Technology upgrades give corporate tax departments a chance to redefine their role within the company, but only if leaders plan properly for the changes to come
When a company significantly upgrades its technological infrastructure, the ripple effect can be disruptive and somewhat chaotic — but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, when properly managed, technological transition periods can present a rare opportunity for corporate tax departments to re-think their operations and strategize how to deliver additional value to the organization, given the fresh new set of tools now at the department’s disposal.
Plan for change
Before any decisions are made, however, corporate leaders need to understand that merely purchasing the latest technology does not guarantee success. That’s because in the context of a corporation, technological change also means cultural change. Introducing a new technological ecosystem means changing how people work, what roles they play, the skills they need, the procedures they follow, and many other variables, including those involving budget allocations and personnel shifts. Additional challenges also come from structural inertia, competing priorities, and cultural resistance to change.
Failing to plan for this inevitable turbulence all but ensures that a company’s technological investment will be squandered, and that the expected boost in productivity and performance will not materialize. Leaders and managers need to shift their thinking under these circumstances — before any new technological solution is purchases and pursued — because the speed at which technology is advancing today requires a more aggressively proactive approach to management. No one can afford to be passive anymore — the consequences of stasis are simply too dire.
The goal of moving toward a proactive approach
That said, technology transitions are the perfect time to realign a tax department’s strategies and goals with the vision of the larger organization, and to initiate cultural and procedural changes that will serve everyone better in the long run. Managed well, these changes can also help tax departments re-position themselves within the organization and help assert the tax function as one that can deliver higher levels of value and leadership.
If your organization is still struggling to evolve technologically, however, don’t panic. Few corporate tax departments have truly mastered their technological universe. In fact, according to the recently released 2025 Corporate Tax Technology Report from the Thomson Reuters Institute and Tax Executives Institute, more than half of corporate tax professionals still describe their department’s relationship with technology as “chaotic” or “reactive,” whereas roughly one-third (35%) said they thought their departments had reached the “proactive” stage of the technology maturity curve, in which the investment in planning, training, and technology really starts to pay off.
In other words, it is not too late to nudge the needle toward proactive, no matter where a company is on its technological journey. Indeed, most companies are in between phases, trying to get the most out of the technology they already have while simultaneously planning for — or actively upgrading to — new technologies.
Vital steps for a smooth transition
In general, however, corporate tax departments should take the following steps to incorporate new technologies in ways that advance departmental goals and establish a proactive approach to tax management and compliance. These ways include:
Developing a strategic technology plan — Piecemeal, ad hoc solutions (reactive by nature) will only guarantee frustration and failure. To get on the right track, tax department leaders should develop a strategic plan for how the new technology will be used and why. The overall goal of such a plan should be to articulate precisely how the new technology will serve the department and the organization. Some questions to consider are:
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- How will the technology help align the department’s goals with the company’s goals?
- What tasks should be automated — and which ones shouldn’t?
- What additional skills will employees need to use the technology effectively?
- How will the technology create process efficiencies and improve compliance?
- What additional capabilities will the technology give the department?
- How will those new capabilities be utilized or leveraged?
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Creating a technology roadmap — Once a strategy has been developed, it’s essential to create a technology roadmap — a detailed, step-by-step breakdown of the implementation process that explains how the project will unfold, the timeline, and what to expect along the way. Take into consideration that tech transitions don’t happen instantly; they take time, so thoroughness is a virtue here.
Placing someone in charge — According to our Corporate Tax Technology report, only about half of all companies have an individual in place who is formally empowered to guide the overall tech strategy for their tax department. Don’t make that mistake, because leadership is essential for any tech transition. Ideally, the person in charge, whatever their title, should have both tech experience and deep knowledge of the company’s larger operations. Experience and training in change management is also a plus, because tech transitions aren’t just about the technology. Indeed, those who neglect to address the impact that technological change is going to have on the workforce are missing half the picture.
Communicating early and often — It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to keep open lines of communication with tax teams and the larger network of stakeholders throughout the organization who may be affected by a new technological ecosystem. Within the tax department, it’s important to articulate a vision of the future, one that explains how job roles are likely to change, how the department’s processes and workflows will be affected, what performance expectations will look like after the transition, and how the department will adapt to better serve the needs of the larger organization.
Training for the technological future — While most large companies (those with more than $1 billion in annual revenue) have technology training programs, smaller companies tend to struggle in this area. However, technology training isn’t just about teaching people to use software tools effectively, it’s also about continuously upgrading people’s skills so that they can make more productive use of these tools going forward. Training, in other words, is the best way to ensure that the organization gets the most out of its technology investment.
Launching pilot projects — Communication and training provide a solid theoretical foundation for technology usage, but nothing beats hands-on experience. A great way to ease into the future is to develop pilot projects that allow people to apply new tech tools and discover for themselves what fresh capabilities they have at their fingertips. Pilot projects can also help troubleshoot departmental operations that may be impacted by the technology and give team members the opportunity to brainstorm potential solutions.
Toward a more proactive approach to tax
At the top of the corporate food chain, investing in a new technological ecosystem is about improving productivity and profits. At the departmental level, however, the above preparations lay the groundwork for a much more dynamic tax function that leverages new technology to potentially redefine its role within the organization.
Once the technology is in place, tax professionals are essentially entering a brave new world — one in which it is possible to guarantee compliance, mitigate almost all risk, and drastically reduce the chance of damaging audits and penalties. A much larger universe of tax data also gives departments the power to analyze supply-chain risks and inefficiencies, develop new tax strategies, and scout the horizon for new opportunities to save money and create value for the business.
These are just a few of the benefits of a more proactive approach to tax management, but only those tax department leaders who plan and prepare properly will be positioned to get the most out of the tech-driven future of corporate tax management.
You can download a copy of the recently released 2025 Corporate Tax Technology Report from the Thomson Reuters Institute and Tax Executives Institute here
