MEDIA RELEASE

ACS Leads the Way in Preparing IT&T Professionals for GST

ACS & AIIA to Host GST & IT Compliance Conference

Thursday 21 October 1999 - The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is joining forces with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) to provide a definitive look at the effect of the GST on IT&T systems.

The GST & IT Compliance Conference will be held in Sydney on 28-29 October, providing CIOs, MIS Managers, Systems Analysts, IT Consultants and other IT&T professionals with a full understanding of how the GST will work and the preparations they need to undertake for their companies and clients.

ACS President Prins Ralston will chair the two day event, which also features presentations by Assistant Taxation Commissioner, John Higham, Bruce McCabe of Gartner Group, Sheryle Moon of Andersen Consulting, Gerald Jaworski of Ernst & Young and Andrew Sommers of Clayton Utz, among others.

"It's been predicted that one in five Australian businesses won't make the 1 July 2000 deadline for GST compliance," said Mr Ralston.

"Preparing for the GST is an important challenge for our industry since 80-85 per cent of the work needed to achieve compliance is system related.

"As the professional Society for the IT&T industry, the ACS takes seriously its responsibility to provide both Members and other industry professionals with the right information to assist them in meeting the GST challenge.

"This event has an extremely practical focus and will give IT&T professionals both knowledge and strategies to tackle their own GST projects with confidence."

GST & IT Compliance features a one day conference followed by a day of intensive, hands-on workshops designed to equip delegates in preparing a comprehensive GST systems implementation plan.

Issues to be covered include:

How the GST works
How to plan for a 'hassle-free' implementation
Assessing the key challenges to gaining compliance
Managing and renegotiating GST compliance contracts
Developing systems to support optimal pricing policies, and more

For more information or to register for the GST & IT Compliance Conference, email Clarissa.Callaghan@informa.com.au or call (02) 8235 5300.

This media release is available on the ACS Web site at http://www.acs.org.au/news/gstconf.htm

ENDS

The Australian Computer Society is the recognised association for information technology (IT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the IT industry and providing a wide range of services to its members. It is the public voice of the IT profession, the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the IT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of IT. See the ACS Home Page for more information.

Media Enquiries:

Prins Ralston, ACS President, Tel: (08) 8947 4330 or (0411) 755 069, Email: prins@bmconsult.com.au

Caroline New, Caroline New PR, Tel: (02) 9980 8060 or (0411) 889 456, Email: cnew@acslink.net.au