Tax Is Not on the Sidelines Any More: Insights From the Gartner Finance Symposium

At the recent Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference in National Harbor, Maryland (USA), one theme came through clearly: transformation is already underway, and it’s being led at the CFO level. What’s changing is where tax fits within that transformation.

Across ERP modernisation, AI initiatives and evolving compliance requirements, tax is no longer something that sits at the end of the process. It is increasingly part of how systems are designed from the start, and that shift is beginning to change how organisations operate.

From Discussion to Reality: What We Shared in Our Session

In our session, we focused on how this transformation is actually playing out inside organisations. We brought together two different perspectives: a digital-native company like DoorDash, built for speed and scale, and a global enterprise like W.R. Grace, managing   complexity across jurisdictions. Different models, but a common direction.

Both organisations highlighted how indirect tax is moving closer to the transaction itself, embedded directly into systems, compliance processes and enterprise data flows. What used to be reactive is becoming integrated, real-time and increasingly visible across the business.

This is also where AI starts to show up in a meaningful way. It is not a future concept. It is already being applied to streamline processes, improve data quality and support faster decision-making.

Where Organisations Are in the Transformation Journey

One question came up consistently, both in the session and in follow-up conversations: is tax being designed into transformation or added later? That distinction matters.

When tax is included early, it becomes part of the architecture. When it is not, teams often end up retrofitting solutions into systems that were never built with tax in mind. This creates added complexity over time.

At the same time, the nature of tax data is changing. With real-time compliance requirements and increasing digitalisation, tax data is now created at the transaction level and connected across systems. It is no longer just used for reporting. It is becoming a source of insight for finance, planning and operations.

We also saw a clear shift in how tax teams are engaging across the business. Conversations are expanding beyond the function to include CFOs and IT leaders. That shift reframes tax in terms of system design, data integrity and enterprise strategy.

When we asked what teams would do differently, the answers were consistent:

• Get involved earlier
• Align with broader enterprise priorities
• Treat tax data as part of a larger business strategy

The common thread was clear: do not wait to be pulled in.

Outside the session, the same themes continued to surface across the event. Organisations are working to close the gap between compliance processes and core systems while also adapting to new requirements like e-invoicing. At the same time, it is becoming clear that tax cannot operate in isolation.

Collaboration across finance, tax and IT is becoming essential, especially as decisions about architecture and data have downstream implications across the business. This aligns closely with what we explored in our Cross-Functional by Design research, as well as broader trends highlighted in Gartner’s research.

The Vertex Perspective

If there is one takeaway from Gartner, it’s this: the role of tax is expanding, but the window to define that role is limited. The decisions that organisations are making today, across systems, data, AI and compliance, will shape how tax operates for years to come.

At Vertex, we are focused on helping organisations bring compliance closer to the transaction, across every market. That came up consistently at the event, especially as e‑invoicing requirements continue to grow and teams look for ways to keep up without adding complexity.

What we are seeing is a shift towards a more connected approach, where tax determination, e‑invoicing and VAT reporting work together to reduce risk and give finance teams a clearer, real-time view of the business. AI helps make that possible at scale, improving data quality and automating processes that used to be manual.

We explore this further in our latest report Bridging the Divide: How IT, Tax and Finance Misalignment Is Putting Revenue at Risk. The opportunity is not just to keep up with transformation; it is to help shape it.