Study after study highlights that one of the biggest opportunities for gaining efficiencies within a tax department revolves around improving processes. Streamlining workflows, clarifying assignments, tracking task progress and implementing appropriate technology are all options to increasing efficiency and freeing time for more value-added activities. Thomson Reuters has developed solutions for a variety of tax departments, both large and small. We have professionals with various backgrounds in data and process management as well as tax technology. They will interview you and your staff to understand your current process and where your challenges and obstacles lie and then propose solutions that meet your specific needs and goals.

It's not always clear where to start when looking to increase efficiency. At first glance it can appear that all of the activities and tasks that you and your staff are doing are necessary and can't be done any more quickly. Our professional services team at Thomson Reuters brings an objective perspective that is often difficult to find internally. We take the time to truly understand what happens in your tax department, in detail, to know who does what, and why, and how. We talk with you and your staff to understand your goals and what you want to accomplish - including what you are getting done today and what you wish you could do. Then our team presents you with our assessment and offers your department a variety of options to re-engineer and improve your processes, increase your efficiency and effectiveness and that meet both your current and future goals.

WORKFLOW, PROCESS AND DATA MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager gives your tax department the ability to standardize, streamline, automate, and track all aspects of your corporate tax workflow.

From gathering tax packages to managing M1/M3 workpapers and supporting documents, ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager helps you control your business processes through automated workflow with integrated tax document management.

ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager helps you organize and standardize how every document is stored and shared. No more confusion over which document is the right version. You have the power to manage the status of your tax processes, with the capability to route, review, comment, and approve all documents and checklists within electronic tax folders.

Corporate tax departments across the country use ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager to:

Share files and information with the new foreign business units
Share information quickly for combined filings following a merger
Manage and secure high volumes of legal contacts
Convert signed legal documents into PDFs
Share read-only access with Legal, Professional Services, Sales, Support and Training teams who require read-only access on an unscheduled and sometimes concurrent basis
Automate and track your internal processes, including Tax Return Preparation, Provisions, Audits & IDR's, and internal planning projects.
Manage all tax related documents with proper versioning and security while having access to all workpapers, supporting documents, checklists and even emails.
Streamline the tax package process including distribution of spreadsheets with due date monitoring and tracking.

The DataFlow module of ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager leverages the best of Microsoft Excel, such as: instant recalculation, row and column locking, multiple sheets, and user defined calculations.

DataFlow secures templates, treating data as data, distributing forms like a web page, and automating the workflow by integrating with ONESOURCE WorkFlow Manager.

Additionally, DataFlow offers:

Visibility into the process
Post-release tax package changes
Data extraction
Linking to workpapers
Querying specific data elements across packages
Rollover of data
Pre-loading of data
Data validation enforcement

ONESOURCE CALENDAR

ONESOURCE Calendar is a web-based, due date tracking package that helps organize tax workflows, tax filings and payments.

Users can instantly determine delinquent items, the status of outstanding items, and items that need your attention. Anytime and anywhere access keeps you in control at the office, at home, or on the road.

With all its features, ONESOURCE Calendar is more than just a calendar. Users of ONESOURCE Calendar have found tremendous value in its many features including:

Centralized database that allows anyone given permission to access and update the calendar entries
Complete reporting capability to track tax return preparation status
Pre-populated tax events, plus the ability to set up custom due dates for internal projects
Complete security to control access and who can make changes
Certified mailers with return receipts from mailings tracked through an electronic process
Ability to add custom fields to track any specific information such as department number, division name, etc., plus sort based on the custom fields you create.

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT

ONESOURCE FileRoom is a web-based, document management system that gives your tax department complete control over all your documents.

ONESOURCE FileRoom is the latest in paperless technology, offering numerous features:

Secure web-based acces
Innovative features like bar-coded scanning software, and more
OCR for every document (enables keyword searches)
Adds tick marks, references and sign-offs to Microsoft Excel® documents
Archives documents to read-only status
Forces standardized indexing for documents
Microsoft Outlook®, Lotus Notes®, Excel, Microsoft Word® & Adobe® Plug-Ins
Granular security permissions
Turnkey out-of-the-box solution - minimal IT involvement
User defined retention policies
Audit trails of each document + version control

Corporate tax departments across the country are using ONESOURCE FileRoom to:

