We understand that no two large organisations are the same and we don't expect in-house tax departments to try and shoe-horn their requirements into off-the-shelf, packaged software. Our experience has shown us that problems generally fall into one or two of the following categories - and the solutions will too.
Many tax professionals can remember when year end tax accounting and reporting was just a small part of annual 'compliance'. Now it's probably the most resource-intensive, time-critical exercise in the tax year.
If you thought a March 82 election meant an end to increasing volumes of property records, remember 1982 was, worringly, 28 years ago - that's when Michael Jackson released Thriller!
Traditionally managed through copious spreadsheets, the scale of the task now requires a new approach. Spreadsheets are basically 'year-centric' - they are good at holding data for a particular period but are less helpful when data and functionality has to be added year after year.
Capital expenditure impacts on just about all areas of tax reporting and compliance, for example
all with the added worry of past record-keeping decisions coming back to haunt you!
With the high volume of data and the number of places it comes from it makes sense to re-use source data for as many purposes as possible. This approach will:
CAD (Tax Automation's Capital Assets Database) is a multi-year tax data warehouse which provides a comprehensive capital expenditure analysis and reporting solution. By tax-sensitising source ledger data on import and providing intuitive review and search tools all aspects of cap-ex work can be simplified and made more efficient.
Remember how spreadsheets revolutionised consolidating and analysing data for P&L and Capital expenditure? Since then, large organisations have grown larger - both in structure and in the volume of data tax departments have to handle.
Even with auto-filters, pivot tables and bespoke macros Excel is not always the most efficient solution to the problem - especially now that documented processes and an audit trail detailing the decision making process are the starting points for a process review.
If you recognise any of the following problems associated with data analysis then give us a call to discuss how we can help you.
By helping bring your tax systems up to date, our experience and knowledge can help your staff achieve their goals.
A phrase that has been creeping into the vocabulary of in-house tax professionals for some time suddenly leapt to even greater prominence with the introduction of the SAO legislation in 2009. This move meant that not only do internal systems and processes need to be robust, but organisations now need to be able to demonstrate this with fully documented procedures and controls.
Now the initial excitement has died down, most tax professionals agree that they do not need to make radical changes to their systems – but they do need to update documentation and make time for regular reviews of processes to ensure that they can demonstrate that their controls continue to be sufficient.
Documenting systems and processes has always been time-consuming. The need to maintain and review this documentation is an additional burden that isn’t always given the priority it requires – it is often easier to find other more urgent (and to be honest, more exciting) items on the To Do list.
Tax Automation can help you ensure that this important task is kept under control. We have significant experience in documenting the in-house tax department procedures, and our flexible approach means that we can work with you to help create and maintain internal process manuals.
Alternatively, we can review your existing documentation, giving you the peace of mind of peer review – our knowledge of other organisations and “industry standards” will give you the additional comfort of knowing that your approach is on a par with other organisations. This approach can be the most cost-effective because the people who really know how the department fits together do the initial work, and we provide an impartial overview meaning holes and overlaps will be easier to spot.
Overlaps in systems may be inefficient and should be tackled, but holes are weaknesses which must be closed. Again Tax Automation can help you with both.
As an example, our VAT Controller software tackles the issue of VAT related information and documentation being held in a myriad of locations (including people's heads) as well as providing a simple, integrated, secure solution to online filing of VAT returns. Download the PDF for further information.
Call us for a general chat about your concerns about inefficiencies, gaps in key processes or SAO documentation.
While spreadsheets have become invaluable for the tax professional, we also see them as the Japanese Knotweed of the tax department. The key is to recognise when your spreadsheets have got out of control.
We have developed a suite of tools which can turn unwieldy, inconsistent and error-prone spreadsheets into manageable files that are easy to use. Examples of our successes include:
Whether your spreadsheets require:
we can work with you to create solutions that suit you and your organisation.
The Tax Automation team has many years of experience of working with in-house tax departments. We know that identifying the heart of the problem is not always obvious.
The symptoms may be clearly visible but the root causes may be buried within a confusing cloud of changing circumstances and demands from internal and external sources.
Tax Automation can help you un-tangle the threads and identify the underlying issues and understand how they affect
Once you have a clear picture of the situation you can concentrate on
Whether you already know the areas that are causing concern or would like a comprehensive review of your current situation call us to discuss how we can work with you to improve your department's performance.