KUCHING: A one-day seminar on the Good and Services Tax (GST) organised by Crowe Horwath, which aimed to strengthen an organisation’s ability to identify potential issues and matters of concern before its implementation on April 1, 2015, was attended by around 180 delegates.
The seminar entitled ‘Are You Ready for GST?’ was attended by representatives from various industries from small medium entrepreneurs; government linked companies as well as government departments from Kuching to Bintulu.
“GST will affect an organisation’s pricing strategy and its cash flows. Existing long term legal contracts will also need to be reviewed,” said Crowe Horwath tax executive director Fennie Lim in a press conference at a leading hotel here yesterday.
Being one of the two speakers during the seminar besides Crowe Horwath managing partner Poon Yew Hoe, Lim started the seminar off with the fundamentals of GST before proceeding to the more specific and advance areas.
She also said that Crowe Horwath is actively assisting their clients to identify gaps and shortfalls in their current operating processes which need to be addressed.
“As some of these modifications or changes may take time to implement, our advice is to conduct an impact assessment early,” added Lim.
After the seminar, the company, she said, on request basis will conduct an internal briefing to companies which require a holistic approach on GST.
Also speaking was Poon who said that GST is a broad based consumption tax that will necessitate change in the way that organisations capture and document their transaction.
“These organisations including many government bodies will need to ensure that their IT and accounting systems are able to maintain their records in a timely manner,” said Poon.