Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

The finance function plays a critical role in any company’s international growth. What are key considerations in pursuing emerging market opportunities? We’ll discuss:

• Defining a business case and developing an operating model that fits overall company strategies, as well as key tax and finance related considerations.
• Understanding local issues associated with International Financial Reporting Standards, statutory requirements, and nuances of the business culture.
• Designing and implementing finance organizations that can support growth in complex environments, including personnel, technology, and process implications.

Explore important opportunities and challenges associated with expansion into emerging markets based on insights from finance professionals with on-the-ground experience.

Date & Time: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 3:00 PM ET 

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Microsoft Excel is the de facto reporting and analytics tool for many organizations. But, is it the right tool?

According to the complimentary white paper, “10 Hidden Costs of Manual Reporting in Excel” from CFO.com and ApeSoft Inc., you could be hindering your bottom line more than helping it.

Read the white paper and come back to Tax 2.0 to share your thoughts on whether Excel has helped or hindered your analytic activities.

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There is a general feeling of consternation in the US accounting sphere with regard to the shift from US GAAP to IFRS accounting standards.

There’s little doubt that this shift will force a new way of thinking for many tax departments, but perhaps there are new opportunities along with these new challenges.  

Robert Kugel of Ventana Research explores how the US GAAP to IFRS shift will bring the accounting and tax functions into a new realm of technological parity with other corporate entities and provide sound benefits for organizations that are forward-thinking enough to view this shift as an opportunity instead of an obstacle.

Read the full article on Sourcingmag.com and be sure to answer Tax 2.0’s Quick Poll below.

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How much of your company’s total revenue is wasted each year in audit fees? Is your story common for your industry or revenue stratum? 

The new CFO Audit Fee Report gives you instant online access to a customized benchmark analysis that compares your audit fees with those paid by other companies in your peer group, based upon industry and company revenues.

The report only takes a few minutes to generate and will allow you to:

• See what each auditor charged your peer group and how much fees varied
• Estimate what each audit firm might charge your company
• Provide your audit committee with an accurate, independent analysis

After spending some time with the CFO Audit Fee Report, be sure to come back to Tax 2.0 and share your thoughts on the value of this tool with the Tax 2.0 Community.

Since the onslaught of SOX, Accounting for Income Taxes has been, and continues to be, one of the leading causes of material weaknesses in a company’s internal controls.   

Tax 2.0 has recognized a growing trend; CFO’s and Controllers seem to be losing confidence in the tax department’s ability to accurately account for their income tax positions.

To quell this sense of unease some companies have shifted the responsibility for managing their tax provisions and related accounting from the Tax department to the Accounting department.  Others have created the new position of “Tax Controller.”

Now, we would like to post the following questions to the Tax 2.0 community.

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The financial minds at CFO.com debate the virtues (and the trappings) of taking part in the government’s amended tax code around net losses. The change stretches the Net Operating Loss (NOL) carry-back period from two to five years for tax years 2008 or 2009 .

Read the full CFO.com NOL article here. Then be sure to come back to Tax 2.0 to share your thoughts on this controversial topic.

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Accelerate Group Financial Close: Speed Your Closing Cycle and Reduce the Cost of Compliance

The requirement to close books quickly and with quality is emerging again as an important project for today’s global finance function, especially with the increasing amount of regulatory change, including the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and requirements to file financial statements in Extended Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

During this Webcast, you will hear from The Paragon Consulting Group, a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as well as SAP, the market leader in enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions, how companies can speed their closing cycles and reduce the cost of compliance.

From this Webcast you will discover:

• The latest research into the year-end close cycle metrics of the world’s largest organizations
• Key barriers to a fast, high-quality group financial close
• Solutions to help organizations improve and sustain their close times

Presenters:

• James Fisher
  Senior Director Solution Marketing
  Enterprise Performance Management, SAP 
• David J.H. Jones
  Director, Paragon Consulting Group, a member of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
• Mark C. Herpin, CPA.CITP
  Financial Planning Manager
  IBERIABANK Corporation

DATE: Wednesday, March 3, 2010  TIME: 11 A.M. Eastern Time (U.S.) DURATION: 60 minutes

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When the FASB issued its FIN 48 exposure draft back in 2005, corporate taxpayers were in an uproar that FIN 48 would give the IRS a roadmap into their aggressive tax return positions. As we all have learned over time, FIN 48 without the associated workpapers was less of a roadmap and more of a globe. A collective sigh of relief could be heard resonating through the tax community.

That was until last week…

In an eye opening presentation given to the New York State bar Association, IRS Commissioner, Doug Shulman proposed a new tax return disclosure that will once again provide a yellow brick road straight into the heart of your nearest and dearest tax issues.

Learn more about what Shulman had to say on the IRS Web site. Then be sure to come back to Tax 2.0 and share your thoughts on whether Shulman’s remarks represent a sound plan for progress or an exercise in self-indictment.

Date: 02/16/2010
Time: 2:00 -3:00 pm EST
Cost: Complimentary
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Join Financial Executives International (FEI) and Vertex for this exclusive complimentary Webcast offering valuable insights on the future of tax technology and how it will enable your tax operations to deliver untapped strategic value.

Times have changed. Cash is tight, earnings are down. CFOs now, more than ever, need to minimize global cash taxes and effective tax rates. But their tax departments are consumed with non-strategic compliance, accounting for income taxes and controversy tasks.  How can productivity of the tax department be improved at a time when global complexity and tax workloads are on the rise? 

By tightly integrating finance and tax data management and processes.

Register for this Webcast to hear more about the technology trends making the convergence of Finance and Tax a reality, and what you can do today to prepare for the future:

• Lead the change to uncovering the strategic value of tax operations
• Gain control and transparency into your key tax drivers
• Reduce the siloed nature of global tax management
• Bring tax into your enterprise-level solutions
• Develop tight integration between financial and tax data and operations
• Build stronger relationship with your tax management

The first Joint International Indirect Tax Conference between the Institute of Indirect Taxation and the Chartered Institute of Taxation will be held at the Hilton on the Park, 22 Park Lane, London, on Thursday 25 February 2010. In addition to a wealth of learning opportunities, tax professionals can earn up to 7 accredited CPD/CPE hours.

Jointly Chaired by Michael Conlon QC, President of the Institute of Indirect Taxation and Stephen Coleclough, President of the Confédération Fiscal Européenne and Immediate Past Chairman, CIOT Technical Committee.

The Conference will bring together leading specialists from multinational corporations, top professional firms, the European Commission, Tax Chambers and HM Revenue and Customs.

Seats are limited, so reserve your spot early and receive a limited time discount on admission.

Learn more and register today.