Peter Johnson

Founder of Advisers Digest

Industry leader is an apt title for Peter Johnson. A chartered accountant with significant tenure as both practitioner and practice owner; a highly respected instructor for CPA Australia; an SMSF specialist and sought-after SMSF keynote presenter…Peter is dually gifted as technician and network facilitator.

In his role as Director of CST Documents and Founder/Responsible Manager for The SMSF Expert, Peter partners with accountants to provide high level technical support and advisory services for establishing and maintaining Companies, SMSF’s and Trusts.

Indeed, under Peter’s Directorship, CST Documents offers much valued and cost-effective on-line documentation services. Outsourcing the responsibility of drafting Company, SMSF and Trust documentation does much more than empty an overflowing in-tray. Importantly, it frees accountants from a time consuming administrative, albeit specialised, responsibility allowing them to get on with more productive tasks.

Peter’s technical insights, high-level thinking and innate understanding of matters pertaining to compliance and industry standards, combine to bolster accounting practices’ existing skillsets to enhance their client offerings.

From the inception of clients’ companies, superannuation funds and Trusts, through to their ongoing maintenance year-on-year, accountants rely on Peter and his team for enduring service that identifies and addresses seemingly incremental, yet important, changes to the compliance landscape and governance surrounding how client entities are structured.

Additionally, as an accredited SMSF specialist and trainer, Peter offers accountants a sounding board for discussion and access to current and comprehensive information that supplements their own knowledge. Alternatively, Peter acts as a technical partner for accountants, capable of overseeing their clients’ entire SMSF brief.

Thanks to prior roles as an SMSF specialist within legal and business consultancies, Peter has an established network of well-credentialed, experienced professionals, comprising lenders, solicitors and other aligned professionals, to assist accountants wishing to explore SMSF investment vehicles including Limited Recourse Borrowing Arrangements and beyond.

Such is the demand for Peter’s SMSF expertise, he routinely travels the country as a keynote speaker presenting at around 30 events per year for CPA Australia, SPAA and the Tax Institute, dissecting the latest developments in the structure, documentation and maintenance of Trusts, LRB arrangements and other considerations relating to the structure of SMSFs.

As the Founder for The SMSF Expert Pty Ltd, Peter created an Australian Financial Services Limited Licence framework offering a straight-forward and affordable solution in response to the abolition of the Accountants’ Exemption. Peter leads a team that delivers training, compliance, technical and documentation preparation services for accountants who wish to become Authorised Representatives.

Peter’s impressive career to date also includes more than 15 years with CPA Australia as well as being among the country’s first accountants to receive an Australian Financial Services Licence.

A former Accountant and Practice Partner, Peter’s advanced qualifications and experience are supplemented by a genuine understanding of the machinations of the day-to-day demands on accounting firms. Perhaps that’s why CST Documents and The SMSF Expert remain the consultancy of choice for accountants across Australia looking to partner with a technical consultant who respects and relates to reliable client service.

Personally...
Peter’s commitment to delivering a premium service and his disciplined work ethic are perhaps unsurprising given his former association with the Australian Army.

He studied at the renowned RMC Duntroon and served as both an Officer and Trainer. Whilst he looks back fondly on his time in the military, Peter says serving accountants and helping their firms to grow and prosper, is challenging, rewarding and fills his life with a powerful purpose…just as his military career once did.