The survey of over 1,700 global organisations – including 63% of the Forbes Global 500 largest public companies – found 98% believe that the core competencies needed from tax and finance professionals will shift from traditional tax technical skills towards deeper process and technology skills.

However, 87% reported a lack of resources to evaluate and respond to legislative changes such as recent US tax reforms and the OECD base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) requirements.

Complying with the numerous transparency initiatives e.g., country-by-country reporting and common reporting standard, has also piled on the pressure, with 88% of respondents expecting workload to increase as a result.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) expressed concerns about whether they have the appropriate process, controls, technology and governance to effectively manage their reputational risk and profile, given the increase in enforcement activity and new transparency requirements.

Despite this, EY says the results indicate a large number of companies still do not feel that they are investing enough in analytics and technology solutions to manage tax risks. Furthermore, over half of respondents said a lack of technological investment was having the most significant impact on their tax and finance function’s ability to deliver predictable outcomes.

Nearly a third of businesses said they are already outsourcing parts of the tax function, while 57% are considering this option. Only 8% have decided against tax function outsourcing, while the same percentage have not considered it at all.

Jason Lester, EY’s managing partner for tax, UK and Ireland, said: ‘Many organisations are aware of the need to continue to invest in technology to advance their tax and finance functions. But as the survey indicates, they also need to provide more training for existing employees and consider a different talent mix to keep up with the rapid pace of change.’

EY’s report, Reimagining the tax and finance function, is here.

Report by Pat Sweet