Expert Guides Tax - ITR 2020

Q&A EUROPE
D C E ( G E R M A N Y, F R A N C E , C E N T R A L E U R O P E , A U S T R I A A N D L U X E M B O U R G ) A N D S PA I N
Q&A with Sophie Blégent-Delapille
Tax & Legal leader
Deloitte | Taj
What was the most significant development in your
region/jurisdiction’s tax practice in the past 18 months?
The OECD and the European Union have imposed new standards
of tax transparency, which require proof that the tax paid corresponds
to the rate applied in the country in which the company operates.
These new standards challenge the finance departments and
their CFOs, which must communicate to tax administrations much
more precise and consolidated tax data on larger volumes.
Therefore, the most significant development is linked to our capabilities
in advising large companies to deal with the technology
transformation of the tax environment, inhouse and with external
stakeholders: use of smart data, implementation of new digital platforms
and tools, automation of information sent on line to the tax
authorities, big data compliance obligations.
What was the most notable effect of that change?
We have had to onboard and train new talent profiles, much more
hybrid than before, in addition to the skilled and knowledgeable tax
and legal professionals.
We now also employ engineers, consultants, robotics specialists
and our member firms all have new support functions such as
Chief Technical Officers, Chief Digital Officers, Innovation managers.
Moreover Deloitte is globally implementing a new revolution
in terms of digital platform to produce compliance worldwide, set
up a digital collaborative workspace with our clients, and offer new
advisory use cases leveraging on innovative digital tools. The vision
needs to be implemented in a way that allows not only technical deployment
but also to re-imagine most of our processes as advisors.
Where is the market moving in this practice area?
Our Tax Management Consulting and Legal Management Consulting
practices see a vast field of opportunities as clients need to constantly
be more agile (to face crisis like the present Covid 19
depression), competitive and upgraded to face the new pace of
technology changes imposed by the Administrations. More and
more large multinationals request end to end advice, ranging from
strategic definition of their transformation needs, benchmarks with
best in class organizations and ability to improve their maturity
model, to the actual implementation of tools and new processes.
We also note clients (especially under the influence of the US
market) contemplating to ask for a full “operate” service, i.e., having
their service provider take on board talent (versus in-house employees)
to carry out a vast range of compliance tax and legal
activities.
What kind of impact will this have on your work?
Deloitte, in DCE and in Spain, but more generally in all of Europe,
has a very strong advisory practice, based on eminence, excellence
and a vast range of professionals with deep knowledge. Intervening
in the Management Consulting area, whether tax or legal, requires
to be even more a business partner to our clients, and discuss the
key aspects of the service not only with the tax and legal specialists
in-house, but also with other key stakeholders such as head of IT,
head of Finance, Corporate Governance officers, and more generally
business leaders who want to make sure that tax and legal enables
and augments the way of doing business. Therefore, our
professionals are capable of embracing the diversity of profiles and
team with clients as never before.
DCE and Spain member firms have also had to determine the
best ways of building the new digital tools, with mainly four alternatives,
which are not exclusive one from the other: partner with
external IT companies, work with the Deloitte central IT teams,
hire in-house technology specialists (within our services lines such
as legal, TMC, global mobility tax etc.), and with innovative Deloitte
groups (Digital Factory, the Garage etc.) stemming from our
best in class Consulting and Advisory practices, who work for
clients and for our Tax and Legal teams.
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