How business delivers tax operationally

Organisations are facing many new business and operational challenges in the current environment and these come on top of on-going business as usual requirements. One such BAU deadline is the Senior Accounting Officer certification and for many businesses, this has a fast approaching filing date.

Tax functions are dealing with many challenges at the moment, such as resource and capacity issues, unanticipated or high priority activities and cost and cash flow reductions and savings respectively, to name but a few. In addition, you may well be facing urgent tax deadlines or have deferred certain activities now at risk of becoming urgent.

Initial feedback from the second pilot of the International Compliance and Assurance Programme (ICAP 2.0), indicates it has been a great success. In this update, we look at what that feedback is, what improvements need to be made and what lies ahead.

The tax function is under constant pressure to deliver more with less. Internal cost pressures and the demand for greater business insights against the backdrop of meeting increasing tax compliance demands in shorter time frames is resulting in the need for tax functions to chart a course of continuous improvement making the most of the latest technology developments.

Many companies are rethinking their approach to domestic and global compliance and reporting by taking a closer look at their technology, processes, resources, and service providers. Leading tax functions are using co-sourcing/outsourcing as a critical component of Tax function strategy, and as a means to better align Tax function investments and use of talent with organisational goals.

Changes to tax laws, new accounting standards and increased scrutiny of how much tax organisations are paying, means that it is more important than ever that your organisation is confident the tax numbers disclosed in your financial statements are accurate.

Tax authorities and other stakeholders expect Tax functions to be able to demonstrate, with evidence, that they have operated in an effective and efficient way. They must be able to show, often via a formalised tax control framework and testing programme, that tax risk is mitigated to an acceptable level and tax opportunities have been taken in line with the organisation’s overall attitude to reputational and compliance risk.

A key challenge for companies in the current environment is to consider how best to respond to a landscape which continues to evolve.

Finance transformations represent risk and opportunities for tax functions. Generally there are two types: organisational change and finance system change.

Core processes and routine activities can have a significant and lasting impact on the Tax function. As tax laws and accounting standards continue to evolve, Tax is challenged to look closely at how data and related documents are received, processed, and ultimately retained, while continuing to add value through strategic decision making.

Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) is the government’s policy to move all business-related tax reporting online.The Global tax landscape is shifting as tax authorities demand an ever increasing volume of data from taxpayers.

Close attention goes into setting the right transfer pricing policy and ensuring that it is implemented appropriately from a commercial and legal perspective.

The growing automation trend promises to transform the Tax environment. Leading Tax functions are embracing this trend, leveraging new available tools to gain efficiencies and expanded capabilities in a quick time frame

There have been several recent additional drivers behind why a robust, business aligned, Tax Control Framework is becoming an essential feature of any global business

From 25 June 2018 certain cross-border transactions need to be reported to the tax authorities. PwC can help you understand the new rules and assist you in meeting your reporting obligations.