As chief operations officer, Ruth Fornell champions the Sovos mission to Solve Tax for Good and build toward a world where businesses can focus on growth and communities can thrive. In this role, Ruth provides strategic, operational and programmatic direction to our worldwide sales, demand marketing, client operations and customer success organizations. Her philosophy when it comes to the job is work hard, drive results and have fun doing it.

A hands-on leader, Ruth sees her primary function as creating alignment in the organization around three critical areas: best practices, talent and customer-centric execution. This strategy has served her well in her professional life and was a guiding principle in helping to build a $600 million global professional services group during her more than 20 years at NCR Corporation.

Ruth’s career has led to her working across six continents and living outside the U.S. on three occasions. She credits these experiences with preparing her to lead global organizations through a greater understanding of local cultures and business practices. When not at work, she is often pursuing her passions for baking and running, which she notes are probably connected.

For more, see Ruth’s LinkedIn profile.

As vice president of product development, Colleen Azzarello is a strategic leader that executes the product vision of the company. She believes that when a company invests in its people and practices, it is an investment in a foundation that consistently produces quality products and solutions.

During her time at Sovos, Colleen has led many strategic initiatives including building our global agile management and quality teams. She is currently leading product development for Sovos’ sales and use tax business.

Collen prioritizes coaching and development as part of her management responsibilities. Seeing the next generation of leaders develop under her tutelage that are capable of maneuvering through industry changes and challenges is a great source of personal pride and satisfaction.

When not in the office it’s likely you will find Colleen spending time with family. She is also passionate about her charity work. Colleen has been volunteering with JDRF since 2013 as a Boston Walk team leader, coach and committee member to raise funds for the research and treatment of type one diabetes.

For more, see Colleen’s LinkedIn profile.

 

As vice president of regulatory education and consulting services, Seth Kernodle provides clients with the information and education needed to stay on top of regulatory change, ensuring more successful business outcomes.  A firm believer in the adage that knowledge is power, Seth makes it his mission to translate our collective expertise into best-in-class products to improve the lives of our customers.

Since joining Sovos, Seth has used his significant industry experience in financial services and education to better support and guide our clients through an increasingly complex regulatory world.

Seth’s business philosophy is to set clear priorities for his teams that always keep the client first. He appreciates the value and importance of leading by example and supporting the professional growth of his team members.

When not plugged in you may find him on his boat in coastal NC, working under the hood on an old Jeep or playing the guitar. Seth is often described by his colleagues as having an easy-going style and an unmistakable southern accent.

For more, see Seth’s LinkedIn profile.

As director of product management for Latin America, Billy Kazantzis believes in the power of a great team and that the right person, at the right time, can make all the difference. His business philosophy is rooted in taking ownership of a situation and in being honest and transparent, no matter what.

Since joining Sovos, Billy has helped expand the company’s portfolio of products and services across multiple acquisitions, integrations and market roll outs. A believer in the power of listening, Billy surrounds himself with experts whenever possible. He credits this for the wealth of knowledge and experience he has accumulated over the years.

When not at work, Billy is most likely spending time with his wife and two boys at the soccer fields or watching soccer. He’s a big Liverpool fan and enjoys Formula 1 racing.
Having grown up travelling the world, Billy has witnessed firsthand the value of trying new approaches to achieve desired outcomes. Whether it’s a developer instituting a brilliant line of code or a chef with a secret ingredient, he finds being open to new perspectives important.

For more, see Billy’s LinkedIn profile.

As vice president, regulatory analysis and design at Sovos, Chuck Maniace lives and breathes tax. For him, job No. 1 is ensuring Sovos customers remain fully compliant as rates, rules and requirements change around them.

When Chuck signed up to become an indirect tax expert more than 17 years ago, he had no preconceived notions about his work garnering significant public attention. Today, Chuck is a respected industry voice routinely appearing in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and Bloomberg. He has been listed among Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential people for 2019 and 2020.

Chuck places a premium on making time to share his expertise, wisdom and insight as a means of facilitating career advancement within the Sovos organization and in increasing regulatory understanding in the broader Sovos community.

Being an avid traveler and craft beer enthusiast, Chuck enjoys nothing more than visiting Sovos offices around the world and sampling the local brewery offerings.

For more, see Chuck’s LinkedIn profile.

As a solution principal for Sovos, Wendy Walker uses her market expertise to create and implement product and solution strategies that help customers meet the demands of a constantly changing regulatory environment. Since joining Sovos, Wendy has helped lead the go-to-market strategy focused on growing the Tax & Regulatory Reporting line of business.

Customers and partners spanning many industries including financial institutions and insurers, multinational corporations, cryptocurrency exchanges, gig platform companies and more rely on Wendy’s expertise to ensure compliance with their obligations. A respected industry voice, she appears regularly in business and industry publications such as Law360, CPA Practice Advisor and Cointelegraph.

Wendy believes in a fair and transparent tax system, and a system that provides administrative ease. Her philosophy is to advocate for business and individual taxpayers while balancing the need for fairness and transparency in the tax system.

