Commonwealth Super Corporation selects Iress for super admin

It manages approximately $58bn for members across 11 different fund arrangements, including both defined benefit and defined contribution. With little over a year until implementation of the legislation for large businesses, planning needs to start now in order to effectively to handle the reforms. Superannuation providers will need to understand how messages will be delivered in order to develop the appropriate infrastructure to receive the messages, deal appropriately with them internally and provide the information around lifecycle tracking and auditing. Iress is a technology company providing software to the financial services industry.Our software is used by more than 10,000 businesses and 500,000 users globally. The Federal Government announced last week that the timetable for businesses to comply with the new SuperStream method for submitting superannuation payments has changed.

The SuperStream legislation is intended to improve the administrative efficiency and management of super accounts and this tranche “enables superannuation data and payment regulations to deal with payments and information related to superannuation transactions and reports”. Additionally it gives the Commissioner of Taxation the power “to issue mandatory superannuation data and payment standards for superannuation entities and employers”. The clearing house means employers can now make superannuation contributions to multiple super funds for their employees—including both APRA-regulated funds and SMSFs—from one central portal. It is suitable for all employers regardless of whether they use payroll software or not, with the entry of employee and contribution data supported via file upload or manual entry. Iress provides a range of administration, registry and member engagement services to more than 50 Australian super funds, as well as SuperStream messaging and clearing house services. Iress today announced that it has finalised a master services agreement with Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) to adopt Iress software, Acurity, for the administration of its defined benefit scheme members.

Business Process as a Service (BPaaS) is reshaping superannuation administration

For the most part, many businesses will not be required to do anything until after 1 July 2015, however businesses are still encouraged to get on board as soon as possible. Iress currently provides superannuation software and services to more than 50 funds, which have more than $380 billion of funds under management and more than four million member accounts. The opportunity exists for Governments to realise more efficiency across the economy by working with industry to identify where digital messaging (and payments) can be implemented to deliver streamlined business processes that operate through existing business systems and utilise the Business Transaction Network. It’s not simply a case of listening and responding, rather each message has a number of steps that need to be orchestrated. SLAs, for example, relating to the message delivery are absent from the public documents currently available.

In Australia, we work in a highly regulated environment and have built our solutions to help employers comply with their obligations and simplify admin at the same time. When you work with us you benefit from the experience (and hindsight) of implementing a mandated pension scheme and you can feel confident it works (we have been doing this since 1996). The ATO have passed onto to Reckon that Australian employers can expect to receive a lot more information about the change in coming months. Chris Denney is the Head of Government https://bookkeeping-reviews.com/ and Industry Engagement at SuperChoice and represents us (and our clients) on several industry bodies (ABSIA, GNGB) and Government forums focused on new business & technology initiatives. As Australia prepares for the next stage of Digital business reform, it is worth reflecting that without the successful implementation of SuperStream the path to deliver STP and Job Keeper would not have existed. It has delivered on these objectives, efficiently and effectively by integrating with employers existing business processes.

SuperStream – An ongoing conversation

CSC selected Iress as a key technology partner to improve member outcomes, reduce administration complexity and drive down the cost to serve through a digital-first approach. SuperConnector allows super funds and employers to send and receive messages in compliance with SuperStream messaging standards including the SuperStream Data and Payment Standard, and Standard Business Reporting standards. It helps https://bookkeeping-reviews.com/superstream-improves-the-australian-superannuation/ to improve the quality and accuracy of data—reducing risk—while ensuring data transmission is both seamless and secure. Another aspect of SuperStream that may cause potential early problems is how to handle the sheer size and volume of the XBRL messages. XBRL messages are naturally verbose and could lead to a ten times increase in aggregated contribution files from Super entities and intermediaries.

Additionally, analysis of contribution data flows on Bravura Solutions systems clearly shows cyclical data spikes during the month where some dates are favoured over others for contribution payments. More evenly spreading these contributions over the month would reduce the impact on infrastructure and the potential cost of upgrades. SuperStream has proven how a combination of sensible law, smart design and a willingness for Government and software developers to partner to deliver solutions can add value for all parties, especially employers. And importantly, SuperStream has left a legacy for others with the creation of the Business Transaction Network. Together, Gateway operators, business software providers (like SuperChoice Services) and Government have delivered a digital messaging infrastructure for Australia. CSC has a 100-year history of providing superannuation services to current and former Australian Government employees and the Australian Defence Force.

Iress adds clearing house to SuperStream gateway

In the early 2010s, the then (Labor) Government’s focus was very much on improving the governance, efficiency, structure and operation of Australia’s superannuation system. Take a look at recent news about this change and the ATO website to know how you will be impacted by changes. The Australian Super System Review (the Review) was established to assess whether Australia’s compulsory retirement saving system was working efficiently and in member interests. The broad-ranging Review looked at the underlying philosophy of a compulsory system that is almost entirely outsourced to the private sector. A key conclusion of the Review was that the system needs to be re-engineered to work more for the benefit of its members, and not vice versa.

One of the learnings arising from 2020 has been that there is immense value in Governments (States and Commonwealth) continuing to invest in digital infrastructure and continuing to review existing regulatory reporting obligations. “SuperConnector has been built hand-in-hand with employers and funds, focusing on the main pain points identified by users. SuperConnector helps to stop these errors before they happen, driving average accuracy levels to 99.5% or higher. To help businesses better understand what SuperStream is, and compliance obligations we’ve put together the What is SuperStream? Factsheet This factsheet includes details on timelines for different sized businesses, as well as how we’re changing Reckon software to help businesses comply. The value of the Business Transaction Network is that it provides the framework to connect any digital messaging across Australia.

The migration of members to Iress’ unified registry and operating model will be managed in stages over a three year period with the first expected to be completed by July 2023. So, it is with great hope that the announcement (on 29 September) by Prime Minister Morrison to invest $800 Million on a Digital Business Plan will further build on the technical infrastructure that the Business Transaction Network has delivered. While most of the attention went to My Super, with the benefit of hindsight, it is SuperStream that was the reform to arguably deliver the greater value to Australia.

• Factsheet This factsheet includes details on timelines for different sized businesses, as well as how we’re changing Reckon software to help businesses comply.
• SuperConnector helps to stop these errors before they happen, driving average accuracy levels to 99.5% or higher.
• It helps to improve the quality and accuracy of data—reducing risk—while ensuring data transmission is both seamless and secure.
• CSC selected Iress as a key technology partner to improve member outcomes, reduce administration complexity and drive down the cost to serve through a digital-first approach.
• It is suitable for all employers regardless of whether they use payroll software or not, with the entry of employee and contribution data supported via file upload or manual entry.