Tax is under the spotlight. Never before has tax been more important to governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders. Tax forms the basis for public spending, and governments want larger budgets to achieve their specific goals. The reputation and well-being of companies, including insurance groups, is also being impacted by external perceptions of how they manage their tax affairs. It’s vital that insurers respond in a clear and thoughtful way to a much wider base of stakeholders than ever before, including not only tax authorities and governments, but also regulators, investors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the media and the general public.

According to the report, the reputation and well-being of companies, including insurance groups, is not just being impacted by governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders but also by external perceptions of how they manage their tax affairs.

We’ve broken down the changes on the horizon and how this will affect skills, systems and organisation into five key priorities:

Developing and implementing a modernised tax control framework
Considering automation of data extraction and review processes to ensure compliance and release tax professionals time to manage risk and advise the business;
Adjusting the skills, capabilities and approach of tax teams, to respond to changing requirements;
Tax specialists will need to be much closer to transactional activity;
Ensuring that current tax policies stand up to current and future scrutiny.