Business case: how to implement a transfer pricing solution with limited time available?

This week we have a case study about a recurring concern about implementing transfer pricing software when there is only limited time available.

Context

The tax team consists of 1 FTE being (amongst others) responsible for the transfer pricing compliance burden for 15 countries. Also, other tax related obligations rests with this one FTE inhouse tax professional. With respect to transfer pricing compliance, currently all efforts are outsourced to a transfer pricing advisory firm which is not using any automation technology. In the near future, the company prefers to update transfer pricing documentation inhouse which results in more time for the transfer pricing advisor to perform value-added (e.g., TP reviews, TP policies, benchmarking and audit guidance). Automating parts of the updating process is a potential solution to shift towards more internal control over the updating process and costs involved. The challenge in this case was how to implement a transfer pricing solution with only having limited time available.

Coperitas as a solution

We often hear that there is simply no time to start with an implementation. So, the logical step seems to just outsource the whole transfer pricing compliance effort to transfer pricing advisors. However, most of the time you will receive a lot of questions, just to finish the documentation (e.g., changes over the year, financial data). Hence, the time investment remains very high, perhaps too high. Not even looking at the costs of this decision.

At Coperitas, we support you building a business case why automation is a time friendly and budget friendly solution. In our experience, business cases succeed when collaboration is the starting point of the project, and the current process is not disrupted.

Regarding the implementation of Coperitas, you decide who is involved and to what extent. And thereby the time investment on both sides. In our experience, generally we see the following situations:

• Full outsourcing: we request the required information and take care of the full implementation. The users’ involvement is limited to training when Coperitas is all set up. Continuous support can be requested when needed.
• Collaboration: outsource key aspects of the implementation to us and perform easy tasks inhouse. With training upfront, even colleagues within the company without any tax background can support during implementation to save budget. This colleague can also work with Coperitas after the implementation.
• Insource: limit the outsourcing of the implementation efforts and perform most of implementation tasks inhouse. Our efforts are limited to the technical implementation and providing the necessary training. This option was not realistic in the described business case.

The situations mentioned above are not carved in stone, because it depends on your unique situation what the best approach would be. If you have a small tax team with limited time, start small (tackle 3 local files for example) and increase the use of Coperitas over time. Already during the implementation phase, aim for direct benefits (start with work you have to do anyway). Try to avoid double work and choose a logical time to start the implementation. In addition, we can work with any colleague you may have. This appointed colleague does not need to have any tax background or tax knowledge as Coperitas is very easy to use. We aim to be as flexible as possible as we believe that there is a solution for every challenge in any situation.

We are happy to show you how such implementation project would fit in your situation and how easy it is to start small and grow over time.