Global Tax Outlook - Spotlight on Global Tax Assurance and Risk Management

This article has been updated. It was originally published on 25 January 2021

BDO’s Global Tax Outlook 2020, reported on how a broader range of executive stakeholders are concerned about the impact of changing tax regulation and public scrutiny on their tax affairs and the wider business, and how in tax - governance, assurance and managing tax risk has become a key focus.

Keeping up with, and responding to, continued regulatory and legislative change presents major challenges for tax leaders and tax functions across the globe. Being and staying compliant becomes the primary concern - dominating the tax agenda and increasingly the Board’s time.

More organisations accept that tax compliance involves having a proper governance structure (who makes decisions over what tax matters, and how tax risk is managed across the business) and tax assurance over tax risk, systems, controls and processes to reduce and manage risk.

More organisations are looking to embed tax governance and tax risk frameworks, monitor these proactively and integrate these with business processes as tax leaders aspire to move from a support function to take on a more strategic and advisory role and add greater value to the business.

BDO has a set of tools for clients focusing on GLOBAL TAX ASSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT.  Clients are asking for practical ways to improve tax performance and better manage their tax risk. Senior management want a culture of ‘no surprises’ when it comes to managing tax on a global basis. On top of that, there is an increasing need to demonstrate tax assurance and efficiencies in terms of how tax operates across the business. For all organisations, there are tax challenges from increasingly complex tax compliance and regulatory requirements, magnified often by overly manual and disjointed processes that create tax risk.

The approach we adopt starts with a Tax Control Framework Roadmap - to help our clients navigate the path to a world class tax function.  The framework looks in turn at

• Vision and Tax Strategy
• Tax Policy and Standards of Conduct
• Tax Governance – Accountabilities and Responsibilities
• Policies and Procedures
• Risk Management
• Monitoring and Review
• Technology

For more information go to GLOBAL TAX ASSURANCE & RISK MANAGEMENT. 

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If you would like to discuss more on how to optimise your tax function and tax risk management, please get in touch via the contact form below and a member of the BDO team will personally reach out to you for a tailored discussion.

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