The information to be provided by Australian banks on US citizens and residents with Australian bank accounts is the merely first step in what the Australian Tax Office termed "a wave of transparency measures" being implemented globally by governments and tax administrations.Beginning in 2017, close to 100 countries will be sharing non-resident data under a process known as the OECD Common Reporting Standard. According to international financial service accounting experts, the OECD's new CRS will extend further and wider than FATCA.The announcement by the ATO of its first exchange of information with the IRS, despite the rumoured A$500 million total price tag for FATCA systems implementation, was seen as a positive one by Alison Noble, a director in the Deloitte tax practice. "There are a limited number of jurisdictions that currently have the capability to exchange this information. Australia has shown it has such capability," she observed."The investment made provides the foundation necessary to cope with transitional provisions which will significantly increase the volume of information to be reported in 2016 and 2017," Noble said."In addition, the capability to transmit information prepares Australia for the start of reporting under the OECD common reporting standard in 2018, which will be much more complex than FATCA."