Networking is Driving Organisational Readiness for AEOI

As global information reporting continues to grow in complexity, it also continues to test the versatility of organisations internal tax compliance and tax operations teams. For larger organisations, this means managing an increased responsibility for FATCA, reporting for CDOT this May, and continuing to prepare for complete global transparency with CRS starting in tax year 2016. For all other organisations, managing just one of these new obligations continues to come at a cost to their organisation and take valuable time and resources away from core business initiatives. With accelerated timelines, challenges identifying reportable accounts for each regulatory obligation, and constantly changing guidelines from multiple jurisdictions, tax compliance team’s responsibilities never seem to end, resulting in tax operations teams stuck in a cycle of immediate needed support. Complexity By the Numbers: A Small Example Networking has continued to play a significant role driving organisational readiness for global reporting with this much variability. A great example was highlighted on March 16 by Anish Benera, Senior Manager at EY for Financial Services in Hong Kong, during an EY webinar called 2016 FATCA and CDOT Reporting is Here. Benera stated, “with over 90 jurisdictions signed on for CRS, if you have five changes in 10 jurisdictions that means you have 50 changes that need to be interpreted, adjusted, and reported.” With limited guidance and clarity, organisations are looking to accelerate their learning curve by understanding how other organizations are preparing and the challenges they are experiencing. Knowledge by Networking There are several ways to accelerate your progress preparing for CRS through networking, and one is by targeting organisations with CDOT responsibilities. With first-time reporting in May for CDOT, commonly referred to as UK FATCA, but more appropriately interpreted as pre-CRS due to similarities in reciprocal reporting based on tax residency, CDOT will act as the only indication (pilot test) as to what organisations should expect with CRS and what many believe will be 100-250 times more complexity with CRS than FATCA. Another way to leverage networking is to engage with trend setters in your industry. These are typically some of the largest and most complex reporting environments and have made their way beyond determination in preparation to report. These organisations have key insight as to how to create alignment between your internal teams responsible for reporting and what kinds of questions to ask and explore before making a decision on your reporting strategy. However, even finding the right opportunity to network with these organisations is challenging. Most global reporting thought leadership groups and educational events are still focused on supporting the determination phase of global reporting. Since operationally reporting is the only way to prove years spent determining what accounts to report, it is more important than ever to include tax operations teams to meet quickly approaching deadlines. Sovos Offering an Unparalleled AEOI Networking Event As a result, Sovos is kicking off its AEOI Networking event series in London on April 20. This is a complimentary educational and networking event focused on uniting tax compliance and operations teams to successfully implement global reporting. The agenda includes presentations from industry experts including BNY Melon and Standard Chartered Bank, compliance updates from EY and Deloitte, and regulatory updates from the HMRC as CDOT reporting nears and continues to prepare to transition into CRS. For a more detailed agenda and to register, please visit the Sovos AEOI Networking Event page.