The superannuation industry climbed a mountain in meeting new reporting requirements in 2013 and can do the same again in 2014.
David Braga, chair of the Australian Custodial Services Association, attributes the success to close co-operation between funds providers and APRA.
“The initial (reporting requirements) draft that APRA issued at the end of 2012 was a very steep mountain to climb. At the start of 2013 we were still trying to figure out exactly what these requirements would end up looking like and how difficult it would be, but we have all been communicating really well, sorting out the detail.”
He said there was still a lot of work to do to succeed in 2014, but he felt industry now had momentum on its side.
ACSA played its part in the success by meeting fortnightly in 2013 to coordinate with funds, trustees and services providers to formulate a common approach to reporting asset classes.
“It would be all too easy for each individual fund or custodian or fund administrator, accountant or auditor to come up with their own view of what APRA meant, so we could have had a chaotic outcome.”
The success of the first reports that went out in October, he said, gave him hope the industry would succeed in 2014 too.
One area that has proved impossible to get exactly right with APRA has been unlisted assets.
“The industry has said take whatever information we have got, as the data improves after that point we will see how it goes.”
David Braga will talking on this subject at the Investment Administration Conference being held at Doltone House, Elizabeth Street in Sydney on February 12. The agenda can be viewed here.
