CRS Deep Dive

Over 130 jurisdictions have begun reporting on the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in the last few years, and as a result many have built robust and effective CRS frameworks.

However, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and consequential economic downturns, has brought tax transparency and tax reporting to the forefront, making it more important than ever for governments to use data from tax transparency initiatives to mobilize tax revenues and combat tax evasion.​

In response to this, major initiatives from the OECD over the last year, include its first Peer Review - conducted on the legal frameworks of the 100 jurisdictions that committed to exchanging information from 2017 or 2018 - and the Guide on Promoting and Assessing Compliance. ​

Additionally, the Global Forum has commenced its reviews on the effectiveness of the implementation of the CRS amongst these jurisdictions and expects to publish the results in 2022. Whilst the Compliance Guide highlights the areas of focus as it pertains to any future reviews or audits.​

In general, one might say that CRS keeps financial institutions busy, no matter if countries have already joined CRS in the past or if they are going to join soon. ​

In this executive roundtable we would like to dive deep into the operational challenges that financial institutions are facing, lessons learned from the various experiences, and the future trends and strategies to build a long-term compliance programme.