ABS DIGITAL REPORTING INVESTIGATION - 2016
Background
Thousands of businesses participate in ABS surveys each year. The ABS is aiming to improve your business survey experience by reducing the amount of time and effort required to complete surveys.
As we move towards a more ‘digital world’, many businesses are using their business management software to automatically prepare, review, and submit their government reporting obligations. An example of this includes digital reporting to the Australian Taxation Office for Business Income Taxation purposes.
The ABS recognises the benefits of automating the generation of reports to save you time, and is investigating how businesses can provide their information to ABS directly via additional digital channels.
Why have I been contacted?
The ABS is looking to transform its data collection processes in a variety of ways. While this thinking is still in its early stages, utilising financial management software directly is one of those directions that we are investigating. We are therefore looking to engage with the business community to obtain your viewpoint.
The ABS is conducting a trial using the Quarterly Business Indicator Survey (QBIS) to understand how businesses accounting information could be generated automatically to produce a digital report for you to review and submit. Therefore, the ABS is approaching businesses who are currently participating in QBIS to participate in an interview to better understand how you use your financial management software, and how you currently bring together the information to complete this survey.
We are contacting relevant businesses to gauge their interest in being involved in this investigation. However if you haven't been contacted and would like to be involved, please find our contact information below.
This interview process is voluntary. The ABS would appreciate the time taken to participate and provide feedback on your views and experiences.
What will the interview involve?
Representatives from the ABS Digital Data Delivery team will visit your office to meet with you in person for approximately 1 hour. If possible, it would be ideal to have a selection of people from your business who are directly involved in the process of bringing data together to complete ABS surveys present for this interview – this could include an accountant, financial controller or business owner.
What information will you be asked to provide?
There are a number of questions we would like to ask you to understand how this transition could affect our respondents, as well as the data we collect.
We will ask you to provide information or feedback on the following kinds of questions:
- Business accounting information
- Who compiles your business accounts, for example; yourself, accounts staff within your business, your accountant etc.? Is this the person who would provide responses to QBIS?
- How are your accounts compiled; in particular how are responses generated for QBIS (do you use accounting software, is there any estimation involved)?
- What sort of issues would you foresee in responding to the QBIS survey in a more automated way using your financial accounts (e.g. timing of completion of accounts)?
- What business accounting software do you use?
- Are you already reporting to any government departments or agencies via your accounting software?
- Do you see a benefit in digital reporting, and would you welcome a move to digital reporting of your business accounting data to ABS?
Your experience
The information you provide to us will be used solely for the purpose of understanding and improving the experience of providing data to the ABS. The ABS Privacy Policy outlines how you can access and correct the personal details that you provide to us. Please see www.abs.gov.au/privacy for the ABS Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
To speak to a member of the Digital Data Delivery team, please call us on 1800 214 751.
Alternatively, you can send an email to us at transforming.statistics@abs.gov.au