Tech helps tax professionals do more with less. But can it also enable tax compliance and finance professionals to step out of their comfort zone? A panel discussion between tax, finance and tech professionals underscores the importance of technology within the workplace.
Tech helps eliminate ‘busy work’
As technology starts hitting the forefront, tax and finance professionals are expected to do more with less. Businesses’ concerns transform to not just the quantity of work but the quality produced by their teams.
Jenny Doyle, head of Indirect tax and tax technology at Canva, said that by utilising AI, businesses are able to unlock potential within their tax and finance teams.
“Tax professionals, accounting, finance professionals, they’re always being asked to do more with less fast, and technology is really the way to unlock the ability to achieve some of those tasks,” she said.
Even though professionals are doing more with less, a lot of the work can become repetitive, so called, “busy work”. Jenny believes that technology can reduce busy work and helps teams pivot to more complex tasks.
“Teams can have an impact within the business by unlocking insights and leveraging AI to analyse data, and then surface that really important information to know exactly leadership in the board. Important decisions can be made in a more informed way,” added Jenny.
Is tax tech just another expense for CFOs?
Sue Rosen, from Sue Rosen Executive Coaching said that over the years, with the rise in technology, CFOs’ remits have become much harder.
With this increase in expectation CFOs cannot be the expert in all fields, Sue Rosen expressed the need to increase trust in team members and specialists. This trust extends to helping the CFO with learning new technologies.
“I think the more sophisticated technologies are sometimes a challenge or are about getting out of your comfort zone. But the CFO can’t be the expert in all of them. You know, the CFO also has to learn to trust and rely on their team members.”
Sue said the CFO’s role has changed to become not only the expert but a partner to the CEO.
“CFOs need to cut themselves some slack sometimes in terms of creating the space and the time for them to lead differently and not get caught up on what Jenny was describing, the ‘busy work’,” she added.
What aspects of tax technology helps business?
The biggest aspect of tax technology is the harnessing of data. According to Majaliwa Bass, Vice President of product marketing for Thomson Reuters, the department that handles the most amount of data is the tax department.
“When you think of all the places of all the departments in a corporation, that probably has the most data flowing through it, it’s going to be your tax department”
Tax technology now has the ability to harness data, making it accessible in its raw form. This shift allows all tax departments to become the advisor for the CFOs. Sue Rosen agrees that we need good data to make strategic and data driven decisions.
Focus on the quality of data
Jenny Doyle also touched on one of the most common pitfalls businesses fall into. Principally, it is how to use technology, the use of data and good data, and the balance needed between good data and use of technology.
“If I could make any recommendation to any tax professional, it would be to invest in technology and AI. Invest in ensuring that your data is good as well as work with the business to ensure what you’re putting into great technology is giving you the insights you want.”
However, Majaliwa Bass believe that businesseses risk falling behind if they wait for “perfect data”. Majaliwa goes on to explain that it is the strategy and prioritisation. By looking toward technology businesses are able to develop good data whilst not being left behind and thus finding a balance between good data and implementation of AI.
In summary, tech helps tax professionals acheive more. By embracing AI, tax compliance and finance professionals can step out of their comfort zones, leveraging technology and high-quality data to drive greater value.
Read more about the AI and data governance conversations heating up in Australia amongst tax compliance and finance professionals.
*Quotes have been slightly edited for clarity.
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