Six weeks ago, superannuation fund executives knew exactly what their priorities were. Today, protecting the pride while re-imagining the future is a dual task requiring collective brain power. 

A barrage of extreme events has literally re-written the scope of even the most watertight business continuity plans. While fundamental priorities around employees, members and viability of the fund are unchanged, environmental forces have amplified the nature and impact of threats.

Superannuation funds under management (FUM) have been hit hard by a triple threat effect: 

1. Sudden stock market decline. 

2. Likely high uptake rate of new compassionate benefit withdrawals. 

3. Reduction in mandatory and voluntary contributions due to loss of work and confidence in the stock market.  

Identifying immediate and foreseeable priorities as we approach 2020/21 is extremely difficult for a handful of business leaders to solve in isolation. We are entering a drastically different reality to previously anticipated operational budgets, so compilation and interpretation of accurate information from key personnel across all levels of the business is critical to making the right judgement calls.

SHORTLIST OF URGENT AND IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS 

This list is general in nature and deliberately brief for ease of consumption!

• Business continuity planning review 
  Re-assess, test and update business continuity plans.  

• Whole-of-fund oversight 
  Pivot strategies, budgets and oversight across investments, insurance, operations and administration with a whole-of-fund view. 

• Third-party provider management
  Assess third-party provider limitations, negotiate and formulate workarounds.

• Prioritise / de-prioritise projects 
  Carefully weigh up viability, relevance and ROI of in-flight projects against potential sunken investments.  

• Increase data quality controls 
  Dial-up data quality oversight and training to de-risk pollution of data with extreme member processing activity. 

• Regulatory obligations and reporting 
  Clarify and enact revised regulatory obligations and ensure future reporting capability is preserved. 

   

• Business learnings wiki 
  Implement an informal but effective method of tracking business learnings during this period.

Engaging a collective mix of people with vital intel from in and around the organisation and situational environment is essential to getting strategic initiatives and budgetary allocations right.

In the current conditions, for some funds, this may mean temporarily engaging or hiring additional brain power and sets of hands to meet urgent requirements.

Best regards

Stephen

Stephen Mahoney – Executive Director (co-founder)

HOW CAN QMV HELP?  

QMV offers flexible and timely advice and consulting support to the superannuation sector. We are ready to provide standalone advisory, mobilisation of a consulting team or an individual resource.

QMV is here to help with the extenuating challenges and additional workload faced by your organisation via:

• Advice and strategy for immediate priorities and subsequent strategic vision for 2020/21. 

• Project strategy, direction and oversight.   

• Preparation of policy and procedure documentation.    

• Delivery of online specialist support to your remote workforce.    

• Technology uplift and data management.   

• Risk, regulation and compliance.   

• Communications strategy for internal staff and members.   

Mark Vaughan - Managing Director 
mvaughan@qmvsolutions.com and +61 413 082 011.  

Michael Wilcox - National Manager, Strategic Partnerships
mwilcox@qmvsolutons.com and +61 472 817 237. 

QMV provides trusted advisory, consulting and technology to Australia’s leading superannuation, insurance, banking and wealth management organisations. For further information please telephone our office p +61 3 9620 0707 or submit an online form.

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