This blog was last updated on January 23, 2024

Earlier this week, Sovos announced the acquisition of Accordance , a U.K.-based value-added tax (VAT) managed services company that has been a Sovos partner since 2018. Accordance adds a leading service provider with unique VAT expertise to our growing European organization, strengthening the foundation we have been building for continued global expansion.

This acquisition — our third of the year — will help customers doing business in Europe easily navigate the changing nature of reporting in VAT countries, where businesses face a range of regulatory mandates, from periodic reporting to continuous transaction controls (CTCs). Flexibility is business-critical during this global, digital transformation of tax, and the Accordance acquisition strengthens our technology-enabled services offerings to help customers pivot resources in response to changing compliance demands.

A single source for tax compliance everywhere you do business

Technology is creating opportunities for governments and businesses to be smarter about the integration and analysis of transaction data, enabling both business optimization and tax control. By combining technology-enabled VAT managed services from Accordance and Sovos, we will accelerate the introduction of data extraction, data quality workflows and dashboards coupled with next-generation standard cloud interfaces for customers to make the transition to any VAT compliance mandate as regulations evolve.

Among those evolving regulations is the upcoming EU 2021 E-commerce VAT Package. Designed to close VAT collection gaps on transactions of every size, this e-commerce legislation will require many platforms and direct-to-consumer vendors to appoint intermediaries — often managed services providers — to file VAT returns on their behalf. And much like the impact of the United States Supreme Court’s 2018 Wayfair decision on sales and use tax collection, this package will make tax compliance more challenging for foreign businesses selling into the EU. U.K. companies may also be affected by this legislation through the Brexit transition.

On a mission to Solve Tax for Good^Ⓡ

With the Accordance acquisition, Sovos substantially increases our operations in Europe, where we already enjoy significant scale with more than 2,000 customers being served in the region. We are building a broad portfolio of VAT compliance software solutions and expert managed service capabilities, so we can offer unmatched value to companies affected by the digital transformation of tax and help them Solve Tax for Good.

Learn more about Sovos here.