Standard Audit File (SAF-T) for VAT
Well, we released the Standard Audit File in our software on 10th August and I was expecting a barrage of complaints in the media along the lines of us supporting a “Big Brother” state. This Standard Audit File is part of an international initiative to allow tax authorities to take data from businesses in a common data format. This will then allow them to run tests and integrity checks on the data electronically to ensure that tax is being properly accounted for.
We are the first software company to release this in the UK and we had been geared up to defend our stance - but so far, all has been quiet. We did get some coverage in Accountancy Age and today we have had our first user enquiry about the facility.
In Holland, this type of system has been in place since the late eighties and is used by both the tax authorities and the accountants in practice. Here, it’s adoption is likely to be slower with HMRC only just starting to promote the technology as one of the components within their new BSI specification for accounting software. I guess we’ll just wait for the interest to grow.
Kevin Misselbrook
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