Tax Function Effectiveness: The Vision for Tomorrow's Tax Function

CCH's new Tax Function Effectiveness addresses the unique challenges of tax function departments. The tax function's objectives should themselves be driven by what is happening in the business and the wider business and regulatory environment. While the objectives of different tax functions will vary in the detail, we believe that the effectiveness of the tax function department is fundamentally based on its ability to achieve three core objectives: 1. Create, protect and optimise value in the context of the organisation s business objectives; 2. Manage a wide range of tax related risks from carrying on business; and 3. Ensure compliance with tax laws and reporting requirements. Tax planning and advisory activities should be focussed on optimising tax outcomes and managing risk, both in respect of strategic transactions and day to day operations. Compliance and reporting activities tend to be process driven activities that are focused on both risk management and external communication

Tony Elgood is a tax partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (UK) and specialises in tax function effectiveness. Tony is part of the Global Compliance Services (GCS) team, and in particular helps organisations to enunciate and document their tax strategy. He regularly speaks at conferences and has written two leading guides on the subject, namely PwC s Best Practice' tax function guide (published 2002, reprinted 2004, 2nd edition 2006) and their Tax Risk Management guide (published 2004, reprinted 2004). Prior to his current role Tony headed up PwC's Bristol tax practice in the UK. He trained in the London office, and after a spell in Amsterdam and as a tax training manager, he moved to Bristol in 1986, becoming a partner in 1988. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and has an MA from the University of Cambridge. Tony Fulton is a tax partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia specialising in corporate tax management, compliance and reporting. He advises major corporates in the Asia Pacific region on the effectiveness of the tax function and managing global risk and compliance. Tony leads PwC s Tax Function Effectiveness practice in Australia which has a particular focus on controls, risk management and process improvement in the tax area. Tony has over 16 years experience advising on a broad range of domestic and international tax issues. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia and has a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University, Melbourne. Mark Schutzman is a tax partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (US). He is a founder and the leader of PwC s US Tax Function Effectiveness practice, regularly consulting with CFO's and Tax VP's to improve the effectiveness of their corporate tax function. He has visited dozens of Fortune 500 companies across the U.S. and leads PwC's efforts to benchmark corporate tax function performance and operational practices. Mark has consulted with companies on process improvement, technology platforms and tax organization design as each relates to the four primary deliverables required of the corporate tax function. Mark also leads the PwC tax provision technology implementation services and helps clients to redesign tax accounting processes, leverage emerging tax accounting technology platforms and connect global tax accounting operations via web enabled tools. Mark received a BS in accounting from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the AICPA.