Outside of work, Wendy is an avid runner and enjoys quilting. A former Sovos client working in tax operations and tax compliance, Wendy came to Sovos to help other organizations realize the benefits of utilizing modern tax information reporting solutions.

For more, see Wendy’s LinkedIn profile.

In Turkey, the Revenue Administration (TRA) published the long-awaited e-Delivery Note Application Manual. The manual clarifies how the electronic delivery process will work in addition to answering frequently asked questions. It addresses the application as well as its scope and structure, outlines important scenarios and provides clarity for companies who are unclear about the adoption of e-delivery notes.

What is the e-delivery note application?

The e-delivery note is the electronic version of the “delivery note,” currently printed on paper.  As a result, it allows the TRA to regularly monitor the movements of delivered merchandise in the electronic environment.

Electronic delivery has the same legal qualifications as the delivery note but is issued, forwarded, retained, and submitted digitally.

Who does the e-delivery note mandate affect?

According to the circular published by the TRA at the end of February, taxpayers in scope of the e-delivery note application are;

Taxpayers engaged in fruit and vegetable trade as brokers or merchants completed their transitions of January 1, 2020. Other taxpayers covered by the mandate must be ready by July 1, 2020.

Taxpayers deemed to be risky or at low levels of tax compliance by the TRA must complete their transition to the e-delivery note application within three months after being notified.

Other topics included in the e-delivery note application manual

Besides explaining the basic concepts, the manual also details the previously announced scenarios providing answers to many areas that were confusing for taxpayers.

The main scenarios are:

In addition, other topics covered include:

Full details on the Turkey E-Delivery Application Manual are available in Turkish from the TRA e-Document website.

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Sovos has more than a decade of experience keeping clients up to date with e-invoicing mandates all over the world.

As general manager of Sovos ShipCompliant, Larry sets the strategy for the product roadmap and directs the company’s customer-facing activities. With more than 25 years of executive leadership in the creation of cloud computing, software-as-a-service and e-commerce platforms, Larry combines a strong customer-first focus with a deep appreciation for the power of software to simplify complex processes.

His undergraduate degree in journalism and computer science is from the University of Texas at Austin and his graduate degree in digital marketing is from Rutgers Business School. Larry and his family live in Boulder, Colorado.

As vice president of corporate development, John Gledhill drives the company’s M&A growth strategy and oversees business acquisitions. As a business philosophy, John subscribes to the art of Stoicism: in business and in life, there are only so many things you can control. However, you can always control your response, and remaining calm in the face of adversity is important to achieving successful outcomes.

Helping guide Sovos’ investment strategy through several successful acquisitions ranks at the top of John’s career highlights. These deals allow Sovos to continue to execute on its holistic strategy of solving the complexity of modern tax around the globe, something he takes great pride in.
Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty is a lesson John learned early on during his career as a naval officer. He believes respect can’t be demanded, but has to be earned ,and the best way to earn a team’s respect is to show them you are willing to get involved in the dirty work to ensure a desired result.

Outside of the office, John is an outdoorsman. He enjoys spending time hiking and exploring the mountains of Vermont. He is also an avid traveler and embarks on a new summer adventure each year with his kids. John credits 15 minutes of meditation a day as providing the mental break needed to function at a high level.

For more, see John’s LinkedIn profile.

As general manager, Paul Banker leads the global tax information reporting business. He was previously vice president of global accounts at Sovos, and he and his team cultivated partnerships with some of the world’s largest global financial services organisations, helping to identify and develop solutions to resolve complex multi-jurisdictional regulatory obligations.

With more than 25 years of experience in the tax information reporting industry, Paul’s previous leadership positions include vice president of client management and vice president of operations at Convey, which was acquired by Sovos.

A former selected member of the Information Reporting Program Advisory Committee (IRPAC), which provides guidance on matters of concern to the industry and the IRS, Paul is now a member of the CRS Business Advocacy group that works with the OECD on matters related to the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). He earned a Bachelor of Arts in accounting from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

As chief security officer, John Strasser leads the development and implementation of the cyber and physical security strategies to guarantee the customer data entrusted to Sovos is accurate, available and secure. He is also responsible for Sovos global networks, communications systems, and office and data center interconnectivity, ensuring data flows quickly and enabling the Sovos global enterprise.

John has more than 15 years of information security and network experience across a wide range of technical and leadership roles, with an emphasis on building strong collaborative teams and developing world-class practices and programs. John has been with Sovos since 2013, and he founded the company information security practice, which has grown to encompass Sovos operations across three continents.

John earned a degree in network administration and actively holds his Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certifications.

As chief strategy officer, Steve Sprague drives corporate strategy, go to market initiatives, and field enablement for the company’s global value added tax (GVAT) business. Steve’s leadership style follows his core belief that for organizations to be successful, they must commit to and invest in the three strategic anchors of business – people, practices and products.

Under Steve’s guidance and leadership, Sovos’ GVAT line of business has experienced double-digit revenue and sales growth over the past several years. He has been instrumental in helping the company expand globally while integrating new technologies and employees into the Sovos culture.

