Let’s face it, connecting all your company’s business systems via the many enterprise resource planning systems now available has become something of an imperative for many organisations these days. And for good reason: a well-designed, properly deployed ERP system can connect every area of your organisation—HR, customer service, internal business processes, inventory control, financial data centres, company information, order tracking, etc.—thereby improving your company’s effectiveness and efficiency. However—and this is an important “however”—a large number of companies seem to forget that VAT performs a vital function within their business processes: used incorrectly, or by improperly trained personnel, any ERP system can pose enormous tax risks. Besides the difficulties that can arise when dealing with taxable and non-taxable business transactions, your ERP system must ensure that all of your company’s legal requirements are being met—and this includes the still not-fully-harmonised (and extensive) regulations of EU-VAT-law. From a VAT-determination perspective, as well as with regard to VAT reporting, you would do well to call in outside help when working with your ERP systems.
If this is your situation:
- You suspect that there may be hidden VAT-risks in your company’s ERP System, and you need help identifying them.
- You want to be sure that your company’s newly implemented ERP system meets all the VAT related requirements.
- You need to know if the VAT reporting component of your company’s ERP system is truly efficient— from a VAT Risk Management and administrative point of view.
- You are told by your VAT managers that many of their ERP implementations failures, but you believe that they are, in reality, incomplete. You need outside help to find out why.
- You need your new ERP system to eradicate the organisational silos—especially in the VAT management area—that characterise your company. But it’s not working.
- You want to use your ERP system to develop strategies that will reduce your VAT costs—and facilitate revenue growth.
- You need your ERP system to help integrate VAT-reduction solutions with your company’s overall strategic objectives.
- You must find a way to develop an ERP framework that will help your company find a better way of managing VAT in the future.
How PwC can help you
At PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) we can ensure that all the VAT-related functionalities in your ERP system are being used to their full extent, i.e., properly and cost-efficiently. Our highly-trained professionals will work with you to make certain that your ERP system supports your business in a cost-effective way, especially with regard to indirect taxes. If you are implementing an ERP system for the first time we can help you analyse and assess the entire range of your of business transactions; determine your system requirements; develop the appropriate tax calculations, and show your staff how it was done; run simulations and test cases to ensure that the system is operating correctly; train your staff in all ERP-related functions; and, we can monitor the implementation of your system once it goes “live.” When you call us in, our VAT-related tax-technical support teams will ensure that all of the VAT-related functionalities of your new ERP system are properly set up. One great advantage here is that PwC’s involvement will permit you to focus on the truly important issues of your business, instead of wasting time with numerous VAT- and Intrastat-related processes. You’ll find that we respond to your concerns with professional skills, technical knowledge, and a strong commitment to helping you meet you VAT obligations with a minimum of effort. If, on the other hand, you already have an ERP system in place, we can work with you to check automatic tax calculations (e.g., in the sales and accounting modules); determine whether any modifications to the system are needed; show you ways of optimising the use of your system, especially in the reporting area (e.g., VAT returns and Intrastat reports); and, finally, we can evaluate the data in your ERP system to make certain that it is VAT-relevant and easy to access. Let us work with you.
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