The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority's (APRA's) proposed schedule for reporting standards should be aligned with that of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), Towers Watson has said.
In its Super Update for November 2012, Towers Watson said it was disappointing that, although APRA had aligned the standard with AASB's proposals, it had chosen to implement it on 1 July 2013, two years out from the accounting body's proposed start date.
"While we recognise APRA's desire to receive consistent information for comparisons across reporting periods, it is disappointing that APRA will require funds to go to the expense of reporting under the new accounting standard two years earlier than required by AASB," it said.
Cutting the requirement for annual data collection by one month would further increase the burden on trustees and their administrators, according to Towers Watson, which could then lead to greater pressures on investment managers and custodians to align the required data with APRA's proposed format.
It also applauded the decision to make the Trans-Tasman portability scheme voluntary, which would allow defined benefit and pension funds to implement the scheme in the best manner for the particular fund.
The research house has offered a silver lining after super fund returns saw the end of a five-month streak last month.
A survey of almost 6,000 fund members has identified weakening retirement confidence, particularly among those under 55 years of age, signalling an opportunity for super funds to better engage with members on their retirement journey.
The funds have confirmed the signing of a successor fund transfer deed, moving closer to creating a new $29 billion entity.
A number of measures, including super on Paid Parental Leave, funding to recover unpaid super, and frameworks to encourage investment in the energy transition, have been welcomed by the superannuation industry.
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