Tax leaders who embrace tech

It’s not about keeping up — it's about stepping ahead

Policy shifts, data demands and rising expectations. It’s all moving fast, and traditional operating models weren’t built for this level of complexity or speed. But a different playbook is emerging, with technology as the driving force behind smarter decisions, sharper insights and the potential for stronger outcomes. We get it — technology won’t make tax simpler, but it can make your function faster and more aligned with the enterprise.

Three shifts are helping to reshape how we work: strategic use of data, scaling workforce capacity through AI agents and automation, and the interplay of tech and talent to tackle complexity. Tax leaders who embrace these trends are leading the charge.

There’s no such thing as “tax data.” Other business functions own the data your team needs. Your challenge lies in managing it. Without a cohesive data strategy, you’ll repeatedly gather, reconcile and analyze the same data sets for various purposes across different jurisdictions.

According to PwC’s May 2025 Pulse Survey, 34% of tax executives believe the lack of a cohesive data strategy is one of the top three barriers to delivering on their tax strategy. And 80% of tax leaders in our June 2024 Pulse Survey on business model reinvention told us that disparate data sources complicate tax reporting, strategic planning and their ability to be partners to the business.

When structured and governed properly, tax data becomes a source of insight, not friction. This perspective will enable you to stay ahead of evolving rules, including the new federal tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as transfer pricing and trade requirements.

Data as a managed service

That mindset shift — from data as a burden to data as an advantage — opens the door to new, tech-enabled service models that could make insights easier to access and harder to miss. Powerful new options can both save time and help you apply tax judgment at the point of transaction.

We’re using AI-based tools, including AI agents, to automate data processing, enhance compliance, accelerate delivery and unlock real-time insights. This cuts down on manual work, supports global reporting needs and provides a clear data trail from start to finish. With the right strategy and governance, tax professionals can shift their focus from routine tasks to driving deeper insights and value.

Depending on your current maturity, you might start with a trusted third party or begin embedding AI tools in-house — with support from your CIO and a tech-savvy team. What matters most is applying consistent governance and strategic oversight, regardless of where you begin.

Your data playbook

• Audit your data’s pain points. Where are you losing the most time? Accessing and analyzing data, fixing errors, chasing consistency? Start there.
• Explore vendor models. Evaluate external providers for services such as data cleansing, transformation and analytics.
• Govern with intention. Maintain accountability, even if you delegate operations. Confirm every provider meets your governance standards and risk thresholds.

As tax becomes more digitized, AI-powered automation is augmenting and reimagining your team, reducing manual, mundane tasks and creating capacity to focus on strategic initiatives and knowledge work.

AI-exposed US industries are already seeing positive effects. Early adopters in tech, telecom and finance have experienced a 27% rise in revenue per employee, according to our 2025 Global AI Jobs Barometer. So far, tax isn’t reaping the same rewards. In our October 2024 Pulse Survey ahead of the November election, 85% of tax executives said using data automation tools and AI effectively was a challenge. The upside for tax is clear, and the urgency is growing.

Embedding AI into operational tax strategy can help you unlock incremental value across reporting, compliance, planning and legislative forecasting. A well-governed data strategy enables AI and automation to deliver meaningful scale, speed and accuracy across the tax function. Data lays the foundation, but it’s thoughtful application and strong governance that enable AI to create real outcomes. And the technology is providing the function with new digital team members: AI agents, intelligent systems that can reason, generate compliant documentation and identify risk exposure across jurisdictions.

Enter AI agents

The rise of generative and agentic AI is changing what work looks like. These tools go beyond traditional automation by learning and adapting continuously — transforming tax from reactive processors to strategists. Unlike rule-based bots, AI agents work in real time, offering proactive support such as:

• Automated workpapers and documentation

• Tax form validation

• Scenario modeling and forecasting

• Horizon scanning of global policy changes.

In PwC’s May 2025 AI Agent Survey, among US adopters 66% say agents are delivering measurable value through increased productivity. By embracing agents, you and your team can unlock new capacity, reduce risk and deliver insights that shape enterprise strategy.

AI agents are often designed to handle specific tasks, but you can unlock their true potential by combining them into coordinated workflows under human oversight. Instead of focusing on data preparation and regulatory research, your teams can manage digital teammates and contribute to broader business strategy. A platform like PwC’s agent OS, for example, can help you orchestrate multiple agents into workflows — where they work together with people and your existing enterprise apps.

Your AI playbook

• Build new skills. Transition from traditional tax tech roles to AI fluency by embedding training, updating processes and enabling teams to adopt new ways of working — driving sustainable advantage.

• Pilot a project. Pick one use case, maybe indirect tax compliance or due diligence, to assess the potential benefits AI agents can offer. Measure the impact and expand from there.

• Track impact. Define KPIs that capture both cost savings and strategic value such as measuring time saved, insights generated and the tax function’s ability to influence business decisions.

With all this innovation, tax policy is accelerating at a rapid clip. Our May 2025 Pulse Survey reveals that 46% of tax executives rank complex cross-border tax issues as one of the top barriers to delivering on strategy. Layer in global regulatory divergence, a resurgent trade policy debate and domestic tax reform and it’s clear: Tax agility isn’t a luxury. It’s table stakes.

Tax authorities around the world increasingly require real-time filings and digital audit trails. While 74% of tax leaders in the May Pulse Survey say they feel confident in their strategic role, 34% cite talent retention and skill shortages as major barriers to execution. But tech can offer an advantage and help you build resilience, even as demands stack up.

The talent-tech imperative

AI tools are now capable of scanning legislation in multiple jurisdictions, interpreting risk exposure, forecasting outcomes and even generating draft disclosures. And it’s not just about compliance. AI can help your team plan by simulating legislative scenarios, working with CFOs and CEOs to answer questions more confidently.

Leading tax functions are building “centers for agents”— tech-powered teams that blend AI agents and human oversight. These models are meant to help the tax function streamline day-to-day compliance demands and elevate the high-impact analysis and strategic guidance that companies need.

Your talent playbook

• Get ahead of policy changes. Don’t wait for a surprise. Use AI to track new rules and to forecast and interpret policy shifts before they impact filings.
• Team up across the C-suite. Partner with your CIO, CHRO and COO to align tax tools with broader transformation efforts.
• Hire for what’s next. Find professionals with business and technological acumen, who can operate at the intersection of tax, data and policy.
• Encourage experimentation. Give teams space to test tools, try ideas and learn fast without fear of failure. Small pilots can spark big breakthroughs.

More than three-fourths of the tax leaders participating in our May 2025 Pulse Survey told us that tariff policies pose a moderate or serious risk to their company. At the same time, too many tax functions are hamstrung by siloed systems and incomplete data or legacy tools. The tools we need are here. The only question is, are you ready to put them to work?

Here’s a five-step playbook to help you respond to these trends with speed and clarity.

1. Formalize your data strategy. Prioritize modernization of the most valuable tax data sets. Invest in lineage, quality controls and governance.
2. Develop/deploy AI agents. Start where AI can deliver immediate ROI: documentation, classification or audit trail generation.
3. Model policy scenarios with AI. Use generative AI to explore the impact of potential changes to R&D incentives, Pillar Two rules and evolving audit focus areas — faster and more scalably than before.
4. Run a tech-and-talent readiness assessment. Identify capability gaps — across platforms, workflows, skills and vendor support — and tie them directly to risk and value.
5. Align tech investment with growth. Work across the C-suite to make sure tax is part of broader digital transformation agendas — not an afterthought.