CLIENT
Our client is a Fortune 1000 food manufacturer with numerous iconic brands headquartered in the US. The company has grown rapidly over several years by acquiring leading and emerging brands.
CHALLENGE
DMA has performed sales and use tax compliance functions for our client since 2013. In 2021, DMA’s tax and technology teams met with our client’s leadership team to determine how we could enhance their systems, improve tax accuracy, and be a more valuable partner. The DMA team facilitated a whiteboarding session with the company’s indirect tax leaders to discuss various pain points, identify issues, and brainstorm solutions.
Over the course of an afternoon, DMA was able to identify the complexities, risks, and potential opportunities regarding the company’s tax policies, processes, and technology.
Solutions & Result
Over the past two years, DMA has worked collaboratively on several successful projects, acting as an extension of our client’s tax department, including:
Tax Process Optimization Project
Our client engaged DMA for a Tax Process Optimization project to identify functional and technical gaps. Throughout the process, DMA’s tax and technology teams collaborated to provide a robust Report of Findings that included detailed process and systems documentation, risks, and recommendations.
Tax Review and Recovery Efforts
After completing the Tax Process Optimization project, DMA performed two-year tax overpayment and liability reviews for several US locations. DMA utilized professionals from offices nationwide to provide jurisdictional expertise for all the locations under examination.
These reviews served two purposes. First, they identified issues and inaccuracies in our client’s tax policies and processes, allowing DMA to help build more accurate tax matrices. Second, DMA identified over $8M in overpaid tax.
When the reviews were complete, senior leadership teams from DMA and our client spent an entire day discussing the Report of Findings and technology and automation recommendations that would improve accuracy going forward. The client permitted DMA to pursue refunds for the overpayments and, as an ongoing project, DMA now conducts annual overpayment and liability reviews to proactively maintain and improve tax accuracy.
Tax Engine Enhancements
DMA offered creative pricing for the recommended tax technology projects, using credits from the tax recovery efforts to offset technology costs. Our tax technology team implemented Vertex O Series tax software and regularly conducts deep-dive discovery on processes and data flows. Based on those findings, DMA is undertaking a full-scope digital transformation project to optimize our client’s systems and improve taxability matrices. Once implemented, DMA will continually benchmark the new configuration against the old configuration to ensure that accuracy is improved and identify any additional adjustments to optimize the configuration.
“The DMA team took the time to understand our unique challenges and identify solutions. By taking action on those solutions, we’ve saved millions of dollars, and our technology and processes are more optimized.”
– Tax Professional
the Dma Difference
The DMA team meets weekly with our client’s stakeholders to discuss ongoing projects, identify challenges, and brainstorm solutions. DMA has become the go-to firm for our client’s tax and technology projects, and we regularly consult and offer advice on day-to-day challenges. As a true partner, DMA proactively identifies ways to enhance every facet of our client’s transaction tax lifecycle. We are different than competitors in the industry because our service teams do not operate in silos—our experts collaborate cross-functionally with both our internal departments and our clients. At DMA, we don’t just work on tax projects—we work as a true tax partner and extension of our clients’ tax departments.
Transaction Tax Done Right
DMA’s team of transaction tax and tax technology experts partner with you for your success. Find out how.