BUSINESSES must ‘address compliance gaps’ and overcome weaknesses in their ‘data quality and integrity’ to ensure that they meet the requirements of FATCA, CRS and the enforcement landscape of Automatic Exchange of Information Regimes.
These were key messages from EY’s recent seminar, attended by more than 120 business professionals, at which EY tax partners Aine Slater and Amanda Murphy were joined by Jonathan Russell, Revenue Jersey’s competent authority and deputy director – international.
As well as providing an update on FATCA and CRS developments, the seminar outlined Revenue Jersey’s compliance expectations for the financial services industry.
Ms Slater said: ‘The results of the polls we ran during the seminar illustrated that many businesses are taking their compliance obligations seriously but that there is still room for improvement. The practical advice provided will help Jersey businesses to find and address compliance gaps and ensure sustainability in their AEOI compliance programmes. As many businesses still have tactical solutions and manual processes in place, this is negatively impacting data quality and integrity, which will cause greater problems for them further along the line.’
Ms Russell added: ‘CRS and FATCA play a critical role in ensuring transparency in cross-border financial activities. Industry in Jersey needs to be aware of the current and evolving regulatory landscape and take steps to stay compliant with CRS and FATCA requirements. I cannot stress enough the importance of having accurate data in the upcoming reports due 30 June and retaining policies, procedures and documents evidencing the adoption and application of the requirements.’
Attendees also heard how the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development peer reviews would affect future controls over the data quality and integrity of FATCA and CRS reports expected by government, and received updates on the expected future amendments to CRS through the OECD’s Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework.
EY is offering follow-up sessions to help businesses enhance their AEOI compliance programmes.
The workshops cover common compliance gaps, process health checks, how to prepare for a desk-based audit, as well as deep dives into data analytics and data cleansing, and bespoke solutions to create a sustainable compliance framework.
