Tax workload be like

The world of in-house tax people is filled with “too much”. Too many emails. Too many meetings. Too many spreadsheets. Too much controversy. Too much regulatory change. Too many filings. Too many projects. Should I continue 😵‍💫?

I have on a weekly basis around 20 conversations with in-house tax leaders and their in-house teams. Every tax team, every tax operating model, and every organisation is different. There is, however, 1 common thread among all of them...

Never, ever, ever I hear someone say: “Stevi, it is calm on our end”. Not even during these summer months, which supposedly is the “low season” 😵‍💫.

We all know that “being busy” is the social norm, beyond the tax world as well. Yet, in a world full of burn (and bore) outs, it is strange to observe that we all accept this norm.

What’s more, how can a tax leader and her team be forward-looking if they are non-stop in the trenches? How can tax teams achieve the highest levels of preparedness for future change if they are nothing but swamped? How can you transform your tax function if your day is filled with nothing but firefighting?

Could you take this time of the year to reflect on the above?

Highly recommended supporting reading is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey (see my earlier post:https://lnkd.in/ehFU-RVr) and “Busy: how to thrive in a world of too much” by Tony Crabbe.