Press Releases
InterSystems and Schumacher Partners Automate Administration of Self-Managed Super Funds for Australian Superannuation Administrators
~Online Information System Underpins Merger of Self Fund Pty Ltd and Priority Super to Form One of the Largest Specialist SMSF Administration Firms in Australia ~
Sydney, Aust. August 24, 2007 InterSystems Corporation today announced that Australian Superannuation Administrators Limited (ASA), a Sydney based company that specialises in Self-Managed Super Fund (SMSF) administration, has employed InterSystems’ rapid development and deployment technologies and the services of its development partner, Schumacher Partners, to automate the administration of self managed superannuation funds.
The number and average holdings of SMSFs have grown dramatically in recent years, with over 300,000 Australian funds holding over $200 billion in assets for over 600,000 members. As the numbers have increased, so have administration and compliance requirements.
The automated SMSF administration solution, called SISS (Superannuation Integrated Software Solution) is an online information system designed specifically to assist administrators in reducing costs and scaling their businesses while reducing compliance risk for their customers.
Based on ASA’s concept of an automated administration system, the experienced IT development team of Schumacher Partners developed and implemented the core solution in just six months using the InterSystems CACHÉ® high-performance object database and development environment. CACHÉ proved to be an ideal information technology platform, combining rapid development capabilities with a powerful object database that could be easily integrated with data feeds based on XML and other formats.
“Our focus is all around business process management understanding our customers’ business requirements, advising them about their information systems and implementing new systems,” said Wolf Schumacher, CEO of Schumacher Partners. “InterSystems provides us with the technologies we need to rapidly develop new Web-based applications such as SISS without imposing huge overheads on our customers.”
SISS works by providing a centralised database that maintains SMSF details and electronically collects investment transactions that can be exported to accounting software. It replaces traditional manual SMSF administration methods where paper copies of investment and bank accounts are manually entered into different systems prior to the preparation of annual SMSF accounts and sign-off by an auditor.
“One of the problems facing SMSF administrators is that when you get to the 200-300 mark the amount of paperwork required to administer the funds starts to put a strain on the company,” said Grant Augustin, CEO of Australian Superannuation Administrators. “By automating the process of collecting information and uploading it to accounting software, SISS gives us great scalability.”
The scalability of the new information system has already assisted Australian Superannuation Administrators, formed recently through the merger of Self Fund Pty Ltd and Priority Super, to become one of the largest specialist SMSF administration firms in Australia. “We have 500 funds currently on the system and we are looking at acquiring more businesses so we will have up to a thousand funds in the next nine to twelve months,” said Augustin.
While SISS is a key element underpinning Australian Superannuation Administrators’ ongoing growth, the company also plans in partnership with Schumacher Partners to market SISS to other SMSF administrators such as financial planners and accountants.
“The system can be used by someone who has five funds right through to five thousand that’s the beauty of it, it can scale up or down,” said Augustin. “Just to put that in perspective, 90% of self-managed super accountants currently administer nine or fewer funds. While pricing is not finalised yet, we believe the benefits of our service will far outweigh the cost, which will cover all data feeds. SMSF administrators can reduce the cost of administration and spend more time on value added services such as financial strategy or technical advice.”
“Australian Superannuation Administrators and Schumacher Partners couldn’t find a system on the market that met the needs of self-managed superannuation funds, so they developed one themselves,” said Denis Tebbutt, Managing Director for InterSystems Australia. “Their partnership to create a system like SISS in such a short period of time is a great example of what innovative business people and technologists can achieve together when they are using the right tools.”
About InterSystems
InterSystems Corporation is a global software technology leader with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and offices in 22 countries. InterSystems provides innovative products that enable fast development, deployment, and integration of enterprise-class applications. InterSystems CACHÉ® is a high performance object database that makes applications faster and more scalable. InterSystems Ensemble® is a rapid integration platform that enriches applications with new functionality, and makes them connectable. InterSystems HealthShare™ is a platform that leverages existing healthcare applications to rapidly create regional or national electronic health records. For more information, visit InterSystems.com.
A free, fully functional, no-time-limit copy of CACHÉ can be downloaded or requested on CD from the InterSystems Web site.
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Editorial Contact
David Sanday
Bowes Communications
02 9387 2333
david.sanday@bowespr.com
