DST International says it is working with a so-called Special Interest Group (SIG), made up with industry experts and their clients, to adapt its HiPortfolio back office product to allow users to comply with the proposed International Accounting Standards (IAS).
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has introduced new accounting standards for financial instruments, which affects the fund management industry and its clients. Whilst these are aimed at all companies, there are specific guidelines aimed at the fund management industry. To assist organisations make the transition in financial reporting to the new standards, companies will also follow the guidelines in the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) that will go into effect at the end of 2004.
“Thisis a significant project for the fund management industry as all organisations have to decide on a process to comply in a very short period of time,” says Sheam Fyfe, DSTi’s executive director of global programmes. “Although this does not take effect until the end of 2004 our clients will need their accounting information to be available to allow them to comply from the beginning of 2004, to give them at least a full year’ s history. As such we are finishing a development project to create a Conversion Module in HiPortfolio to allow our clients recreate
historical data with the required information.”
DSTi expect to make this product available to its HiPortfolio clients during the first quarter of 2004.