SAPinsider Global Tax Management Benchmarks Now Available

Leading companies are positioning indirect tax compliance “closer to the transaction itself, embedded directly into systems, compliance processes, and enterprise data flows,” Vertex Chief Strategy Officer Chirag Patel emphasizes in a post highlighting key takeaways from last month’s Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference.

The objective Chirag describes is one of Vertex’s top focal points; it also captures the strategic crossroads that indirect tax groups must navigate, according to SAPinsider’s new benchmarking report, Global Tax Management. The report confirms that “global tax functions are at an inflection point” and supports this thesis with survey responses from “the people who set budgets, approve technology roadmaps, and answer to boards” – the organizational leaders responsible for financial management, tax management, and IT, along with C-suite executives.

These findings and related analyses will be presented during an Aug. 27 Vertex webinar at 11 a.m. EDT.

Inside the Global Tax Management Report

The report’s essential conclusions clarify the complexity and compliance challenges confronting CFOs and tax leaders today: “They are prioritizing automation, standardization, and data governance because they recognize that the compliance challenges of 2026–2028 cannot be managed the way the challenges of 2020 were.” The report’s findings include breakdowns of:

• The forces shaping the 2026-2028 tax agenda
• The top operational challenges impeding the execution of tax strategy 
• The tax function’s strategic priorities in the next 24 months
• SAP solutions in scope for tax and compliance in the next 24 months
• The use of AI and automation in tax processes
• The metrics used to assess tax performance

Because SAPinsider surveyed organizations running SAP, several findings speak directly to how Vertex and SAP work together on tax determination and compliance inside existing ERP landscapes.

Key Questions the Webinar Will Address

In addition to examining those findings, the webinar will help attendees address timely questions such as:  

• When and how should we remediate master data shortcomings during ERP and tax engine implementations?
• How can we close the gap between what our tax automation is expected to deliver and what we have realized from our investment so far?
• How can we determine whether our indirect tax operating model can handle the compliance load of new e-invoicing requirements multiplying across global jurisdictions?
• What is a Tax Center of Excellence (CoE), and how does this structure help strengthen tax data governance?
• Which indirect tax processes are best suited for AI enablement today?
• How do leading organizations measure tax performance, and how can tax groups leverage these metrics to craft technology business cases that survive intensifying budget scrutiny?

The report’s findings and the answers to some of these questions may surprise finance and tax leaders. For example, the force that will have the largest impact on the 2026-2028 tax agenda has nothing to do with regulatory volatility, business growth, or supply chain reorchestration. That said, all the findings and discussions will equip attendees to address what the report describes as one of the top priorities on the tax agenda: closing “the gap between what tax technology is expected to deliver and what is currently realized.” Sign up for the webinar now.