From Vendor Relationships to Strategic Collaboration: Maximizing Tax Compliance Value

The need to embrace change

It was a French writer Voltaire who said, ‘uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one’ – a paradox that perfectly captures the tax landscape today. For Svetlana and Kai, this isn't abstract philosophy; it's the reality they navigate with clients every day.

“We all need to embrace change, we shouldn’t be afraid of it,” says Svetlana. For her, change isn’t just inevitable, it’s essential and this is mirrored in today’s compliance landscape. Rising regulation, tax authority expectations and rapid digital advances have fundamentally reshaped what compliance means.

The traditional outsourcing tax model, which was built on a somewhat transactional service, cannot meet the demands of today’s environment.

Svetlana explains: “Finance and tax is no longer a back-office function. It’s really strategic – transfer pricing, BEPS, digital services taxes and ESG reporting. It’s not just compliance; it’s about the business matters of our clients.”

She refers to this as smart compliance, and it's fundamentally different from traditional outsourcing. It’s about being accessible. For the client, it means knowing they can reach someone who understands their business, not just their tax code.

“When the client calls you outside of working hours, it’s not because they have to, but because they want to talk to someone who knows their business and can help them think through a decision.”

Svetlana continues: “Here's the truth: outsourcing is about cost reduction; real-time collaboration is about value creation. And in today's environment, clients need both – but they need value creation first.”

Beyond the transactional

Building trusted collaborations means embracing openness and honesty, even when things go wrong. Qualities, Kai believes, that go beyond transactional service delivery.

“You can’t have a collaboration without transparency,” he explains. “Be honest about what you don’t know. I’ve seen providers pretend they have expertise they don’t have and that’s a trust killer.”

Rather than hiding mistakes, he advocates for early disclosure and collaborative problem-solving, which help to reinforce trust and strengthen relationships.

Another crucial element is accountability.

“Meeting the deadline is one thing,” adds Svetlana. “But what about delivering on the outcome that actually moves a business forward? That's accountability. That's collaboration.”

A true trusted advisor doesn't just wait for the compliance calendar; they're thinking ahead. “If your business is expanding into new countries, they’ll flag the tax implications early, even before you've signed the deal. If your supply chain changes, they’ll explain how that affects transfer pricing,” explains Svetlana.

Managing different perspectives

Kai and Svetlana use collaborative workshops to help clients define their goals before making decisions. It’s not just about outsourcing; it’s about understanding what matters most and building solutions around this.“Everyone comes to the table with different priorities, so it’s important to make sure we’re all aligned,” says Kai. “For example, CFOs might want to reduce the costs, General Counsels want to mitigate the risk, the business wants speed, and the tax team demands accuracy.”

Another challenge is breaking down information silos between central and local teams. Here, proactive outsourcing provider sees their role as connectors, creating forums, organising discussions and bridging gaps to ensure strategies are executed effectively across regions.

“We play the role of facilitators in change management, communicating openly and helping clients build a clear plan,” explains Svetlana. “We show the value the new model can generate and how each team fits into the bigger picture. Once local teams understand that resistance starts to fade.”

For example, they hold quarterly client meetings where they’re not just looking at metrics, they’re also discussing business strategy. Then they have joint planning sessions for tax and the business. There are also KPI reviews and regular one-to-ones between key stakeholders. They describe these as the practical ways they maintain good communication between with their clients.

So, what should companies look for in an outsourcing service provider?

“For me, it’s all about empathy,” says Kai. “Does the person, the team, truly understand me? That’s the decisive factor.”

“Almost every day we pitch to clients and showcase our technology, team, and processes,” adds Svetlana. “All of these things matter. But here’s what I've learned: technology is a tool for collaboration, not a replacement for it. The best implementations are the ones where the client and provider sit down and say, ‘what problem are we solving together?’”

The next era of tax

Deloitte is investing heavily in technology and innovation to make compliance smarter and more user-friendly. This includes digitalisation of indirect tax, e-invoicing, real-time reporting and advanced features such as reconciliation between accounting and tax.

But it doesn’t stop at tax. The goal is to connect data across multiple reporting streams to create true synergy. Innovations powered by AI and client demand are enabling Svetlana and Kai’s teams to deliver solutions that go beyond routine compliance and transform how businesses manage complexity with confidence.

It’s here that Svetlana emphasises the importance of keeping humans in the loop.

“When we start a project, we begin with the problem, not the tool,” says Svetlana. “We never implement technology without understanding the issue. We co-design solutions with clients because they know their business, and we know the technology. That collaboration is critical to achieving the right outcome. Then we pilot before scaling because what works in theory doesn't always work in practice.

“Technology is great for routine compliance – data gathering, calculations and reporting. But judgment calls and risk decisions? Those require human expertise. That's where the real value is.

“You need to strike the right balance,” Svetlana continues. “Understand how the client is organised, their governance and roles and responsibilities, before deciding which technology to use.”

The ultimate goal? To use technology to free up people for high-value work.

“Technology helps us to meet time and budget constraints, so we can focus on the areas that bring value,” says Kai.

Technological advances, regulatory shifts, geopolitical uncertainty and evolving business models will continue to reshape the tax environment. One thing, however, remains constant and that’s tax. “Everything can change, but at the end of the day, there is still tax, and all these things impact it,” notes Kai.

Tax transformation is not just a challenge; it’s an opportunity to redefine how businesses manage risk and create value. To make the most of this, companies should look beyond transactional relationships and build real relationships where both sides are genuinely invested in the outcome.

As Kai and Svetlana have demonstrated, we shouldn’t be afraid of change. Instead, we need to adapt, support each other and perhaps, more importantly, enjoy the journey while navigating whatever comes next.