Introduction
For the KPMG network, a top priority is helping member firm clients manage tax
transformation and position their businesses for future success. Since 2006, we have
conducted regular surveys of tax executives around the globe to uncover their most
pressing issues. Our purpose is to gain insights on how these issues influence changes in
structure, investments in people and processes, and overall objectives and priorities.
Now, in this updated survey conducted in late 2012, the environment in which tax
directors operate has changed dramatically. Lingering economic uncertainty is increasing
pressure on companies to cut costs and on tax authorities to boost revenue. Globalization
continues to spur centralization of finance, tax and other functions. Companies are
expected to improve their governance, accountability and transparency in all areas.
Further, political attitudes toward taxation are shifting, with much more focus on civic
responsibility and public demands that companies should pay their “fair share” of tax to
the jurisdictions where they earn profits.
With this environment as a backdrop, we sought to identify trends and benchmarks on
the following fundamental questions:
• How are tax departments changing their operations to address emerging economic,
business and regulatory trends?
• How are they progressing on aspects of governance and performance such as
strategy, risk management and measurement?
• How are they approaching process and technology investment and improvement,
including the impact of cloud computing?
• How are they addressing the pressure to more effectively resource how they do their
work?
• How are they responding to rising tax authority scrutiny and demands?
The survey now shows that tax departments have made good progress in several of
these key areas. However, in a rapidly changing business and regulatory environment,
the results also suggest that there is still work to do if tax departments are to meet the
dual challenges of effectively managing risk while providing more effective, real-time
support to business activity.