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One of the biggest challenges facing today’s tax leaders isn’t understanding the latest regulations or selecting the right technology, it’s getting the rest of the business to care.
Whether you’re proposing a new tax engine, investing in automation or preparing for upcoming e-invoicingElectronic invoicing - widely referred to as e-invoicing - is the exchange of a digital document between a supplier and a buyer. E-invoices are issued, transmitted and received in a structured data format that enabled automatic and electronic processing. They contain data in a machine-readable format so that an AP system can read an invoice without manual data entry, leading to faster and more efficient invoicing. mandates, success rarely depends on the solution itself. It depends on whether you can demonstrate its value to the people making the decisions.
The catch? Every stakeholder measures value differently.
The CFO wants to understand the business impact
When speaking to finance leaders, technical tax discussions are unlikely to gain much traction.
Instead, the conversation should focus on the questions they care about most:
- What financial risks does this reduce?
- How much could poor tax processes cost the business?
- Will this improve efficiency or reduce manual effort?
- Does it support future growth?
For a CFO, tax is part of the wider financial picture. Showing how a project protects revenue, reduces exposure or improves operational efficiency is often far more persuasive than explaining the technical details behind the tax rules.
IT needs to know it fits the technology strategy
The priorities for IT are often very different. They’re thinking about architecture, scalability, security and long-term maintenance.
If the organisation has adopted a cloud-first strategy, for example, then tax solutions should be positioned within that wider vision. Discussions around resilience, regular updates, integration and reducing reliance on bespoke developments are far more relevant than explaining changes to VAT legislation.
Business teams want simplicity
Operational teams are typically focused on delivering results, serving customers and keeping projects moving. For them, tax should enable the business, not slow it down. When tax can demonstrate how earlier involvement prevents delays, avoids rework or makes expansion into new markets smoother, it quickly becomes seen as a valuable partner rather than a final approval step.
Adapting your message
The most successful tax leaders don’t change the value they deliver, they change how they communicate that value. The objective of a tax transformation project may remain exactly the same, but the way it’s presented should vary depending on who’s listening. By framing the same initiative through the lens of each stakeholder’s priorities, tax teams are far more likely to gain support and become involved in strategic decision-making.
As the role of tax continues to evolve beyond compliance, influencing business decisions is becoming an increasingly important part of the function. Technical expertise will always be essential, but so too is the ability to connect tax with wider business objectives. Organisations that achieve the greatest success are those where tax is brought into conversations early, contributes to strategic decision-making and is recognised not simply as a compliance function, but as a valuable business partner.
