The Five Laws of Data for the Digitally-Enabled Tax Function

Hundreds watched the insightful tax ‘data’ video from the last post and loved it, but thousands felt 13 minutes was too long and bypassed it. I sympathize – I would bypass it too if I’m busy, even for a snippet so central to the future of tax. So, here’s a short, sharp, incisive lead-in:

The Five Laws of Data for the Digitally-Enabled Tax Function:

Law #1: ‘Data’ is at the heart of digital-enablement

Strategy: Be clear that enterprise ‘data’ is the absolute cornerstone of digital capability.

Law #2: Digital ‘data’ changes the rules of the game

Strategy: Acknowledge that new ways of thinking and working are inherent to being data-driven.

Law #3: ‘Data’ is a strategic asset in its own right

Strategy: Recognise that ‘data’ has intrinsic value and requires a data first approach.

Law #4: ‘Data’ outranks automation

Strategy: Set automation strategies to first and foremost support the data model.

Law #5: ‘Data’ only exists in a transformed space

Strategy: Learn to navigate the transformation journey and transition to data-centric operations over time.

Narrative

‘Data’ thrives within the context of people, process & technology where ‘technology’ is platform-based and ‘people’ are digitally-enabled, tech-savvy, and data literate. This is the opposite of business process automation with labour cost-arbitration as its yardstick. ‘Data’ requires upskilling and can only take centre-stage once it is fully “trusted”.

For a vital piece of information on how to make this happen using “real-world tax data modelling”, here is the video again https://vimeo.com/434443089. It really is well worth the time.