Are Shared Services Prepared to Add Statutory Reporting, Direct and Indirect Tax into Scope?

Your Shared Services Center / Global Business Services

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* 1. What is your SSC's service delivery model? (choose one)

Providing in-country services only

Providing regional services

Providing global services

Other (please specify)

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* 2. Are you operating as a Shared Services Center (SSC) or a Global Business Services (GBS)?

Shared Services Center (SSC)

Global Business Services (GBS)

Other (please specify)

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* 3. Which region(s) does your SSC serve? (choose all that apply)

North America

Latin America

Europe

Middle East & Africa

Asia Pacific (APAC)

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* 4. How many countries does your SSC service? (choose one)

1 Country

2-3 Countries

4-5 Countries

>5 Countries

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* 5. How many entities does your SSC service? (choose one)

Up to 5 Entities

6-10 Entities

11-20 Entities

21-30 Entities

>30 Entities

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* 6. Where are your company headquarters based?

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* 7. How long has your SSC been established? (choose one)

In planning phase

0-3 years

4-6 years

7-10 years

11-20 years

>20 years

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* 8. What success metrics is your SSC measured on? (choose one / best fit)

Cost

Speed

Quality (minimizing errors)

Level of automation

Customer service / experience

Data analytics / insights

Other (please specify)

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* 9. What are the most significant areas of change in your SSC’s near-term future? (select all that apply)

Increased use of automation

Increased use of data analytics

Expansion of geographical coverage

Expansion of services scope/processes covered

Shift from transactional towards knowledge-based activity

Reduction of global footprints (centers) as ‘virtual’ Shared Services makes locations less relevant

Other (please specify)

Statutory Reporting and Tax Services Delivery

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* 10. Do you currently offer the following as a centralized service? (eg, from an SSO)

	yes	no	planning to add within 2 years	planning to add within 3-5 years
Indirect tax compliance (VAT, sales tax)	Indirect tax compliance (VAT, sales tax) yes	Indirect tax compliance (VAT, sales tax) no	Indirect tax compliance (VAT, sales tax) planning to add within 2 years	Indirect tax compliance (VAT, sales tax) planning to add within 3-5 years
Direct tax compliance (eg tax computations)	Direct tax compliance (eg tax computations) yes	Direct tax compliance (eg tax computations) no	Direct tax compliance (eg tax computations) planning to add within 2 years	Direct tax compliance (eg tax computations) planning to add within 3-5 years
Statutory Reporting (eg preparation of accounts)	Statutory Reporting (eg preparation of accounts) yes	Statutory Reporting (eg preparation of accounts) no	Statutory Reporting (eg preparation of accounts) planning to add within 2 years	Statutory Reporting (eg preparation of accounts) planning to add within 3-5 years
Legal services	Legal services yes	Legal services no	Legal services planning to add within 2 years	Legal services planning to add within 3-5 years

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* 11. If you have not yet centralized INDIRECT tax compliance (VAT/sales tax), where is this work currently done?

Indirect tax compliance is already centralized

Incountry team

Outsourced to large global tax and accounting firm

Outsourced to local/regional tax and accounting firm

Other (please specify)

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* 12. If you have not yet centralized INDIRECT tax compliance (VAT/sales tax), what is holding you back? (choose 1-5 options)

Indirect tax compliance is already centralized

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in the SSC

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in incountry teams

Uncertainty relating to cost structure/savings

Perception of increased risk due to lack of in-depth knowledge of local requirements

Lack of transparency into process delivery/ status

Language skills not covered in SSC

Apprehension around a non-local center having awareness and applying timely updates

Low degree of confidence in SSC reliably meeting all regulatory deadlines

Other (please specify)

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* 13. If you have not yet centralized DIRECT tax compliance, where is this work currently done?

Direct tax compliance is already centralized

Incountry team

Outsourced to large global tax and accounting firm

Outsourced to local/regional tax and accounting firm

Other (please specify)

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* 14. If you have not yet centralized DIRECT tax compliance (eg tax computations), what is holding you back? (choose 1-5 options)

Direct tax compliance is already centralized

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in SSC

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in incountry teams

Uncertainty relating to cost structure/savings

Perception of increased risk due to lack of in-depth knowledge of local tax requirements

Lack of transparency into process delivery/ status

Language skills not covered in SSC

Apprehension around a non-local center having awareness and applying timely updates

Low degree of confidence in SSC reliably meeting all regulatory deadlines

Other (please specify)

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* 15. If you have not yet centralized STATUTORY REPORTING (eg preparation of accounts) where is this work currently done?

