Electronic submission of annual returns for funds licensed, registered and administered in the Cayman Islands is now in place, along with electronic reporting for all funds regulated under Cayman’s Mutual Funds Law.
Following successful industry testing, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) released on its Web site the electronic Fund Annual Return (FAR) form, and has opened the Internet portal through which funds’ local auditors can submit required returns. Related guidance notes also have been released.
The FAR and each fund’s audited accounts are to be submitted to CIMA through local auditors within six months of the fund’s financial year-end, beginning with those funds that have a year-end date on or after 27 December 2006.
CIMA has been developing the electronic reporting initiative for funds for several months, with assistance from its retained business adviser Ernst & Young and with input from the funds industry. The authority expects the initiative will facilitate more efficient collection and processing of returns from the more than 8,300 funds it now oversees.
“The implementation of this E-reporting system marks a new era for Cayman’s funds industry,” said Cindy Scotland, CIMA’s managing director. “Not only will we be able to more efficiently handle the audited accounts that are submitted, but we will be in a position to provide better aggregate industry statistics than we have been able to provide so far. This will benefit all stakeholders.”