according to Leigh Mansell, director of SMSF technical and education services at SMSF consultancy Heffron, is that legitimate errors can be rectified – but the path is paved with traps that trustees need to think through before they start.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Fetching latest articles
How to fix a million-dollar accounting mistake in your SMSF
Errors that lead to incorrect members balances can be fixed if you have evidence of an innocent mistake.
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