Congratulations to the 2019 Tax Transformer Awards Grand Prize Winner!

nVent – Heidi Schaefer, Manager International Tax

All for One and One for All: nVent Streamlines Information to Drive Analytics

Challenge

The 2018 provision brought new challenges to nVent. They historically stored provision data in three systems, which hindered analytics and efficiency for 10-K compilation. Upper management in this newly divested company wanted to accelerate the provision with technology. Plus, nVent wanted a new provision process to provide key data and trends for analysis, be a single source of truth for 10-K filing, and allow foreign subsidiaries in 30 countries to collect data using a common interface.

nVent wanted to eliminate:

  • Maintaining legal entity data in numerous complicated spreadsheets
  • Manually reconciling data in three systems for journal entry and footnote reporting
  • Manually tying back to the financial system
  • Reconciling late data from overseas entities and top-side adjustments to consolidate financials

Solution

Using best practices from CSC Corptax® Professional Services, nVent implemented CSC Corptax® Provision and CSC Corptax® Entity Management to provide a single data warehouse for all entities’ qualitative and quantitative provision data.

Results

nVent implemented their new provision process within months of a spinoff while the tax world was responding to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The team completed implementation early and dramatically under budget. For the first time ever, the process itself is so efficient, all provisions for the foreign entities are completed and booked locally at year-end with no topside journal entries. Other wins include:

  • Saving 60-75 provision hours at year-end using Corptax Provision’s single source of truth
  • Running standard reports to rapidly aggregate data for footnote reporting

With about 100 qualitative fields in Entity Navigator, nVent quickly gives specific entity data to key stakeholders. Further, Entity Navigator standardizes processes and pulls entity data to analyze, helping the team provide insightful reports to upper management. Now nVent:

  • Saves ~80 hours annually on entity changes during quarterly/annual provision cycles
  • Eliminates the need to maintain data in countless spreadsheets
  • Exports entity information to Excel® for easy analysis

Congratulations to the 2019 Tax Transformer Awards Finalists!

CNO Financial Group – Joseph Clarke, Senior Director, Tax

Improving Efficiency, Accuracy, and Control through Automation

Challenge

CNO Financial Group relied on 200+ Excel® spreadsheets and manually input 200+ adjustments every quarter for tax provision and compliance reporting. Data manipulation required manual detective controls for completeness and accuracy. Completing this largely manual process created numerous challenges:

  • Higher probability for spreadsheet errors, including hard-to-find broken links
  • Deferred tax inventory not dynamically updated making reconciliation to the ledger difficult for quarterly reporting purposes
  • 10Q/10K footnote support was primarily generated from linked Excel worksheets and manual adjustments
  • Inability to quickly evaluate state tax impact for tax planning opportunities and re-domestications
  • Lack of consistency in the chart of accounts used for RTP resulted in reporting classification differences and a prolonged year-end external audit
  • Difficulty incorporating federal and state audit adjustments into tax reporting—particularly the impact on NOL carryforwards

Solution

CNO uses a technology-driven, agile solution to improve reporting quality and efficiency. Now, the team:

  • Automates the trial balance load and processes all batches using CSC Corptax® Data Exchange Manager
  • Leverages CSC Corptax® Office to push/pull financial adjustments between Corptax and the general ledger
  • Dynamically populates 10Q/10K footnote supporting schedules and automates NOL carryforward and rollforward schedules
  • Develops current and deferred state tax schedules with analytical reporting using the Corptax POV data connection
  • Aligns RTP account mapping, ensuring consistency and minimizing unnecessary true-up adjustments
  • Incorporates all federal and state audit adjustments in Corptax

Results

  • Saves 40 hours per quarter on time spent loading trial balances
  • Uses 30 vs. 200 Excel spreadsheets, improving general ledger information
  • Saves 20 hours on year-end audit support by eliminating classification true-ups between the provision and corresponding tax return
  • Reconciles deferred tax inventory to the trial balance without exception each quarter
  • Efficiently prepares 10Q/10K footnote workpapers, gaining flexibility and accuracy for late adjustments
  • Generates entity-level state tax current and deferred tax information quarterly to quickly assess tax planning opportunities
  • Seamlessly incorporates federal audit adjustments from recently completed examinations into net operating loss rollforwards

Curran Group Inc. – Angela Procopio, Tax Accountant

Automation Saves Time, Headaches, and Hassle – Don’t Miss This!

Challenge

Every tax season, the team at Curran Group files hundreds of state returns—on time and without sacrificing quality or accuracy. An overly manual process bogged down tax preparation, reducing time available for reviews. They needed a way to automate data input and the different tax adjustments required for each state and company.

Solution

Using CSC Corptax® Office, the Curran Group automates the adjustment process for state and federal returns, specifically:

  • Comparing prior year adjustments to current year for all states and entities in order to spot material changes and to calculate differentials
  • In seconds, automatically pushing current year adjustments into Corptax for all state returns

Curran Group points to the tremendous value CSC Corptax® Support Services provides virtually on demand—including quick return calls, live, courteous, and knowledgeable help, and follow-up documentation after each call.

