Expert Series Part IV: New Roles for IT in the Wake of Expanding Global Mandates

Part IV of V – Ryan Ostilly, vice president of product and GTM strategy EMEA & APAC, Sovos

Click here to read part III of the series.  

Government-mandated e-invoicing laws are making their way across nearly every region of the globe, bringing more stringent mandates and expectations on businesses. Inserted into every aspect of your operation, governments are now an omni-present influence in your data stack reviewing every transaction in real time as it traverses your network. Real-time monitoring has also brought about real-time enforcement that can range in severity from significant fines to shutting your business down completely. All of this has created a new reality for IT leaders who need a strategy to deal with these global changes. We asked our vice president of product and GTM strategy, Ryan Ostilly to offer his guidance on how this will affect IT departments and how they can best prepare.

Q: With government authorities now in companies’ data and demanding real or near real-time reporting, what impact will this have on IT departments? 

RO: IT teams will have to work hard to ensure their core finance and transactional tax systems have the enhanced capability to extract, transform, remit and consume real-time data with all tax jurisdictions across their global footprint, in compliance with an ever-changing myriad of legal and procedural requirements. With the pace of disruption accelerating, governments are rewriting the rules on taxpayer control and engagement, forcing direct connection and intimacy with the data itself.

I fear that in a growing number of cases, the owners of the data may be functional departments. The IT department will need to evolve its role in this relationship, viewing the government as a critical business partner – one with whom they must always be connected, continuous and complete.

Q: To meet government mandates and ensure operations continue uninterrupted, what should IT prioritize? What approach would you recommend?  

RO: In this modern era of government-initiated tax transformation, the successful IT department will pursue a proactive strategy that prioritizes a connected, continuous and complete framework for government mandates and Continuous Transaction Controls (CTCs). These three principles are:

Connected – Architect a simplified integration and vendor strategy. Reduce exposure to multiple integrations and heavy projects when adopting new jurisdictions or implementing changes.

Continuous – Partner with regulatory and legal experts on a regular basis. Review upcoming mandates and assess the impact on your current and future business requirements.

Complete – Think beyond technical aspects and schemas. Partner with tax subject matter experts when translating and validating mandate requirements, as these outputs will define the financial and tax position of your company with the tax authorities in real time.

A lot has changed in the world of government mandated e-invoicing. Continued investment in technology by government authorities has put regulators in the position to demand greater transparency along with more detailed and real-time reporting. To meet these demands, companies are looking to their IT organizations. The good news is you don’t need to go it alone. Sovos has the expertise to guide you through this global evolution based on our experience working with many of the world’s leading brands.