8 reasons for intermediaries to consider automation for TP documentation

Why digitalizing your documentation workstreams?

The importance of transfer pricing and the rapid shift towards a digital tax administration brings urgency for intermediaries to transform their documentation workstreams from manual to digital. Tax authorities increasingly exchange transfer pricing-related information amongst them. They use a universal language for reporting such as, e.g., Country-by-Country, DAC6, FATCA, CRS, transfer pricing master files, and local files. This digitalization at revenue authorities‘ level increasingly forces taxpayers to report transfer pricing relevant information in the same universal language.

Therefore, intermediaries need to tag along and modernize their operations at a faster pace. If it is not for the tax authorities, intermediaries should consider embedding technology to continue high value-added service delivery in a highly competitive environment.

Why TPdoc for Intermediaries?

During all our product research efforts, we discovered that different intermediaries have various needs that motivate them to consider switching from the current manual documentation workstreams to technology-based workstreams.

Needs may relate to:

• Scaling: increase market share
• Expertise and resources: increase leverage on existing resources and expertise
• Innovation: stand out from your peers
• Quality: improve internal processes and quality of output
• Efficiency: reduce time spent on repetitive and redundant workstreams
• Collaboration: work with clients in one platform to increase efficiency, quality, and lock-in
• Financial: reduce cost on resources
• Security and storage: optimize privacy and security for your clients

Depending on the profile of the intermediary, some of the above needs may have a different priority or be absent.

Build or expand transfer pricing advisory practice

We have identified an increasing number of intermediaries such as 3rd tier accounting firms, corporate service providers, and law firms that have a small transfer pricing practice or are anticipating building such practice. It is key for these intermediaries to get access to tools that enable them to scale, leverage existing resources, and compete with their peers.

TPdoc Business will:

• Bring confidence to prospects that you can deal with their transfer pricing compliance and design work
• Show your innovative/distinguishable capabilities as USP towards your peers
• Allow quick training of junior TP resources
• Bring leverage on existing resources, i.e., more output with the same resources
• It is fully aligned with OECD documentation requirements/standards so you can easily boost your quality levels

Control over quality and efficiency 

When preparing files, intermediaries are pressured for time and budget. Due to roll forwards (copy-paste) of historical data, changes in preparer and reviewers, intermediaries face an increased risk for roll-forward of errors, miscommunications, as well as incomplete, incorrect, and inconsistent data across clients. TPdoc Business‘ centralized platform enforces: 

• Cleansing 
• Consistency 
• A reduction of errors 
• Completeness of data 
• Central access and storage of (historical) data 
• Collaboration 
• QA & QC flow 

Intermediaries with larger teams and a large client base (50+ international clients for which they prepare local files) have multiple preparers, reviewers, and experience levels. At the same time, the constellation of the team executing the documentation changes every year. TPdoc Business facilitates a structured approach to: 

• Planning and deadlines 
• User management (roles, responsibilities, and access) 
• Task management 
• Client management 
• Content management 
• Structured onboarding of clients and files 
• Structured maintenance of files 

Collaboration with a client would increase efficiency and quality 

There is a need to increase the collaboration with clients and affiliates to collect the right data, to validate data, and to communicate within a secure environment. TPdoc Business facilitates collaboration with clients (intermediaries) or affiliates (for MNEs) by: 

• One point of truth 
• Allowing clients access to specific areas of TPdoc for 
  • Read-only 
  • Data input 
  • Validation 
• Allowing clients to be co-reviewer 
• Providing oversight on status, owners, and dependencies 

Clients want to pay less for higher quality.  

Intermediaries need to find a way to increase time efficiency and leverage of resources. TPdoc Business reduces costs due to increased efficiencies such as, e.g.: 

• Quick training of junior TP resources 
• Leverage on existing resources, i.e., more output with same resources due to: 
• Task management 
• Client management 
• Content management 
• Structured onboarding of clients and files 
• Structured maintenance of files 

Security and safe storage

The volume of transfer pricing relevant data as well as ongoing communications during the documentation workflows bring challenges to a centralized, secure data storage and immediate access to transfer pricing relevant data for all stakeholders. Often data is stored in multiple environments (e.g., SharePoint, Outlook, Hard drives, etc.), and communications between clients and colleagues are not captured. This causes unnecessary amounts of time spent on data collection, gathering, and audit trailing. Besides these inefficiencies, clients are increasingly uncomfortable sharing data or receiving analyses from intermediaries thru e-mail traffic, especially when positions are not final or when risks or errors are identified. TPdoc Business creates a single secured source of truth by: 

• Centralizing relevant data, documents, people, and deliverables 
• Offering central oversight across and per client of all up-to-date and to be prepared local files, Masterfiles, and source data per relevant fiscal year 
• Secure environment for communications and data exchanges within teams and with clients