How is digital tax technology redefining your digital tax landscape?

By Dante DeWitt

EY Global Tax Chief Technology Officer

Thought leader in the financial services technology sector. Ability to create and communicate a clear vision to align with and enable business objectives. Husband. Father. Whitewater rafter.

Contributors
2 minute read 10 Oct 2019

Tax leaders must keep their heads above the rising tide of data, and use the digital current to move their organizations forward. But how?

Digital data is the new reality. In daily life, in global business and in everything in between, analog information has given way to digital data. The sheer volume of this data and the new requirements it places on business can stifle an organization’s progress. 

The tax function is certainly no exception. 

A few short years ago, who could have predicted how digital reporting would shift the tax function’s role from compliance to advocacy? Or the need to navigate the taxation of 3D printing?

This new digital tax reality intensifies the demands placed on the C-suite, VPs of tax, tax directors and tax technologists alike. They’re facing challenges like:

  • Regulations: Constant yet continually evolving, regulatory changes require focused attention and prompt action faster than ever.
  • Technology: Nearly every organization is steeped in technology, but getting the most out of it means using it effectively and ensuring that it’s current and still fits company needs.
  • Talent: Recruiting and retaining talented people is its own battle. But once they’re hired, they need to be focused on high-value work, not low-ROI tasks.

Tax leaders must keep their heads above the rising tide of data and use the digital current to move their organizations forward. But how? 

Today’s tax problems demand tomorrow’s mindset.

The amount of digital data is only going to increase, and the speed at which companies need to adapt will follow suit.

Tax leaders should examine their company’s technologies and ask themselves how — even if — these technologies are truly serving their customers and meeting their company’s operational needs.

Tax leaders have enough on their to-do list – a list that’s only getting longer thanks to disruption, legislation, talent transformation and our increasingly digital world.
Dante DeWitt
EY Global Tax Chief Technology Officer

The best-prepared tax organizations will harness today’s advancements in technology. To position their companies on the cutting edge, tax leaders should consider integrating the powers of big data, automation and advanced analytics.

Recalibrating the tax function in this way helps address today’s challenges and prepare for tomorrow’s head on.

Summary

Digital data has placed unprecedented demands on organizations and to keep moving forward, today’s tax leaders need to adapt through the integration of big data, automation and advanced analytics.

About this article

By Dante DeWitt

EY Global Tax Chief Technology Officer

Thought leader in the financial services technology sector. Ability to create and communicate a clear vision to align with and enable business objectives. Husband. Father. Whitewater rafter.

Contributors