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Is your business properly handling tax requirements?
With many changes afoot for the tax landscape, businesses need to have the talent on board to build more effective management systems.
The tax landscape has undergone significant changes in 2015.
Over the past year, the global and national tax landscape has undergone significant shifts and changes, affecting a wide scope of businesses in Australia.
As a result, compliance with new regulations has become a more pressing challenge for firms. However, seeking the help of executive recruitment in this area can provide the talent needed to navigate the new environment and keep within international and domestic standards.
Building a tax-aware board
According to a recent survey from Deloitte, regulation is the most common issue in risk management. Out of the global firms questioned, 35 per cent highlighted this as a major challenge, followed closely by reputation with 32 per cent of responses.
KPMG National Leader for Tax Management Consulting Stephen Callahan explained that a number of factors is increasing the need for a stronger tax focus. These include the ongoing changes to BEPS global policy, the impending release of paid taxes from the Australian Tax Office and early adoption of country-by-country reporting.
As many members of the public are becoming aware of the implications of taxation, boards need to be proactive in their practices and encourage transparency when appropriate.
C-suite executives must assure all stakeholders that the company is aware and tax-ready, especially since social media users can more easily ruin a reputation of a non-compliant company. This includes creating accurate forecasts into the future changes of the tax environment.
Data-driven tax practice becoming critical
As with nearly all industries, technology is starting to play a greater role in tax regulations, especially in regards to data and analysis. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), tax functions account for the largest data consumption in a firm, with this department spending 50 per cent of their time gathering information and only 30 per cent on analysis.
Tax management systems must become more streamlined and adaptable.
Global Tax Reporting and Strategy Leader Mark Schofield explained that tax management systems must become more streamlined and adaptable, with an emphasis on the demands of digital innovation.
"The quality and timeliness of data must improve in order for tax functions to respond quickly and credibly to increasing transparency mandates, ensuring outputs correctly reflect the tax implications of business activities, and strategically contribute to enterprise-wide decision-making," he said.
If you need the specialist skills on your board to properly handle tax, speak to Ethos BeathChapman. We are an Australian-owned Executive Recruitment Consultancy specialising in the $120k - $400k candidate market.
By Matthew Quinn