Fringe benefits tax (FBT) compliance is widely considered by most large employers as painful. It is time consuming and complex, especially considering that it is generally less than 2 percent of the overall tax impost to the average large employer.

FBT concessions and exemptions can be missed as employers cannot assess their eligibility due to the quantum of data analysis required in the short period between FBT year end and the lodgement deadline. This can result in material overpayments of FBT. The scale of data necessary to compile an FBT return also makes it difficult to comply with complex legislative requirement.

With advances in technology there have been significant increases in the use of techniques such as robotics, automation, machine learning, and data analytics to master FBT compliance and administration. KPMG have invested in the use of technology to reduce the time taken to complete FBT compliance tasks. Our approach makes compliance with FBT law more efficient and accurate. Cost savings can be achieved by automating the assessment of FBT exemptions and concessions.

Our FBT Automator product can:

• Execute line item and general ledger data analysis, including interaction with your business systems like SAP, Oracle and others to access back end data and utilise digital coding and fuzzy-word matching to prepare the FBT return working papers without the need for manual line-by-line reviews.
• Complete payroll system data input by operating directly with FBT preparation software to automate the upload of payroll and HR-related data.
• Undertake FBT entertainment analysis by combining records from multiple data sources including the general ledger, expenses management systems and employee records. This allows for selection of the optimal FBT calculation methodology and upload into FBT preparation software.
• Use third party data to enable the automation process to be applied to car parking records and fleet management.

With this in mind, now is the time to plan your approach to the preparation of your 2018 FBT return and consider how automation could benefit your organisation. Please contact your KPMG representative to find out more and a demonstration of our FBT automation capabilities can be arranged.