Designed to help firms consolidate and streamline the labor-intensive back-office identification and reporting activities now required of U.S. Withholding Agents (USWA) and Foreign (non-U.S.) Financial Institutions (FFIs) under FATCA, Sapient Global Markets' new offerings provide business consulting around systems and processes. Specifically, engineered technology solutions will reduce the burden on firms needing to identify, withhold and report against relevant customer accounts and transactions.

"The first priority for any FATCA compliance project team should be scoping the size of the data-related endeavor, followed by determining what technology and systems are currently in place to identify and aggregate U.S. indicia data," says Virginie O'Shea, analyst, Aite Group.

Sapient Global Markets' solution provides comprehensive FATCA compliance, offering the following advantages:
• A flexible solution that helps firms address and manage long-term uncertainties of the emerging FATCA regulations.
• Decreases the data remediation burden around "Know Your Customer" (KYC) and FATCA Due Diligence information gathering, ensuring timely and accurate identification of relevant accounts and transactions.
• Identification and implementation of a control framework, critical to help certify accurate reporting to the IRS or other relevant government authorities.
• Withholding solution produces reporting and transaction tracking data, subject to FATCA.
• Collects transactional data in prescribed formats required by IRS or local tax authorities with submission capabilities through Sapient Global Markets' Compliance Management and Reporting System
• Eases commitments around the 2014 deadlines for withholding through the design, development and implementation of technology solutions configurable to each firm's requirements.

"With the final FATCA regulations in place since January 2013, USWAs and FFIs continue to seek IRS clarification on registration, client classification, withholding and reporting. The six-month delay to some elements of FATCA to 2014 has given firms time to revisit their FATCA solution design, develop synergies with other regulatory projects and optimize their program spend on tax operations and other regulatory reporting," said Chris Collins, director, Sapient Global Markets. "Our deep understanding of the regulatory landscape and the specific needs around FATCA and related tax and regulatory change initiatives improves the ability of firms to identify the best course of action and deliver software and services that help meet the revised FATCA deadlines."