Tax automation tools offer many compelling advantages: reduced late nights during compliance periods, greater accuracy and efficiency, as well as a corresponding boost to morale across teams. But budget time presents challenges.
Automation begins with an in-depth analysis of your current tax processes. Here are some key areas you should address:
Identify Your Needs
Identification of tax preparation tasks that can be automated is one step in using technology to streamline business processes. Automating repetitive tasks enables qualified tax specialists to focus on high-impact client interactions while still completing and following up on tasks in an efficient and reliable way, thus decreasing delays and inefficiencies within workflow processes.
Assessing the size and complexity of a business when selecting an automation software package should help identify an ideal software program. Complex businesses may require advanced technology while smaller enterprises might benefit more from user-friendly apps. Integration capabilities of software should also be taken into consideration as this facilitates seamless data transfer while eliminating manual processes.
Verify how tax automation tools are updated for new tax laws, and assess their ability to adjust to future changes without disruptions or performance issues. Assess support options so any problems can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, and conduct risk analyses to minimize errors and gaps in automated processes.
Evaluate Vendors
Tax functions are under pressure: with limited resources and an ever-evolving business environment. They have to dedicate considerable amounts of time and energy to repetitive tasks like scrutinising spreadsheets, matching up numbers accurately and producing reports; this cuts into their time dedicated to more strategic initiatives like correcting assessment errors, challenging auditors, finding tax savings opportunities and optimising transactions between business partners.
Automation can help support these activities by automating processes that do not add value for the company and are time-sensitive and risky, such as manual tax rework. Finding a software tool suitable to these processes is the key, while consulting services provide invaluable help with product evaluation, implementation and compliance management procedures to ensure ongoing compliance. Eliminating manual rework within tax functions improves overall lead-to-cash conversion efficiency while simultaneously decreasing risks related to submitting inaccurate returns or missing compliance deadlines.
Implementation
Time and resources are wasted on repetitive, time-consuming activities that include producing reports, making submissions, filling-out forms in indirect tax processes. Such tasks frequently lead to manual data reconciliation and report generation which adds cost as well as increasing risks in these processes.
Income tax functions have numerous low-volume, automation-ready activities that could be automated to increase controls and decrease non-value-added manual work during their income tax close process. Unfortunately, however, many of these repetitive rules-based tasks with clear desk procedures and steps that would be difficult to outsource.
Technology solutions currently available provide companies with a highly effective method to automate low-risk, high-return tax automation use cases without needing external expertise. Companies can repurpose existing tax teams to add greater value to the business while speeding timelines and decreasing risks such as missed tax payments.
Maintenance
Automating manual processes using software like NOTICENINJA can make tax compliance faster, simpler and less tedious. When coupled with professional human oversight, automation can reduce risks while guaranteeing regulatory adherence.
Change can be hard, but emphasizing how new technology improves speed, accuracy, and insight may help ease concerns about its implementation. Selecting tools that easily integrate with existing systems may reduce disruption while phased deployment may decrease upfront costs.
Tax automation may be difficult to justify in firms where their tax personnel are already stretched thin, so starting small and low-risk processes such as editing Vertex return data for sales tax returns should be the starting point of automation. Such automations can be developed by tax personnel without needing IT expertise – potentially cutting expenses associated with typical software development projects.
