The tax organization’s requirements are increasing, as is the number of technologies available to address them. This gives IT leaders the chance to work with tax counterparts to find new ways to access, manage and analyze tax data more effectively and efficiently. Amphitrite Advisory believes that understanding our clients’ Tax data management using alteryx , gaps, expectations, and their suggestions is the most effective way to assist them. The ideal client for us is a business committed to being world-class by being the best in all they do and operating at the highest level. When you’re success, we’re in purpose!
Landscape Change
Data management for tax was traditionally a manual process that required extensive use of spreadsheets and databases. However, the growing data needs of tax authorities and other stakeholders highlight the need to use a more sophisticated approach.
Unprecedented changes could force tax agencies to streamline their data management. New requirements have been created by the U.S. tax reform, as well as new tax models that may require new data views. Tax authorities in Europe are now digitizing their auditing processes and performing more in real-time. This is requiring tax departments to be able to submit and manage data in new ways. In anticipation of lower U.S. taxes, tax management has become more complicated. However, there has been an increase in pressure to reduce tax administration costs.
Transformational Technology
Technology can transform how the tax function works and provide opportunities for the organization to play a greater role in the business. These capabilities can be used in combination or as a standalone solution to standardize tax processes worldwide. These are five examples of such technology:
Automation. RPA software is able to capture and interpret existing tax processes in order to automate repetitive and mundane tasks like transaction processing, data manipulation and reconciliation. This frees up human resources for more valuable tasks like research and analysis.
Analytics. Analytics has been a popular buzzword for many years, but it is now gaining ground in the tax function. These tools convert data into information and provide insights to key decision-makers. Sometimes, they even work in real-time. This can lead to improved business strategy, performance and profitability.
Cognitive technologies. AI, which is a computer system capable of performing tasks that used human intelligence, can be used to automate higher levels of work like forecasting and ensuring processes and reporting capabilities comply with new regulatory requirements.
Data wrangling. These tools, some specifically for tax and some for general use that can also be applied to taxes, are designed to extract large quantities of raw data from many sources (including unstructured data) and make them available for reporting.
Cloud computing. Cloud-based applications allow for universal user access and help with tax standardization. These applications can be scaled up in busy times and contracted during slower times, which could reduce the overall cost. These applications can also reduce IT maintenance, which allows professionals to concentrate on higher-level strategies.
Where do you start?
There are many maturity levels in data management for the tax function. While not all organizations will be able to benefit from being at the forefront of technology, every organization can perform a cost-benefit analysis and determine where it wants the organization to be in the continuum towards modernization.