In the first phase of our Move Tax Forward campaign, we set out our belief that further significant change in Tax was inevitable. 

That change is being forced by extensive regulatory pressure and enabled by significant changes in best practice. 

We outlined our view that there will be much more emphasis placed on tax compliance and reporting, and that tax processes will evolve in the same way as other areas of an organisation, seeking to achieve best practice, cost-effectiveness and - operational savings. 

We clearly believe that organisations should be embracing this change rather than resisting it, and should be seeking to move tax forward. 
They should be taking advantage of tax technology solutions, integrating the tax organisation more closely with the rest of the business, and releasing tax to really add value to the organisation.

In our experience, companies are now recognising the need for that change - the need for a transformation in the way we go about tax - and they are now wrestling with the issues that raises.  As a result, we want to share our vision of the final destination of a transformation in Tax, and explore the different routes that we believe you may want to consider in order to get there.

The transformation is not just about technology - but technology should be a big part. 

Those of you who know our tax software will have heard of our market leading products such as Abacus and Backbone.  You may also have heard of third-party products that we work with, such as Sabrix, Vertex and TaxStream, or financial systems such as SAP and Oracle. 

The number of technology products available is growing. These are often viewed as separate stand alone products doing distinct jobs. However this should not be the case. We have developed an integrated platform - a technology architecture combining the best of breed products into a comprehensive, modular tax model - called Abacus Enterprise.

Abacus Enterprise is a platform that's made up of three modules.  To help visualise this we've created a model based on DNA, as the analogy of a series of "building blocks" combining seamlessly to produce a comprehensive tax technology solution. 

The first is a Management module, which enables users to actively control and direct their tax compliance and reporting processes. 

The second, Compliance module, supplies accurate and timely calculation and submission of tax numbers in the formats required. 

The third is an Accounting module, which provides IFRS and/or US GAAP reporting.  Each of the modules can operate as a stand-alone system.  They can also be linked up to form a single, global platform. 

Abacus Enterprise draws on both Deloitte-provided and third-party proven products, combined with 
reporting and data warehousing technologies. 

It automates and standardises tax compliance and reporting processes globally, and provides a platform that's scalable for the demands of the future. 

You can learn more about Abacus Enterprise by taking a look at the link on the website with the same name. 

Next, we want to show how the right blend of Abacus Enterprise technologies, along with our Process Consulting and Delivery services, can solve the business issues that our clients deal with. 

We visualise this using the model shown to my left, with the "DNA strand" of Abacus Enterprise forming one of a bigger series of building blocks, from which we can create a tailored solution. 

You can find out more about the ways we've used this model if you click on the Case studies link. 

What if you're sold on the idea of moving tax forward, but you're not sure how to start your journey? 

Click on the Your journey link, where you can work through three short questions to reach our suggestions of areas that you might consider as a starting point. 

And clicking on the Final destination link will show you what we think a transformed tax group  actually looks like. 

I'd also like to mention a business case model that we've developed. 

It aims to describe the value that tax transformation activities can bring to an entire organisation, and not just the tax department. 

You can apply filters to show the typical benefits of tax transformation programmes, including the use of the modules of Abacus Enterprise.

We hope you enjoy what we have to say.