As regulatory scrutiny, and the penalties associated with non-compliance, continue to ramp up, managing operational tax obligations has never been more challenging for private markets fund managers. Robin Silverthorne, Managing Director of Global Tax Services at Sonata One, explains how through centralising their data, firms can strengthen oversight and turn tax compliance from an obligation into a strategic advantage.
The growing challenge of global tax compliance
As regulatory scrutiny continues to increase, managing operational tax compliance obligations, such as FATCA/CRS and W-series documentation, across multiple jurisdictions is a growing challenge.
In private markets, the value of financial data being reported for FATCA/CRS purposes is significantly greater per ‘account holder’ than that transmitted by retail banks, insurance companies, or wealth managers. So, as tax authorities step up their compliance reviews, it’s more important than ever for GPs to have confidence that their tax reporting is being managed effectively.
Penalties for non-compliance are also on the rise. Over the past few months alone, enhanced penalty regimes and audit frameworks have been announced in the UK, Guernsey, South Africa, Gibraltar and Jersey to name but a few. Against this backdrop, visibility over your obligations goes beyond an operational nice to have – it’s critical. This is especially important today as managers raise larger funds from a broader, global pool of investors.
From obligation to opportunity – rethinking tax compliance
The investor data required for tax reporting purposes is often scattered across internal systems, third-party platforms and multiple spreadsheets. This makes it difficult to manage, increasing the risk of missed deadlines or costly errors.
At the same time, operational tax teams are often stretched thin and racing to gather, reconcile, and validate data from multiple stakeholders to meet tight reporting timelines. With so much focus on completing forms and hitting deadlines, teams rarely have the time or visibility to extract real insight from the data that they hold.
For General Partners, the challenge is thus accessing a reliable, single source of truth. When structured and centralised effectively, this data provides insight into compliance risks, supports decision-making, and simplifies tax obligations across the entire fund lifecycle—from onboarding investors to reporting and audit readiness.
Making sense of the data
At Sonata One, we transform this challenge into a strategic advantage. We centralise all investor data and tax documentation in one interface, giving GPs a real time view of global tax compliance.
Our dynamic dashboards provide actionable insights into FATCA/CRS classifications, documentation status, and jurisdictional reporting requirements. Whether you’re tracking W-forms, CRS self-certifications, FATCA/CRS compliance, or Chapter 3 withholding treatment, Sonata One brings it all together—accurately, efficiently, and securely.
Moreover, by automating outreach, renewals, and validations, the platform eliminates manual reconciliations and the chase for expired forms—keeping your data current, complete, and audit-ready. It also enables investors to generate their own tax documentation at the click of a button.
Built for speed and scrutiny
Regulators are increasing the use of ad-hoc, real-time, and on-site audits, where the expectations are for financial institutions to respond swiftly and clearly. Sonata One helps firms meet that challenge with confidence.
Our platform supports:
• Multi-jurisdictional compliance
• Automated W-form generation and validation
• Integrated KYC and tax documentation workflows
• XML schema-ready reporting for IRS and other tax authority portals
These capabilities allow firms to move from reactive to proactive compliance—anticipating issues before they arise, with the support of our expert tax team and managing investor data efficiently across the fund lifecycle.
Seeing the wood for the trees as a strategic advantage
Recent IRS and other tax authority crackdowns on documentation errors serve to highlight that tax compliance needs to be more than an annual check box exercise – it’s about broader visibility and control of data.
By centralising tax data and automating processes, GPs can gain the oversight needed to respond confidently to regulators and create a better experience for investors. Ultimately, seeing the wood for the trees in global tax compliance is about more than staying compliant—it’s about using clarity as a strategic advantage to operate proactively, efficiently, and at scale. Sonata One enables you to achieve this.
One platform. One source of truth. Total control.
Discover how Sonata One can simplify your global tax operations and elevate your investor experience.
Book time with Robin to find out more.
