BASDA Initiatives & Services
BASDA worked closely with the EU Directorates, HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the DTI (Department of Trade & Industry) on the plans for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of the euro currency throughout Europe and set up the most successful accreditation scheme for euro compliance.
Under The Memorandum of Understanding signed with BASDA, HMRC guarantees continuing co operation in the development of national standards for VAT reporting in accounting software. This has led to the development of the PAS 76, the British Standard for financial software, which is supported by HMRC and the ICAEW.
More recently, BASDA has worked with the e Envoy's department of the Cabinet Office, Inland Revenue, ONS (Office of National Statistics), OPRA (Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority) DTI, HM C&E, Companies House and OGC (the Office of Government Commerce) on eCommerce, eProcurement and electronic submissions. It has also taken part in the United Nations/OASIS Working Party on XML and XBRL.
On IFRS
BASDA formed an IFRS Working Party to pull together the requirements for business and finance systems of the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS).
BASDA continues to work very closely with the UK Government on the implementation of its Government Gateway portal to receive information for HMRC. It has helped develop the Self Assessment citizen filing over the Internet as well as the Payroll end of year PAYE returns, Corporation Tax returns and continues with its work on National Insurance submissions, VAT and Intrastat submissions, ad hoc statistical returns for the Office of National Statistics (ONS),
the Standard Audit File for tax Purposes (SAF T) as well as the development of XBRL for Companies House and FSA returns.
On eBusiness
BASDA developed eBIS XML (electronic Business Interchange Standard in XML) the world's first many to many 'open standard' for the exchange of business document like orders and invoices. This is now widely used by commercial businesses and Governments throughout Europe and is supported by the UK Office of Government Commerce (OGC) in its Zanzibar project which is designed to handle Government eProcurement. BASDA also acts as the facilitator of several vertical market forums set up to establish electronic exchange of business document within those groups using the eBIS-XML open standard.
Education
BASDA provides information to help users. It has published White Papers on Upgrading software packages, eCommerce, the Changeover to the Euro, IFRS and Sarbanes Oxley. It has developed a booklet on Selecting Business Systems and Choosing a Supplier which sets out a standard procedure to help speed up the selection process for users wishing to evaluate business systems and suppliers wishing to respond to complex invitations to tender.
EDI
BASDA formed an EDI Working Party to work with all the major EDI suppliers to develop a standard EDI interface for orders and invoices. It also worked closely with APACS to define common Financial EDI messages for payments, receipts and bank statement reconciliation.
Standards
As well as a wide range of technology standards, BASDA has also developed quality standards for its Members. The BASDA Code of Practice and the Reseller Code of Practice have been recognised by many organisations and adopted by most BASDA Members.
Workshops & Seminars
BASDA runs technical workshops and training seminars for Members and their customers on important technological developments. These include XML workshops for the various eCommerce initiatives Payroll, SPERA, eBIS XML and eBuild XML; IFRS, and other Government & European business requirements.
Legal Information
BASDA provides its Members with information on important legal precedents and their implications for its Members and, when necessary, undertakes joint action on behalf of its Members.
Information Service
The BASDA website supports a comprehensive knowledgebase for Members, providing detailed information on the work of all BASDA’s Working Parties, Government and International Committee reports and seminar presentations. It is acknowledged as one of the most useful sources of news and information for businesses and software users. BASDA sponsors the Softworld in Accounting and Finance Directory, which provides details of all BASDA Members and their products; the Evaluation Centre which evaluates software packages and AccountingWeb.
Marketing
BASDA runs a highly successful Marketing SIG which helps Members to identify and share marketing opportunities and information. It undertakes regular market research projects and collates and reports the information to Members. It undertakes surveys of users, analysing replies to questions on technical issues, quality, buying methods and purchasing plans for specific products and applications.
Events
BASDA sponsors the Softworld exhibitions for all aspects of the Industry, with supporting Masterclass business presentations.
BASDA support the annual Sift software awards, voted for by business software customers.
Independent Arbitration Service
BASDA offers independent arbitration to resolve disputes between suppliers and users.