The future of tax – Many finance leaders embarked on their first virtual audits under lockdown. Having discovered how enabling digital tools were to their annual audit process, their eyes are fixed on the next area of innovation, tax automation.
The right approach
Companies are under pressure to change the way they do things. With eroded margins and in many instances, leaner teams, forward thinking finance leaders are looking for tools that make onerous, demanding tasks like tax compliance, calculations, processing and reporting less so.
Tax isn’t going anywhere; the priority is to look for opportunities to make compliance easy. Far too many finance and tax professionals’ activities revolve around manual, time-consuming work, such as data entry, data verification, and submission. Using electronic tax management software like Konsise ensures that businesses optimise output and reduce the burden of tax compliance. Konsise enables companies to manage their tax responsibilities, keep records, file tax returns and integrate with SARS from one secure, cloud-based platform.
The centralised nature of the tax automation software requires that managers login to a single system to complete the tax submission process. Konsise tells them what is due for filing and the deadlines for doing so. If a team is struggling to keep up to date with the complex requirements of multiple jurisdictions, Konsise rises to the challenge with the capability to alert them to multiple tax deadlines across various companies and locations.
Letting managers, manage
With dispersed teams working from home, managers are hungry for more transparency and accountability, especially when it comes to critical areas such as tax accounting.
Once information is captured on Konsise, it integrates directly to SARS eFiling with real time updates on notifications and correspondence including the statement of account.
Konsise acts as an oversight tool because tax processing is done on a single system and not dispersed across various ERP systems and spreadsheets. At the press of a button, managers can pull up a report to monitor what has been done and identify any issues immediately. If there are any issues from tax authorities, they are flagged quickly.
The manager can step in and take immediate action with the document trail and all interactions in front of them. Making accurate tax decisions is where the expertise of corporate tax practitioners really matters.
Deriving value from skills
Considering the value of tax practitioners’ time and expertise, a broader strategic business case for tax automation has crystalised for many finance leaders. Automated tax functions ensure that jobs are not overlooked or applied out of sequence, that the input data is correct, and that processing is completed on time.
The integration capacity of Konsise reduces the chance of error when recapturing for eFiling and saves time checking other’s work. Dropping tedious tasks allows skilled staff focus on higher value, strategic tasks that benefit the company.
The future of tax solutions
Tax departments deploying innovative technology for the first time require a well-thought-out plan to ensure program success. As they adopt tax software solutions and automate tasks, they are not only advancing the way tax is managed, but they are also transforming how they provide value beyond their compliance roles.
Medium to large-sized businesses benefit from a tax technology strategy because of increased efficiency and improved compliance. Over time, these enterprises generate plenty of transactions and as teams change and grow, the ability to review documents and data retrospectively is extremely helpful. The benefit of having a set of detailed records comes to life when you onboard new team members. With the use of a tools such as Konsise, the risk of losing institutional memory as members leave the organization is minimised. The aim is to provide a lasting fix, minimise risk, cut costs and enhance controls.
These are just a few of the ways Konsise’s software platform is moving businesses into the future of tax. To find out more about our tax-focused solutions, schedule a demo.