Share documents between all offices, worldwide. You can configure ONESOURCE FileRoom to allow each country to have a separate drawer, customized to their purposes.
Provide access to their tax documents and files to newly acquired companies in the case of a merger or acquisition
Provide access to users who require read-only access to confidential documents, such as contracts and other legal documents
Create a central and secure repository for documentation for the purposes of audit defense and reporting
Initiate the transition to a paperless tax environment

FULLY MANAGE THE R&D TAX CREDIT

In weeks, not months, ONESOURCE R&D Tax Credit Manager enables you to identify qualified research activities, gather necessary documentation to meet the IRS' audit guidelines, and determine your optimal tax position. It's an ideal solution for companies that:

Need an effective method for identifying research activities that qualify for credit
Have geographically-dispersed R&D operations that make it difficult and costly to collect adequate documentation
Have had difficulty sustaining their tax credit under audit
Need a less intrusive and time-consuming way to effectively collect documentation from R&D staff

COMPLETE ENTITY MANAGEMENT

Manage, track, and plan all of your entities and organizational charts using ONESOURCE Entity Manager.

Create and store point-in-time data and organizational charts for easy review and analysis of historical data.
Maintain detailed analysis of worldwide intercompany transactions.
View a graphical representation of your entity structure/organizational chart and also what-if scenarios without rekeying data to help maximize tax implementations across your organization.
Track key data such as responsible individuals, DBAs, Tax IDs/Registrations, reorganizations, acquisition/disposition of shares, company stock, places of business, and bank accounts.
Secure web-based access to banking information, institution name, account types, signatures on file, in order to process transactions quickly.
Track ownership information and related transactions throughout history in order to minimize risk and effectively see liability.
Maintain officer and contact information across every level of entity structure to ensure up-to-date reporting information.
Provide an electronic file room for central document repository including tax, legal, M&A, and risk.
Store detailed information for places of business and tracking of geographical operations.

PROCESS IMPROVEMENT SERVICES FROM THOMSON REUTERS

We know that every tax department is unique. We've been privileged to have an in-depth view into countless tax departments over the years. And through those interactions, feedback from customers and our own tax technology expertise, we've developed a methodical approach to understanding, documenting, analyzing and recommending process improvement recommendations that have created significant benefit for tax departments all across the country.

Interview staff - The first step in determining where there are opportunities for process improvement is by getting a thorough understanding of your current process, systems, interactions, technologies, stakeholders, organizational structure, etc. Our team will walk through an extensive, but enlightening, process that will provide us with the background information we need to make recommendations. This meeting is a face-to-face discussion.
Evaluate options - Our team will meet to discuss what was learned in the interview phase. We will discuss, debate and evaluate all of the options we believe have potential to address the specific concerns and challenges that were discovered during the interview. Although we will concentrate on the issues that were brought up directly by your staff, our team will also incorporate recommendations they believe will provide additional value to your organization. These may be based on experiences with other tax departments or their own expertise in the area of income tax compliance.
Present recommendations - Within a short time after the interview, the team will return for the recommendations meeting. In this meeting, we will present our findings from the interview and confirm our observations and conclusions. We will then present our recommendations to best meet the objectives and tackle the challenges that were discussed in the interview meeting. The team will answer all of your questions, provide any clarity or additional detail on the recommendations and leave copies of the report for you to study and share with your colleagues.
Develop a plan - The recommendations in your plan may be extensive, however, a prioritization will be included. This will help guide you and your team on what process improvements should be dealt with first and how the entire plan can be phased in over time. Our team will spend time with you discussing the best course of action to take, the timing and other considerations in order to create a roadmap that provides your department with the greatest value with the least amount of disruption.
Implement - Once you have selected the solutions to improve your tax department, the next step is to begin implementation of those solutions. This may involve developing a new workflow, loading and setting up software, training for you and your staff, creation of documentation and workpapers or even loan staffing. We are there with you, step-by-step, throughout the entire process to get you and your staff on-boarded fully and efficiently. We recognize that the adoption of a new process can create disruptions, but we work with you to minimize any impacts on your department to help maximize your effectiveness.
Fully Support - Implementation of a new process and software is not the end. It's just the beginning. Our commitment to your success goes far beyond our work to get you up and running. We are available to assist and support the future needs of your staff as you adapt to your new workflow and process. We are available to provide support for any technical questions you may have and advise on the ways to use the solutions for maximum benefit. We want you to be as successful as you can be.

For questions about our process or for a no obligation consultation on your process improvement needs, Contact Us today.