Design Tax Into ERP Modernization Early

As organizations modernize ERP and finance systems, indirect tax often enters the conversation too late—after key design decisions have already been made. Yet tax outcomes are deeply tied to how transactional data is captured, governed, and integrated across enterprise systems.

At the same time, compliance expectations are rising. Governments are moving toward more digital, data driven oversight models that demand greater accuracy, tighter timing, and stronger system integration. For many organizations, the question is no longer whether tax determination needs to change, but when those changes should be made during ERP modernization.

This Harvard Business Review Analytic Services white paper, “Building Tax Determination Into ERP Modernization” explores what happens when tax is treated as a downstream requirement instead of a core design consideration and why organizations that delay these decisions often face rework, disruption, and increased risk later in the transformation cycle.