Traditionally, many corporate businesses have organized their KPIs’, reporting and operations by title. Tax professionals and trade finance teams are often treated as separate functions, with separate responsibilities and goals. However, collaboration across all areas of financial reporting is vital in helping businesses navigate today’s increasingly complex, globalized business environment. Our research shows that managing market trust takes teamwork from tax, trade and finance leaders.
How do we know this? Because we asked.
Why tax teams need to be on the same page
Following the success of our recent Future of Professionals report, which focused on the predictions of legal, tax, and risk & compliance professionals themselves, we asked C-suite members about their short-term priorities and perspectives on the future. Comparing the responses in our Future of Professionals C-Suite Survey to those from our previous report revealed CEOs with a cautiously optimistic outlook, based on improving collaboration and departmental cooperation across their organizations.
From ever-evolving technologies which threaten to leave slow adapters behind, to the relentless pressure around shrinking budgets and rising expectations, we all know that C-Suite executives face constant, competing demands for their attention. So, it is unsurprising that the key priorities they identified were improving efficiency and increasing customer satisfaction – areas that ultimately help improve company sustainability and financial success.
And, while every corporation is naturally a mix of various departments and separate functions with potentially divergent perspectives and priorities, a good business is one where everyone pulls together to move toward similar goals as a single unit. But getting on the same page isn’t always easy. And it’s imperative that the key priorities of the management group, department leaders, and employees are more or less aligned with a singular view of what is important for the company to achieve, focus upon, and execute for success.
Working better, together
So how can business leaders, being pulled in multiple directions, rely on their teams to maintain the course and work more effectively as one?
Ultimately, teams and functions need to be better aligned. In particular, increased collaboration between tax and trade functions can help achieve the C-suite priorities of efficiency, cost reduction, and customer satisfaction.
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CEO priorities closely mirrored the overall C-Suite, showing a difference of less than 3% for digital transformation, operational efficiency, and ESG development. However, only 36% of CEOs prioritized customer satisfaction (compared to 43% of the C-Suite), and only 25% prioritized employee engagement and well-being (compared to 34%).
Acknowledging these difficulties and working closely alongside tax experts within their organization can help global trade managers anticipate and solve some of these regulatory challenges, saving the business precious time and resources.
On the other side of the coin, to stay competitive, global trade businesses are investing in technology and automation to boost efficiency, cut costs, and navigate complexity. Most companies (75% and 64%) use ERP and third-party due diligence screening technologies. However, there are significant gaps in adoption, with fewer than one in five companies using technology for ESG, global trade management, and trade & supply chain data analytics.
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Building trust through collaboration
There’s no part of business untouched by tax and trade implications. When these two departments are disconnected and misaligned, it only adds to the complexity of doing business. But technology experts like Thomson Reuters can help.
Connected solutions with a single, trusted vendor can help organizations navigate complicated global requirements effectively and help both functions achieve the shared goals demanded by their leaders. In turn, C-level leaders can join forces across their areas of expertise to build customer and shareholder trust:
- Serving customers faster and building confidence in the experience can help grow sales results.
- Departmental cooperation can provide resiliency in times of recruiting stress to help ensure standardized, repeatable processes are consistently delivering best practice hiring results.
Overall, a more unified approach to tax and trade can help manage risks and ensure compliance, enhance customer experience and loyalty and the broader organizational goals of efficiency and digital transformation.
Finding the right tools for the job
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The right technology solutions, especially those with additional generative AI capabilities, can help seamlessly integrate data from disparate processes (ERP, customs systems, etc.) to create a single source of truth, helping break down silos and foster trust across functions.
Automating routine tasks can streamline processes, reduce errors, and free up time and resources for wider strategic collaboration. Single vendor tax and trade solutions like Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE™ can not only improve data consistency, workflow efficiency, and overall collaboration, but can also provide insights into tax and trade performance, which can be used to identify opportunities for improvement and help C-level leaders make more strategic, data-driven decisions.
The importance of data security and compliance in building trust throughout an organization can’t be underestimated. Trusted technology from reliable experts can help protect sensitive information while supporting change management initiatives. Yet nearly a quarter (23%) of our C-suite respondents say that their department’s technology strategy is not aligned with that of the larger business.
Become your own success story
Measuring the impact of collaboration and automation initiatives with accurate reporting and established key performance indicators can help to effectively communicate the value of tax, trade, and financial reporting functions to the broader organization.
Yet, most (73%) tax professionals don’t track any metrics to measure the success of their department’s technology.
Demonstrating the impact tax and trade can have on business success can help establish trust, manage C-suite expectations and boost team morale.
When it comes to navigating the future, greater collaboration between tax and trade teams will not only foster trust within your teams but will also help garner recognition from the wider organization by helping support and achieve C-suite objectives.
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s get working – together.
For more information on how Thomson Reuters can support the implementation of collaborative initiatives within your organization please visit https://tax.thomsonreuters.com/en/onesource
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