Steve encourages proactivity in his teams. He believes that to progress as a professional, you need to ask questions and insert your point of view, rather than sitting silently by and waiting for information to come to you. If there is an opportunity to recommend ideas and concepts, Steve takes it.

When not focused on building businesses to respond to the latest international tax trends, Steve is likely spending time with his family. To him, providing a stable, happy home, while creating the opportunities for his family to chase their dreams is what true success looks like.

Being a mentor is a critical part of the job for Steve. He views leadership as not just telling someone what to do or asking what they could do differently if the desired outcome isn’t achieved. To him, great leadership is teaching someone and helping them grow in their career.

For more, see Steve’s LinkedIn profile.

As chief talent officer, Colleen Schlagel leads the development of strategic plans and programs to facilitate the success and development of Sovos global talent programs. Dedicated to the personal and professional development and growth of all Sovos team members, Colleen is responsible for expanding and promoting the best talent within the organization. Colleen joined Sovos in 2013, bringing more than 15 years of human resources leadership experience from her roles within a wide variety of global high-growth, direct marketing, consumer product and manufacturing organizations.

Colleen earned a Bachelor of Science in management from Minnesota State University, Mankato and actively holds her Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) professional certification.

As Sovos’ chief of staff, Laura keeps the company focused on its core mission of solving tax for good by driving executive alignment for strategic business initiatives and setting the tone for continuous improvement across the company. She regularly partners with business units to reimagine what is possible and where Sovos can make the biggest impact in the lives of our customers and employees.  

Throughout her tenure, Laura has assumed a number of different leadership roles within the organization. This has provided a unique perspective of the business while enabling her to identify areas where Sovos can drive business change.

Laura believes in challenging the status quo and the importance of adaptability. Her perspective is that business conditions can change quickly, but the organization that eliminates distractions and remains focused on their mission will not only survive but thrive in challenging environments.

When not in the office, you’ll find Laura volunteering at a local non-profit CSA (farm), focused on addressing the challenge of food access. Laura holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration from Bentley University.

For more, see Laura’s LinkedIn profile.

As chairman, Andy Hovancik serves to protect the fiduciary interests of investors while lending his industry expertise to the executive leadership team. Andy was instrumental in the growth of Sovos, having served more than 10 years as its president and CEO, and he remains a fierce advocate for the company and its mission to improve lives and communities.

Andy embraces the importance of life-long learning and the power of adaptability.  He prioritizes trust and accountability. Saying what you’ll do, and then doing what you say, is a motto he has lived by and a message he continues to promote as chairman.

For more, see Andy’s LinkedIn profile.

Companies dealing with complex sales and use tax determination, VAT regulations and other tax challenges across the globe know that SAP alone is not equipped to support the varying requirements from country to country. As SAP sunsets support and updates for ECC and R3, companies must move to HANA to keep their systems up to date. With this inevitable change to S/4HANA or HANA Enterprise Cloud, now is the perfect time to step back and develop a comprehensive strategy to managing tax worldwide.

SAP users must migrate to HANA by 2025, but a majority have not yet started the process. Since the move requires major changes to ERP infrastructure, SAP users with global operations should take advantage of the unique opportunity to be more strategic in their implementation. With the right approach, companies can future-proof their solutions in a way that ensures they can keep pace with constant changes in tax regulations throughout Latin America, Europe and beyond.

Learn how to minimise business disruption during an SAP S/4HANA upgrade project in the wake of modern tax: Read Preparing SAP S/4HANA for Continuous Tax Compliance and don’t let the requirements of modern tax derail your company.

Governments around the world are implementing technology for tax enforcement. In order to keep up, companies must make the digitisation of tax a core pillar of their HANA migrations.

In the move to HANA, companies must consider the new world of tax, which includes:

The move to S/4HANA or HANA Enterprise Cloud requires companies to move all of their processes, customisations and third-party add-ons to the new platform. As such, there are several critical considerations.

What to migrate, and when

Since most companies’ SAP ERP systems have been built and customised over many years, many will benefit from a phased approach to HANA implementation. The less customised modules, such as Financial Accounting (FI) and Controlling (CO) will be easier to move than Materials Management (MM) or Sales and Distribution (SD), which will need a long-term plan for customisations.

What to do with customisations and third-party apps

Many SAP configurations have become a patchwork of customised code and bolt-on applications. This is especially true when it comes to sales and use tax determination, e-invoicing, and VAT compliance and reporting, since requirements are vastly different in every jurisdiction a company operates. The move to HANA gives companies the opportunity to consolidate, eliminating local configurations in favour of a global strategy. Companies that proactively plan can help to ensure that the next 15 years are simplified, without the constantly changing configurations needed in the previous 15 years as governments have gone digital.

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With an upcoming migration to SAP HANA, businesses must consider a solution that maintains SAP as the central source of the truth while keeping pace with constant regulatory change. Learn how Sovos is helping companies do just that, safeguarding the value of their HANA implementation here.