Why data-driven tax functions stay ahead

Tax functions are under pressure—with growing complexity, tighter deadlines and rising expectations. Many organisations are turning to technology to respond, but the answer isn’t more technology alone. It’s smarter, connected ecosystems that reduce cost, increase flexibility and create value.

Technology is also reshaping the very nature of tax. New regimes, digital rules, documentation standards and business insight demands are emerging, powered by rapid innovation. See how leading organisations reimagining tax compliance through cloud, AI and co-sourcing are staying ahead of regulatory change and leading confidence.

Whether it’s Pillar Two, sustainability or shifting tariffs, the pace of regulatory change is accelerating. What’s proposed today could be law tomorrow-or gone by next week. And regulators, CEOs and CFOs alike are demanding more real-time data, sharper insights and faster answers.

Yet, according to our Global Reframing Tax Survey, fewer than half of large organisations feel prepared for these changes. 95% of tax professionals report skills gaps in their functions. At the same time, 56% are already seeing tangible benefits from GenAI, more than 80% expect it to reshape tax planning and strategy within three years. In this environment, adaptability isn't optional—it's the advantage.

Disconnected tools. Siloed teams. Inconsistent data. For many tax functions today, that's the reality—and it comes at a cost: slower reporting, higher risk and missed opportunities.

Even your most basic questions can take hours or days to answer: "What's our total exposure?", "Have we filed everywhere we need to?". Sometimes, they're not answered at all.

This disconnection also stalls progress on automation and AI. Many tax teams want to use AI to model the impact of new regulations. But they can’t—because their data isn’t clean, centralised, or structured.

The good news: These challenges are solvable. And it starts with rethinking how your data, tools, and teams connect.

Manual processes. Re-keying data. Chasing down spreadsheets. These inefficiencies don’t just slow you down—they drive up the cost of compliance. But the real impact isn't only time or money, its skilled teams pulled away from strategic priorities. Technology frees up those resources, so tax professionals can focus on critical business issues and deliver real results.

The solution? A connected ecosystem. One place where all your tax technologies, data, and teams come together. Where structured data flows seamlessly across systems, automation scales with demand and every action leaves a digital audit trail.

Platforms like Sightline are built for this—bringing people, processes and platforms together in one secure environment. With the end user in mind, Sightline now integrates directly into Microsoft Teams, making it easier for your teams to work in the tools they already use every day. Familiar and simple to navigate, Sightline enables real-time collaboration. The result: Lower costs, reduced risk, faster reporting and a tax function that’s truly connected to how you work.

The biggest transformations happen when technology is embedded directly into source systems, removing layers of manual steps and enabling automation at the core. These aren’t just bolt-on tools, they are integrated solutions that streamline compliance at every step.

Take SAP. Over the past 12 months, two key developments stand out for tax functions today:

1. Continuous monitoring of tax data quality through technologies like SAP Risk Assurance Management, enabling tax teams to embed checks and controls into the financial and tax compliance process.
2. The ability to use agentic AI solutions in SAP’s tools to address tax code determination—a major concern for many organisations. Take Novo Nordisk. Faced with high-volume, multi-jurisdictional VAT determination, they deployed a generative AI-powered solution. The result? Three years of manual effort compressed into weeks. Accuracy improved. Cycle times reduced. And internal capacity freed up for strategic work.

But cost isn’t the only pressure point. Tax functions also need to adapt across jurisdictions, models, and technologies.

The old compliance model—doing everything in-house or outsourcing it all—no longer works. Different jurisdictions, reporting cycles, and data requirements demand new approaches that are both smarter and more flexible.

Cloud platforms make this shift possible. They let organisations share reporting responsibility without losing control. Teams—internal or external—can now work side-by-side in the same environment, accessing the same data in real time.

Take Pillar Two, for example—the new global tax framework that organisations must navigate. Requirements vary by territory, and depending on local capabilities and available technologies, companies may choose to insource, outsource, or co-source their compliance efforts.

That’s why we’re working with Workday to connect data from Workday’s Financial Management and HCM platforms directly into our Pillar Two Engine. This integration automates data collection, transformation, and calculation—reducing manual labour while strengthening control, accuracy, and consistency.

With this approach, organizations can easily extract the data needed for Pillar Two reporting while collaborating with us on the more complex compliance and calculation tasks.

These examples show what’s possible when flexibility is matched with the right functionality to keep organisations compliant. But to scale these gains you need technology that connects it all.

Technology can be the engine that rewires compliance for a new reality. When the right technology is paired with the right people and processes, compliance stops being just a function—it becomes a catalyst. It gives organisations the confidence to lead.

But how do you access these connected technology ecosystems?

Building that ecosystem isn’t always simple. Investing in individual tools can be costly. And as your needs evolve, you may need to swap technologies in and out. That’s why more organisations are rethinking how they access technology—choosing flexible, plug-and-play models that scale with them.

That’s why our alliance ecosystem matters. From the Google Cloud Data Control Engine (Dce) to SAP’s Risk Assurance Management and Workday’s Financial Management platform, we connect the technologies that tax functions depend on. These integrations automate data flows, strengthen control, and simplify compliance across jurisdictions. Delivering the right technology, at the right moment, in a way that fits your business

The real opportunity? When compliance stops being a cost centre and starts creating value.

It's not automation alone. It's technology that fits your business. Collaborators with both the tools and the tax expertise. And systems that move beyond box-ticking to build trust, deliver insight, and drive change.

Pair cloud technology with the right people and processes, compliance becomes faster, smarter, and simpler. Done well, it's more than a function—it's an edge.

When systems, data, and partnerships work together, compliance becomes the engine that drives what's next.