Stronger Super Impact Assessment White Paper Released By The IQ Business Group

The IQ Business Group (IQBG) today released its Stronger Super Impact Assessment White Paper, a follow up to its SuperStream Readiness White Paper released in March 2011. The latest White Paper outlines key issues and considerations for implementing the changes required to meet the MySuper, Tax File Numbers (TFNs), Account Consolidation, and SuperStream initiatives.  This paper reviews operational changes and expected impacts from a Business Strategy, Product and Business Rules, Customers and Technology/Platforms perspective in chronological order, highlighting a range of the major unknown issues that still require further clarification.  “This White Paper is a practical tool to help Superannuation organisations understand both the changes and necessary investment required for Stronger Super. From our perspective, it is part of our ongoing commitment to raise the awareness of the efficiency and effectiveness improvements that this initiative is seeking,” said IQBG’s CEO, Graham Sammells.  He continued, “The Impact Assessment is a logical extension of our first SuperStream Readiness White Paper and it applies to all major aspects of the Stronger Super package of reforms. Superannuation Funds need to be acting now and engaging with a broad set of internal and external stakeholders to review the areas that will be affected. An Impact Assessment is needed to detail the significant preparation and co-ordination required to meet these changes on time and on budget.”  According to Duncan Howard, IQBG’s General Manager of Consulting, there will be a cost of transition to meet the Stronger Super initiatives and this is the baseline for the next step of an Impact Design.  “Superannuation products may change in definition dependent on the variables a Fund selects when preparing for Stronger Super. It is important that every Fund is clear about their MySuper strategy and have made a conscious effort to turn a mandatory change into a beneficial opportunity,” said Howard.  This Impact Assessment White Paper and operational changes guideline is currently being put into practice within the industry with the first Impact Assessment engagement underway.  IQBG’s Principal Consultant and lead Industry Analyst for the assessment, Elizabeth McLean, believes that the White Paper helps identify what actually will change for Superannuation Funds versus pre-conceived interpretations of change.  “The Impact Assessment is the first step in understanding what actions are required immediately from an operational perspective and guides participants through a pre-defined set of questions that need to be asked. For many organisations they may not even be aware of the extent of the questions that they must ask. Our first major Impact Assessment has confirmed that a high level of detail is required in this stage of discovery. Without this information, it is literally impossible to prepare for known change and pending legislation without understanding the impact to a very wide audience,” she said.  IQBG has been providing superannuation funds and service providers with operational and IT insights for more than a decade. It is recognised as the premier consulting organisation for superannuation organisations and it has recently launched two major initiatives, iqBoard for Board Governance and iqCloud, an onshore cloud computing community for the Superannuation industry.  IQBG employees are highly active within key industry associations including Graham Sammells, CEO holding the role of Chair of the ASFA Electronic-Commerce Policy Sub-Committee and membership of the Stronger Super Treasury SuperStream Working Group. Elizabeth McLean is a current member of the ASFA Operations Policy Sub-Committee.