Statutory Reporting is already centralized

Incountry team

Outsourced to large global tax and accounting firm

Outsourced to local/regional tax and accounting firm

Other (please specify)

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* 16. If you have not yet centralized STATUTORY REPORTING (eg, preparation of accounts), what is holding you back? (choose 1-5 options)

Statutory reporting is already centralized

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in SSC

Concerns around attrition/retention of relevant and qualified talent in incountry teams

Uncertainty relating to cost structure/savings

Perception of increased risk due to lack of in-depth knowledge of local tax requirements

Lack of transparency into process delivery/ status

Language skills not covered in SSC

Apprehension around a non-local centre having awareness and applying timely updates

Low degree of confidence in SSC reliably meeting all regulatory deadlines

Other (please specify)

Tax Services – Strategy

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* 17. If you have centralized TAX (direct/indirect), what are the top 3 challenges facing the centralized team? (choose top 3 answers)

Increased scrutiny from tax authorities

Managing compliance across multiple jurisdictions

Need for increased efficiency / cost controls

Need for increased efficiency / internal processes or workflow

Managing tax data

Reducing Effective Tax Rate

Keeping up with new regulations and processes

Recruiting and keeping qualified staff

Security / data privacy issues

Implementing tax technology and transformation projects

Other (please specify)

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* 18. What stage is your organization at regarding centralizing the INDIRECT TAX process?

Already centralized (eg, via Shared Services)

Aiming to centralize in the next 12 months

Aiming to centralize in the next 2-3 years

Aiming to centralize in the next 4-5 years

No plans to centralize at present

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* 19. What stage is your organization at regarding centralizing the DIRECT TAX process?

Already centralized (eg, via Shared Services)

Aiming to centralize in the next 12 months

Aiming to centralize in the next 2-3 years

Aiming to centralize in the next 4-5 years

No plans to centralize at present

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* 20. How would you describe your current adoption of tax technology? (choose one)

Advanced (most processes are covered by tax technology)

Intermediate (some areas using tax solutions, but we still have manual processes and spreadsheets)

Basic (mainly reliant on manual processes and spreadsheets)

Outsourced (most of our tax compliance is outsourced)

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* 21. Do you see tax technology as strategic to the success of your tax department? (choose one)

Yes – and we have a tax strategy/roadmap

Yes – but we don’t have a tax strategy/roadmap

No – we can still be effective with manual processes and spreadsheets

N/A / Don’t know

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* 22. Which of the following tax technology solutions have you already implemented? (check all that apply)

Tax provision

Direct tax compliance

Indirect tax (e.g. VAT, Sales Tax, GST) compliance solutions

Digital Tax Reporting (e.g. SAF-T)

Country-by-country reporting

Transfer pricing documentation

Tax workﬂow management

Tax data management

Tax analytics

Other (please specify)

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* 23. When looking to invest in new tax technology which criteria are most important (select all that apply)

Integrated tax technology platform from one vendor

Certified by our chosen ERP provider

Meeting high data security standards and/or be approved by our Information Security & Technology group

Depth of coverage in the jurisdictions in which we operate

Other (please specify)

Impact of Covid-19

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* 24. Has Covid-19’s impact on your business reporting capability resulted in plans to accelerate centralization / automation?

	yes, accelerate centralization	yes, accelerate automation	no	N/A
Statutory Reporting	Statutory Reporting yes, accelerate centralization	Statutory Reporting yes, accelerate automation	Statutory Reporting no	Statutory Reporting N/A
Indirect tax	Indirect tax yes, accelerate centralization	Indirect tax yes, accelerate automation	Indirect tax no	Indirect tax N/A
Direct tax	Direct tax yes, accelerate centralization	Direct tax yes, accelerate automation	Direct tax no	Direct tax N/A

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* 25. How has Covid-19's impact influenced plans to move towards a VIRTUAL versus as-is SSC model?

no plans to shift to a virtual SSC model (staying as is)

yes, planning to shift to a virtual SSC model

Clear

i We adjusted the number you entered based on the slider’s scale.

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* 26. Would you be interested in a demo of SSON's data analytics resource on comparative location data – including talent availability, number of shared services/BPOs, cost of center operations, salary comparisons, and benchmark metrics?

Yes

If yes, please list your work email address below