State Tax Compliance Outsourcing

CD of Live 90-Minute Telephone Conference with an Interactive Q&A Session Conducted on August 11, 2005 Now available on CD

Surveys consistently reveal that corporate tax departments are making do with less professional staff than a few years ago -- which may mean that outsourcing all or part of the state sales & use, property, and income/franchise tax compliance work is inevitable.

Outsourcing can be the answer to a state tax director's prayers. A well-financed and well-run contract firm enjoys resources that many corporate tax staffs can only dream of. And if you've negotiated a good rate for your company, the bottom line benefits can be huge.

However, outsourcing brings its own set of challenges and may lead to unexpected -- and undesired -- results. If your staff has trouble explaining the special aspects of your business model to the contractor ... if the project is not scoped or managed effectively ... if your people end up spending vast amounts of time double-checking your outsourcer's work ... if the transmission of data to the outsourcer turns into a massive chore, then those potential economies of scale can turn into a money pit.

Listen as our expert panelists take you through the real world of outsourcing. Their insights will help you:

• Identify the steps and processes in a sound decision on whether or not to outsource, including assessing the true costs of in-house compliance.
• Consider partial outsourcing or contract help as alternatives to full outsourcing.
• Anticipate how much oversight effort will be needed and ensure that your tax staff isn't duplicating the contractor's work.
• Draw up provisions to guarantee you're getting consistent, high-quality tax compliance, with all filing deadlines met.
• Discuss various alternatives to scope, resource configuration and supplier-identification issues.
• Negotiate a rate that makes sense for your company.
• Establish a smooth-flowing interchange of tax data between your department and the outsourcer.
• Review post-implementation issues, including performance management, issue resolution and scope changes.
• Apply the same steps and processes to evaluating outsourcing of tax planning and support functions.

Our panelists -- tax professionals with years of experience in outsourcing state tax compliance and an advisor who counsels them on setting up the working relationship -- include:

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TELECONFERENCE CD