Case study #4 – a transformative approach to compliance sourcing
After grouping its financial accounting activities into three shared service centers globally, a Fortune 500 company faced challenges in meeting its local tax compliance needs with fewer in-country finance professionals.
Instead of continuing its country-by-country approach to sourcing, the company switched to a regional strategy and sourced all of its compliance support, including corporate income tax, indirect tax, and local and US GAAP tax accounting, from one tax service provider.
Doing so freed up time for the company’s in-house tax teams to provide business-critical support. Through their provider, the teams now had access not only to leading compliance and risk management practices but also to the provider’s own investment in compliance technologies. The teams also gained informed tax advice on developing tax legislation, business issues, and acquisition and divestment transactions on a consistent basis across all territories.
A key motivation for outsourcing was tax savings, and the provider pursued opportunities in all markets. Within 6 months, local and regional brainstorming sessions identified opportunities in three countries, and a review of prior-year returns accelerated over USD5 million in cash tax refunds.
minority of respondents are less progressed, and fewer than 40 percent say they are “integrally involved” with wider finance function transformation initiatives.
The case studies in this section show that taking a proactive approach to reviewing and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of tax processes can produce considerable benefits. Even more gains can stem from engaging with the wider finance function to ensure the accounting processes that tax departments rely on succeed in supporting their needs. Our experience is that tax departments can do much more to improve efficiencies across their core activities. We recommend that tax department strategies should address opportunities to:
• refine and embed efficient processes that realize the strategy in ways that are monitored and sustainainable over the long term;
• establish systems and procedures to produce, exchange and distribute timely, accurate and relevant information to the right people at the right time and in the right format; and
• employ enabling technologies to automate labor-intensive and manual processes that consume resources and increase risk.