In part one of this paper developed by CFO Research Services for Deloitte, the stage is set for why tax executives want to see their tax departments start playing a greater role in business development and add value beyond traditional tax functions. 

When you’re done reading, use the comments section to share you thoughts on the pitfalls and promises of the tax function playing a greater integrated role in the enterprise. 

Introduction
Tax executives have long served as taxation compliance experts—the specialists within the corporate finance function who navigate and work to optimize companies’ responses to the complex laws, regulations, and requirements of federal, state, and other tax regimens. In a study last year, we found that tax executives and their peers elsewhere in finance seek more from their tax organizations. They called for tax to play a greater role in business decision making and in other activities outside the core tax function.

In this year’s follow-up study, we find further evidence of a desire for tax to collaborate more effectively with other functions—especially with business operating units and their managers. In addition, the research identifies a shortfall—perhaps in perception, or perhaps in actual performance—in tax’s ability to provide decision support to business management.

Overcoming this perception or performance shortcoming is a complex, company-specific problem without a simple solution. This research reveals that tax executives often need to develop greater expertise in their companies’ core businesses, to manage the tax function more effectively, and to demonstrate this expertise through better collaboration with finance and business management. While these results call for improvements in tax executives’ skills—to know more, to manage more effectively, and to collaborate more closely—there appear to be organizational steps that companies can take that will yield a more effective tax function.

Data analysis from this survey of 226 senior finance and tax executives suggests that strong leadership of the tax function by tax directors and vice presidents of tax correlates closely with a high-performance tax function. Companies in which tax executives (rather than their peers elsewhere in finance) “hold responsibility for ensuring that the tax function plays an appropriate role in business decision making” report more effective tax management, greater ability to support business decisions, and closer collaboration across a broad range of functional areas.

The full whitepaper can be accessed on CFO.com.