Unlocking FATCA and CRS

At the end of October 2014, the UK and 50 other countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed up to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Governments have committed to implement automatic exchange of tax information in 2017. CRS: A Game-Changer CRS is undoubtedly a game changer. Complexity arises in the cross-border identification, classification and reporting of customer accounts. Not only does a financial institution need to be able to identify the tax residence of each and every one of its customers, it has to be have the ability to report the necessary information to the relevant tax authority.

In the context of FATCA, a recent survey found that only a third of financial institutions believe that their US FATCA compliance efforts will be completed within budget. CRS has now significantly increased the scope and complexity of existing projects.
CRS has arrived at a time when financial institutions already face a range of significant economic and regulatory challenges, testing many financial institutions capability and capacity to deliver.

In order to avoid penalties, financial institutions simply must have robust, automated financial control regimes in place to meet global requirements.
Investment in technology will therefore be required to ensure CRS compliance on an on-going basis.