South African Revenue Service (SARS)’s Post

🏛 👥 Employment – National Accounts: ⬆ Total Employment for Q2 2024 is estimated at 484.308 persons, 434.770 employees and 49.538 self-employed, up by 2,1% compared to Q2 2023 ⬆ Actual hours worked for Q2 2024 are estimated at 223.299 thousand, up by 2,3% compared to Q2 2023 More information on CYSTAT's Press Release: https://lnkd.in/e2nR5Cfb #CYSTAT #cydata #StatsCy #officialstatistics #cyprus #economy

#16DaysofActivism2024: To ensure their statistics provide accurate information and meet the needs of users, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) conducted user engagement, research and testing programme to improve the collection of data on domestic abuse (DA). New survey questions to measure domestic abuse were added to the Crime Survey in England & Wales in April 2023 as part of a split-sample trial. Half of respondents were asked the new questions, and the other half responded to the existing questions. The latest ONS update on progress of the redevelopment of DA stats (link below) focusses on the data collected from the new survey questions and accompanying analysis. https://lnkd.in/dNaFrfcc ONS are looking for feedback on this redevelopment of DA stats and have a survey open between 3 December 2024 and 5 January 2025. https://lnkd.in/dgtWjnj4

📣 Attention all large employers! 📣 SARS has requested large employers or representatives of large employers to allow their employees access to SARS eFiling through their work systems. 🖥️ SARS understands that for many individuals, this may be the only access to the internet some have. By enabling employees to transact with SARS online, you're not only streamlining the process but also saving employees valuable time they would otherwise spend visiting a SARS branch. 💼💻 #SARS #eFiling #TaxSolutions #Efficiency #Convenience

According to the Thomson Reuters Institute’s recently released 2024 Government Fraud, Waste & Abuse survey report, officials responsible for disbursing public funds and safeguarding tax dollars continue to face a familiar laundry list of obstacles. Tight budgets, increasing workloads, lack of resources, outdated technology, and ongoing recruitment difficulties — all issues that past reports have explored — continue to reflect the reality of today’s government workforce challenges. Find full report here: https://lnkd.in/eFNHbQdv #GovernmentFraud #RiskManagement #Compliance #FWA #FraudWasteAndAbuse #TRI #ThomsonReutersInstitute

We asked 6000 Moroccans about trust in institutions and identified ways to further strengthen it. Reforms to improve integrity and policy credibility are the area with the most potential to boost trust in Morocco: 1) Digitalization of service delivery to simplify service delivery and reduce bureaucratic red tape. 2) Increased citizens’ engagement, especially in health and education, to strengthen both process- and outcome-based trust in public institutions. 3) Improve policy coordination and communication to improve credibility: 4) Accelerate the implementation of the 2018 Open Government Partnership action plan and 2020 Open Data Readiness Assessment action plan 5) Increase transfers to municipalities while ensuring their transparent and effective use. 6) Targeting urban areas, i.e. the pockets of mistrust. 7) Further implementing the 2011 integrity legal framework on illicit enrichment, whistleblower protection, conflict of interest and asset declaration. We have made the data from the survey publicly available: https://lnkd.in/e8bMrG97 Mathieu Cloutier, Diane Zovighian, and Abel Bove deserve huge kudos for their tireless work on this analysis as does Anne-Lucie Lefebvre for initiating the work and Jesko Hentschel for his exemplary leadership, guidance and support. Thanks also goes to the following managers, friends and colleagues who helped ensure quality: Nadir Mohammed, Deborah Hannah Isser, Elena Ianchovichina, Hans Hoogeveen, Stuti Khemani, Zeina Afif, Abdoulaye Sy, Yannis Arvanitis, Meryam Benjelloun, and Mouna Hamden Lajnef Hamden among others https://lnkd.in/eY7TvX-n

Who’s stealing from you - and how? Our data shows that half of US and UK finance professionals have been hit by deepfake fraud scams. We're excited to reveal the Medius Financial Census 2024, which examines the threat of deepfakes, fraud, and burnout in the accountancy industry. With 85% of finance professionals believing deepfakes to be an existential threat to their business, here's a deeper look into the dangers of this new technology. See full data from the census at https://lnkd.in/eYpr5ryc. #medius #financialcensus #deepfakes #accounting #apautomation

We launched our 2024 Financial Census at Medius this week, and some of the results are eye-opening. I’m particularly interested in the impact of deepfakes on the profession. It is shocking to hear 53% of finance professionals admit that they have been targeted by attempted deepfake scamming attacks. We know AI tools can be used for good, and our team at Medius is doing just that. It is important to keep educating the industry and fighting these fraudsters. I encourage everyone to look at our infographic below and download the full report at https://lnkd.in/eB4E-CNa

Some shocking discoveries in Medius' Financial Cencus. It reports that over half of finance professionals (53%) have experienced attempted deepfake scamming attacks, with 43% admitting they have fallen victim to an attack and 85% saying deepfake technology poses an existential crisis to the business’ financial security. Download the report to learn how AI-driven AP automation provides the smarts to combat these coordinated attacks.

Suspicious Activity Reports (SARS) Annual Statistical Report:   The UK Financial Intelligence Unit (UKFIU) of the National Crime Agency (NCA) has published its annual report for the period April 2022 to March 2023.   The total number of SARs received in the year to March 2023 stood at c860,000, down 5% from the previous year of c900,000, due mainly to a reduction in SARs from high street banks.   Across the sectors, the highest number of SARs were from banks, with c560,000 reports (65% of the total), whilst reports from independent legal professionals stood at just over 2500 (0.3%), accountants and tax advisers at just over 6000 reports (0.7%), and with the lowest number of reports from Trust/Company service providers at 64 reports (0.1%). Conversely, other financial/credit institutions have substantially increased their reporting within the past couple of years, potentially indicating a trend in that direction.   The number of Defence Against Money Laundering (DAML) requests (where consent is sought from the NCA to permit a transaction/activity to proceed) also decreased, due mainly to changes in legislation. However, despite the number of DAML SARs decreasing, the number of cases where a DAML was refused and assets were restrained increased significantly, by 37%. This led to £272.7m being denied to suspected criminals, and it is of note that in the last two years, more funds were denied through DAMLs (c£560 million) than in the previous 6 years combined (c£500 million). This is said to represent a “step change” in the effectiveness of ‘asset denial’ linked to SARs.   According to the UKFIU’s Deputy Director, the increased investment in technology, illustrated by the use for the first time of the new SAR portal and also the on-boarding of major SAR reporters to the new bulk API technology, has materially helped to improve the quality and utility of SARs. In addition, the unit has also substantially increased its numbers of staff and its training of staff and of reporters, and also increased the information and assistance it makes available to the industry sectors in general, and will continue to do so going forward.   Accordingly, watch this space!   The UKFI report can be found here:   https://lnkd.in/endu97Fb

What does the data you collect actually mean for your volunteer programme? Are you collecting the right data and do you know how to analyse it? Read our FREE, downloadable guide to reviewing and improving your volunteer programme: https://lght.ly/5f7obj3