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Why using Alteryx for tax is like enjoying 5 of your favourite board games at once!

As the world’s most powerful data processing and analytics tool, it’s perhaps no surprise that Alteryx can transform the way your business manages tax.

But did you know it can do so in a way that replicates the strategy and success of many of your favourite board games?

In our recent webinar with Alteryx – ConTAXtualise: Deploying Alteryx to transform your global tax landscape – our Global Solutions Architect Andrew Bohnet explained how utilising the data processing tool to build best-in-class automated workflows that tackle every aspect of tax is similar to playing Cluedo, Monopoly, Top Trumps and other popular games.

Here are five of the games Andrew selected and the parallels he sees between them and Alteryx:

1) Hungry Hippos

When it comes to month end, most tax departments that operate manually are still linking their month end process into the general ledger close period and scrambling for data right up until the deadline.

Instead of last-ditch jostling for data – similar to the hippos clambering for their next meal – modern businesses using Alteryx will have nothing to do at the end of the month.

That’s because VAT reporting is completed using a VAT date, not a general ledger date. All adjustments are made at source and Alteryx can be set up to identify any issues within tax data, such as checking the correct percentage has been calculated on the transaction line when compared with the actual tax rate used. Any discrepancies will be highlighted and acted upon long before month end.

2) Battleship

As a tax professional, visibility and transparency of data is sure to be a priority. Unfortunately, the reality for most is that they are playing Battleship as they have no idea where their data is. They are, just like the game, taking a series of guesses and hoping to hit the target.

One of the primary purposes of Alteryx is to help you gain access to comprehensive analytics. It will allow you to do a deep dive into your data and identify where your most complex issues are.

It also works to standardise your data, work out exactly where it is and check it. Even if a particular issue arises once a year or even less frequently, Alteryx will pinpoint it and ensure it is dealt with. This is impossible to achieve with manual resources.

3) Jenga

The objective of Jenga is to retain the strongest possible structure that withstands any challenges that come its way.

When it comes to tax, for example, general ledger reporting is based on numbers, whereas tax reporting is about being compliant. Calculating the right tax code is important, but so too is being able to justify why you haven’t at certain times. Making your structure bulletproof from every angle is key.

The good news is you can deploy Alteryx to clean your master data, collect data from multiple sources and centralise and de-centralise data. It brings everything into one common system, allowing you full visibility of your overall structure and its strongest and weakest points.

4) Buckaroo

Do your core tax processes run more like a donkey than a racehorse? Does it take far too many steps to get data in a state for it to be reported?

At Innovate Tax, we’ve seen numerous clients running remarkably inefficient manual processes. From maintaining multiple spreadsheets to plugging them into a format for Making Tax Digital, linking to a spreadsheet uploader and submitting reports, there are far too many points in the data journey at which errors can occur and non-compliance is the inevitable result.

What’s more, every time you get a new data source, trade in a new country or run a different type of transaction, you’re putting even more pressure on a manual system.

Alteryx ensures the donkey will not flip.

5) Monopoly

It’s common for businesses looking to invest in tax technology to fall into one of two categories; those with a vast budget as they’ve recently been fined for non-compliance and the C-suite are throwing money at the issue to ensure it never happens again and others that have only a tiny amount of cash allocated to any potential project.

Unlike Monopoly, Alteryx is not all about who has the highest amount of cash. Indeed, Alteryx does not have to cost a fortune, so even those with limited funds are able to quickly make the most of the data they have.

Innovate Tax is essentially a ‘get out of jail free’ card for tax teams. We work with clients all over the world, using all applications and tax engines on the market. Our experienced tax experts will spot potential pitfalls within your existing configuration, design Alteryx workflows to resolve them and implement best practices throughout your business.

To hear Andrew’s explanation of why processing tax in Alteryx is similar to several more games and to find out more about the impact the platform could have on your business, download the webinar and listen on-demand now.