Accenture to reap AU$100m in ATO super

Accenture has all but sealed a AU$100 million contract with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) following changes to superannuation tax announced in the federal budget in May.

The ATO confirmed it is negotiating with Accenture for the work on its superannuation systems, and said the vendor was the best placed as the ATO already uses its Tax Administration System.

The ATO has decided the changes will be rolled into the final stage of its AU$450 million Change Program. The tax changes are closely tied to the integrated core processing (ICP) system, part of the final stage. The ICP system will replace the ATO's back-end processing systems.

The extra work will add to an already-tight schedule for the Change Program, which is scheduled to finish at the end of next year.

There has been no decision yet as to whether this timeframe will be extended, according to the ATO.

If the ATO decides to keep the same schedule, it could reconsider additional labour. ATO second commissioner Greg Farr has previously refused to rule out offshore labour if the Change Program was at risk due to a lack of human resources.