I’m refreshing our 2026 onboarding playbook and want a practitioner-level reference for CRS due diligence plus a concise primer on economic substance across the usual IFCs, suitable for teams handling cross‑border holding and treasury vehicles. General information only is fine — client-specific scenarios will be run past local counsel.
I keep a two‑tab “CRS due diligence + substance” cheat sheet for cross‑border treasury/holdcos; for CRS, I anchor to the OECD CRS Implementation Handbook and map onboarding steps to self‑cert and indicia checks. For substance, I use a one‑pager comparing “relevant activities/CIGAs/outsourcing tests” across Cayman, BVI, Jersey, Guernsey, Bermuda — , the definitions diverge just enough that anything borderline goes to local counsel. If you want a single starting point for the 2026 playbook, try the OECD CRS page: https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/common-reporting-standard/ — does that fit?
For a 2026 refresh, the biggest win for our cross‑border holdco/treasury onboarding was a single intake that maps each CRS indicia question to the documentary proof and, on the same page, to ES tests by jurisdiction (Cayman/Jersey/BVI) with CIGA, premises, and board‑meeting ticks — it cut rework by half. Substance nuances between IFCs still drive me nuts, so I pin the latest local notes and the OECD AEOI portal FAQ in the header: https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/. General info only — always clear edge cases with local counsel; want me to share the template?