Optimising corporate governance: A quick guide
In today’s complex regulatory landscape, statutory reporting has become a critical yet often overlooked aspect of corporate governance. Failure to comply with statutory reporting requirements can lead to significant financial penalties, reputational damage, and even legal consequences.
This same complexity can make keeping track of multiple, international requirements challenging, meaning that the very thing that is meant to help – accurate reporting and record-keeping – can become more time-consuming and error-prone – increasing instead of decreasing the risks of non-compliance.
However, technology and tools can help turn these complex challenges into business growth opportunities.
Risk versus reward
Businesses often retain more time-consuming, manual ways of complying because they think it’s too risky to move statutory reporting to centralised systems. This is especially true when they have to follow different accounting standards and guidelines within different jurisdictions. But using reliable technology solutions to automate and manage large data sets can actually help decrease the risk associated with manual reporting errors, and outdated compliance knowledge.
Using a single-vendor platform to help your business maintain a single source of data truth can ultimately strengthen your corporate governance and improve your market performance.
Cost versus compliance
The initial cost of implementing new technology is also often seen as a barrier to digital transformation. However, recent research conducted by Forrester Consulting as part of a Total Economic Impact (TEI) study to examine the potential return on investment (ROI) that would be realised by deploying Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE™ Statutory Reporting (OSR) found that on average, OSR customers experienced:
Clearly, compliance pays.
Talent versus training
The recent Driving improvements in record-to-report via statutory reporting (2024) research by SSON Research & Analytics, found that only 13% of respondents have access to the training required to develop the necessary expertise for statutory reporting. This lack of investment in training and development increases the risk of non-compliance due to insufficient knowledge of local regulations. Technology can help plug the gap and upskill staff on new systems and processes faster.
Disruption versus transformation
Our research has shown that 44% of C-suite executives prioritise digital transformation and operational efficiency. Yet many corporate teams view advanced technology solutions, especially those driven by GenAI, with suspicion – fearful of the disruption new systems and processes will create. However, if implemented correctly and integrated across existing platforms, a more unified approach to statutory reporting can help manage risks and ensure compliance, enhance customer experience and loyalty, and achieve the broader organisational goals of efficiency and digital transformation.
Products versus partnership
Successfully managing constantly changing tax data across multiple geographies, regulatory jurisdictions, and business functions needs careful planning, communication and collaboration. Choosing the right partner for the job can make all the difference. Actionable steps for implementing clear data management strategies should include:
- Establishing clear ownership, responsibilities, and data quality standards.
- Implementing data validation and cleansing processes to ensure accuracy.
- Selecting and implementing appropriate data management tools and platforms like Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE™ data hub.
- Communicating the benefits of data management to the rest of the business.
- Providing appropriate training to employees.
- Consistently monitoring data quality and performance metrics.
- Regularly identifying areas for improvement and making necessary adjustments.
Clarify the complex in corporate governance
While you can never remove complexity from your organisation entirely, you can accelerate your business’ ability to navigate through it by centralising statutory reporting and organising data and processes within a single, efficient platform.
Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE™ Statutory Reporting improves efficiency by automating import and export processes, keeping entries compliant, and correctly coding products and components to avoid overpayment, delays, and costly surprises. With rigorously validated resources, daily updates covering 215+ countries, it offers the most up-to-date content on the market.
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Find out how Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE can help you optimise your corporate governance.