Greg Divall, Program Manager, SBR, Treasury gave an update regarding SBR.
SBR
- A multi-agency COAG government initiative to reduce the government reporting burden for business.
- Government side will be ready from July 2010 and it will be made available through commercial accounting software packages progressively during 2010.
- Targeting 87 financial forms. Commercial software providers will SBR enable those forms that are most appropriate for their users and products.
SBR's objectives
Reducing the business-to-government reporting burden by:
- removing unnecessary information from government forms
- adopting a single reporting language, based on international standards and best practice
- using business software to automatically pre-fill forms
- making financial reporting a by-product of natural business record keeping processes
- providing an electronic interface allowing business software to lodge reports electronically directly with agencies
- providing a single secure online sign-on - AUSkey - for users to report electronically to all of the participating agencies.
Who is implementing SBR
The SBR Program is led by The Treasury, in collaboration with:
- Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics (taxonomy only)
- All state and territory revenue offices (SROs)
- Business and industry associations, such as ICAA
- Software developers.
Priority forms in scope
Form category
|
No. of forms
|
Agency
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Activity Statement
|
1
|
ATO
|
Copy of Financial Statements and Reports (Form 388)
|
1
|
ASIC
|
PAYG Withholding Payment Summary Annual Report (SAR)
|
5
|
ATO
|
TFN Declaration
|
1
|
ATO
|
FBT Return
|
1
|
ATO
|
Payroll Tax Forms - Periodic Returns
|
8
|
SROs
|
Payroll Tax Forms - Annual Reconciliations
|
9
|
SROs
|
Notification of half yearly reports (Form 7051)
|
1
|
ASIC
|
Financial Report (FINRPT)
|
1
|
ASIC
|
Company Tax Return (and schedules)
|
12
|
ATO
|
Key components
- Taxonomy
- Core services
- AUSkey
- Software Developers Kit
Authentication - AUSkey
- Provides a single, secure sign-on to send reports via SBR to the various agencies in scope
- Enable businesses to report from their own accounting software without having to sign-on to each individual agency
- Use is simple and safe, with easier and quicker registration processes
- Use AUSkey to access other on-line services (tax agent portals etc) with the ATO
- A single credential for interacting electronically rather than separate credentials for each agency interaction
- Can register for an AUSkey using ATO certificate, and all existing authorities and access permissions will be transferred to your AUSkey
- No urgency to migrate to AUSkey - but is needed to use SBR
User and device credentials
Device credentials are used for larger firms who want to register a server. Most tax agents will register with a user credential.
How it all works
For recurring reports like business activity statements (BAS), TFN declarations, PAYG, business software will:
- provide pre-filling of reporting information (form filling)
- allow editing and further data entry to complete the form
- let you send the report directly from your accounting software to the relevant agency
- provide a receipt, confirming the report was delivered
The SBR taxonomy will enable creation of XBRL IFRS compliant financial statement.
Why implement SBR
- The Deloitte Digital pilot showed an 82% savings in time for the preparation of financial statements
- Video presentation by Pete Williams is available on the SBR web.
'The fact that Standard Business Reporting will save 30 minutes here and an hour there doesn't sound like a lot, but multiply it across a client group and it quickly becomes substantial'.
Curt Rendall, Senior partner, Rendall Kelly, Chartered Accountants Business Review Weekly, 'Record Exposure', 11 March 2010.
Summary of benefits for tax practitioners
- Save time and reduce errors.
- Certainty that reporting obligations have been met.
- An easier way to share information between you and your clients.
- Access to more sophisticated reports.
- Real time financial performance information will be useful in guiding and advising your clients now, when it matters - not after the close of the income year.
SBR update
- Online
- refreshed SBR website, featuring key business & industry leaders (Heather Ridout & Katie Lahey)
- Links to SBR from www.business.gov.au and www.australia.gov.au
- Online training modules now live on website
- blog
The Hon Lindsay Tanner MP, Minister for Finance and Deregulation issued a media release on 31 March 2010.
'A blog launched today provides the public with an opportunity to participate in the development of the Rudd Government's Standard Business Reporting (SBR) program ... the blog provides a online forum for businesses, reporting professionals, software developers and the broader public to discuss SBR issues.'
Internet: http://www.blog.sbr.gov.au/
Businesses and Reporting Professionals
Treasury has:
- participated in webinars for industry association members
- commenced SBR Large Business Methodology - 'How to SBR' and SBR pilot.
What SBR is not
- SBR is NOT an additional reporting requirement.
- SBR is NOT another government portal.
- SBR is NOT a centralised database.
- SBR is NOT going to change regulation.
- SBR is NOT mandatory.
Any questions?
Contact SBR at sbr@treasury.gov.au
Member questions
- How will SBR cost software developers and reporting professionals?
- How much of the additional costs can reporting professionals pass onto their clients?
Greg Divall responded:
1. It is a commercial decision for software providers to make as to if they increase their prices - however we don't expect price rises as a result of including SBR capability into software products. Treasury is targeting business who have existing maintenance agreements with software providers. Software providers already have to regularly update and spend money on research and development to remain competitive.
2. If software providers increase prices, it is a business decision for reporting professionals whether they increase prices to their clients, or find alternative software providers. This is the same as any other increase in cost of business inputs.
Greg Divall asked is there any greater visibility of SBR? A member had looked at the SBR website only.
Chair asked members if they had any AUSKEY questions.
A member said that they have renewed their practice's digital certificate. Greg Divall said that agents can continue to use their digital certificates to access the ATO Portal.
A member said that he thinks that AUSkey is better than the existing system.
A member asked when will other agencies introduce SBR? Greg Divall advised that:
- ASIC should be ready from 1 July 2010. ASIC is working through issues with the ASIC portal and AUSkey.
- APRA should be ready to accept lodgements using the SBR taxonomy from July 2011.
- All state revenue agencies will be ready in July 2010.
A member asked how will users know if an agency is ready for AUSKEY?
Greg Divall advised that agencies will communicate to their user groups, e.g. a state revenue agency may include a message on their website. Agencies will allow users to use both their existing authentication methodology and AUSkey for a certain time.
A member asked where does the validation report or receipt go to?
Greg Divall gave an example:
- an agent can preview an Activity statement
- agent lodges through SBR
- core services will send to ATO
- ATO will message core services in real time, who message the reporting professional's software.
A member asked can reporting professionals receive a report of what they have lodged on SBR client by client?
Greg Divall advised that SBR provides a list service which, depending on the specific report, will list the obligations outstanding for a business.
A member asked where is the information lodged by agents on SBR stored?
Greg Divall advised that SBR is only a different channel of lodging information electronically. The ATO Portal and SBR use the same back end system and are treated the same treatment whether lodged on the ATO Portal or electronic lodgment service (ELS). Information is not held in SBR. It is held in the relevant agency.
Chair advised that any more questions can be handled out of session.
Action item
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NSWRTPWG 1004/02
Secretariat to circulate PowerPoint slides to members after the meeting.
|
Response
|
The secretariat circulated the PowerPoint presentation to members on 20 April 2010.
|
Responsibility
|
Adrian Coffey
|
Status
|
In progress
|
Sections within Agenda items
Last Modified: Tuesday, 14 September 2010