Our recent series of forums and roundtables brought together heads of tax and senior tax leaders across industries. While the businesses may differ, the conversations have been strikingly similar — focused on the growing urgency to adopt a clear, practical tax technology strategy.
Across all the sessions we attended, one message came through consistently: tax technology is no longer just about automation – it’s about enabling the future of tax.
With increasing regulatory complexity, from Pillar 2 to real-time e-invoicing mandates and digital reporting frameworks, tax teams are under growing pressure to deliver more, faster, and with better-quality data. These demands aren’t going away – they’re accelerating.
What stood out most was how strongly this message resonated. The shift is already happening and businesses recognise that a well-defined tax technology strategy is essential, not just to remain compliant but to operate efficiently and with foresight.
Far too often, tax is brought in at the eleventh hour during large-scale enterprise resource planning (ERP) projects, leading to sub-optimal data structures and downstream challenges. When tax is engaged from the outset, businesses benefit from cleaner data, better reporting capabilities and more streamlined compliance processes. It’s about designing systems that support tax requirements from the ground up, not retrofitting after the fact.
As tax reporting becomes more nuanced, many teams realise that standardised tools can only deliver so much. There’s increasing demand for bespoke or modular solutions that reflect the specific needs, jurisdictions and operating models of individual organisations. Whether it’s building tailored tax provision models or integrating multiple systems effectively, the focus is shifting to practical solutions that work in the real world.
We’re seeing more heads of tax want to take ownership of the technology solutions they implement, not only to unlock these more tailored benefits, but also to maintain control over the technology and processes.
The best-in-class teams aren’t just keeping up with requirements, they’re getting ahead of them. By investing in the right technology and data foundations, tax functions are gaining the ability to plan, model scenarios and reduce year-end surprises. It’s a move away from firefighting and towards strategic insight, control and confidence.
Tax leaders that get this right are also seeing a boost in employee retention. Tech-savvy professionals are looking to move beyond manual, repetitive tasks – especially when automation is available – and instead focus on more strategic, engaging work that will support their career growth.
We’re increasingly having conversations with tax leaders about the art of the possible – not just what technology can do but how it can be applied in a way that makes a tangible difference. Whether it's automation, data orchestration, or better reporting and analytics, we help teams reimagine how tax operates and how it can deliver more value to the wider business.
And while many know what needs to be done, the challenge is often securing the how – particularly when it comes to investment. That’s why we’re increasingly supporting clients not just with solution design and implementation but also in developing business cases to secure CFO budget approval. (Findings from our latest CFO survey indicate that only 35% of CFOs providing strategic direction to tax feel confident in understanding available tax technology options, compared to 77% of those making the decisions.)
To do this effectively, heads of tax need to understand the different technologies available, how they could be implemented in their team, and then they need to know how to communicate the benefits in a way that will resonate with the budget holder.
Getting this right the first time is important. When you first speak with your CFO or investment committee, you need a clear, confident case that connects the dots between tax transformation and broader finance and digital strategies – and ultimately, business value.
And once the investment is secured, you need to consider: are you prioritising the right use cases? Do you have the right buy-in from IT and other departments? Who is going to work with you on the implementation, and who is going to champion it? Having that plan really brings clarity for everyone who's going to be involved.
It’s about linking tax objectives with broader finance and digital strategies, and making the value case clear.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution but there is a right time to act. And that time is now.
Whether you’re exploring the first steps or accelerating an existing roadmap, we’d be happy to share ideas and help you move forward.
Let’s start the conversation.
For insight and guidance, get in touch with Gil Oglesby.
