Business Intelligence, Analytics, And Unleashing the Strategic Potential of Indirect Tax

Most organizations employ Business Intelligence (BI), the use of data and software to enable better decision making, throughout many of its functions in order to drive business success and make strategic decisions. Regrettably, one department that has historically not received the benefits of BI is indirect tax. The reality is BI offers indirect tax the opportunity to unlock its strategic potential within the organization, thereby increasing the organization's competitive advantage in the marketplace. Indirect tax compliance has the reputation of being a necessary evil, something that needs to be done but essentially adds no value. This is a sentiment that does not need to prevail, because indirect tax can be transformed into a strategic partner within the organization by unleashing the value that is contained within tax data. With the use of BI tools, indirect tax can move beyond compliance with such value added activities as forecasting reserves, improving transparency, and reducing audit risk.