Results

The Curran Group’s adjustments template automatically rolls forward year over year, compounding the benefits they’ve accrued so far.

  • Saves 50 hours of manual labor annually
  • Eliminates thousands of adjustments entered by hand
  • Decreases errors and headaches and boosts morale
  • Frees staff for reviews and complex projects that add value to the company

Dish Network – Paul Siergiej, Director of Tax

In-house vs. Outsourcing: Regaining Confidence and Control

Challenge

Outsourcing their federal return process proved challenging for Dish Network. Once they received their data:

  • Consolidating two returns took more than a month with overrides and customization
  • Finalizing books required four people
  • Managing inconsistency between firm’s data and Dish’s data was time-consuming and difficult
  • Analyzing massive workpapers and organizing data to support audits drained resources

Dish determined they needed to bring their tax work in-house to regain control over accounts and adjustments, improve workpapers, precisely structure their data, and have supporting documentation at the ready.

Solution

Dish implemented CSC Corptax® Compliance themselves, finding it easy and non-intrusive. The team adapted quickly based on the familiar and friendly interface.

Results

Now, with their tax data structured and secured in a single system, Dish accelerates federal consolidation.

  • Completes books in one day with one person vs. four people
  • Consolidates two returns in three days vs. one month
  • Saves ~$350,000 annually above software cost
  • Directly accesses underlying data to support audit cycles
  • Maintains data security

Farmers Insurance Group – Iris Lung, Corporate Senior Tax Manager

From Provision to Estimated Payments – Corptax Does It All

Challenge

Like many corporate tax departments, Farmers Insurance Group produced high-quality quarterly provisions with limited time and resources. The team performed both the provision and quarterly estimated payment calculations in Excel®, while working overtime for three weeks during the close. Other challenges included:

  • Ensuring Excel-based formulas and data flow were consistent and correct
  • Dealing with corrupted files
  • Trouble-shooting and manually analyzing data sources through formulas and links
  • Limited ability to cross-train due to inconsistent file set up

Farmers Insurance wanted a streamlined, structured, and controlled environment to help provide a high-quality outcome to management and a better work-life balance to the provision team.

Solution

Using Corptax single system automation, Farmers Group not only calculates their provision, but they also use the results to calculate taxable income, including both federal and state estimated payments.

  • Automates trial balance loads using CSC Corptax® Data Exchange, ensuring accurate reporting to fulfill requirements
  • Posts hundreds of automated adjustment workpapers in a single click through Corptax Cart
  • Pushes and pulls data with Corptax Office to validate and load manual adjustments
  • Reuses Corptax provision data to compute federal quarterly estimated payments and breaks out book income adjustments into “annualized” and “non-annualized” categories through a custom domestic calculation
  • Automatically calculates the state estimated payments using CSC Corptax® State Planner
  • Pushes data to the payment voucher by account-association using CSC Corptax® Calendar

Results

  • Spends 50% less overtime during every quarterly close, boosting job satisfaction
  • Satisfies management and auditors with neat and consistent Corptax reports
  • Quickly accesses underlying data for support and validation
  • Cross-trains easily with all provisions using the same platform
  • Gets time back to analyze results vs. maintain Excel model
  • Eliminates human error and lowers risk with automation

Toyota Financial Services – Rachel Howard, Tax Process, Planning, and Technology Manager

Toyota Financial Services Overhauls Tax Processes Using Corptax

Challenge

Toyota Financial Services grappled with significantly different provision processes for quarterly and year-end reporting; an excessive number of Excel® files with intricate manual calculations for both the provision and state/federal returns; and data challenges for reporting state apportionment. Changes meant updating many files—draining time and creating unnecessary risk. Further, uncertainty around proposed Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes made planning difficult.

The team also:

  • Managed and maintained 33+ non-standardized Excel files, many quite fragile
  • Rolled forward irrelevant data contained in Excel files
  • Lost time to manual updates and processes, including:
    • Determining apportionment drivers
    • Searching for audit support when state apportionment files did not tie to return amounts
    • Fixing overrides on state returns that inadvertently impacted other state returns

Solution

Toyota completed a major process overhaul using CSC Corptax® Provision and CSC Corptax® Office. Now, the team:

  • Automates book-to-tax adjustment workbooks for quarterly/year-end provisions and compliance
  • Automates reconciliations for adjustments
  • Gains direct access to state provision calculations
  • Eliminates manual entry for state adjustments
  • Summarizes taxable income, state adjustments, and state apportionment including industry-specific basis adjustments
  • Refreshes data connections within Excel files to see changes to the specified accounts and impacts to returns
  • Uses case scenarios to prepare for retroactive and prospective TCJA final guidance

Results

Using targeted provision and compliance automation, Toyota Financial Services:

  • Saves 40% of time spent on tax preparation; redeploys it to high-value analysis
  • Increases efficiency with a uniform process for quarterly and year-end provision
  • Uses standardized provision and compliance workbooks
  • Reduces risk associated with manual entries and calculations
  • Works proactively in the face of pending legislation
  • Provides management with confidence—Corptax and supporting files agree!