Talent shortages remain a challenge universally, but it may be hitting financial roles within businesses particularly hard. The pressures to meet tax reform obligations coupled with the job changeover opportunities that emerged during the Great Resignation have left many tax departments feeling under-resourced. If your company is experiencing a similar situation, here are steps you can take to support your tax function.

1. S T R A T E G I E S
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Tax Strategies
How the Great Resignation Affects the Tax Function
T
alent shortages remain a challenge universally, but
it may be hitting financial roles within businesses
particularly hard. More than half of U.S. respondents
(56%) in a corporate tax department survey from Thomson
Reuters reported they did not have appropriate staffing for
their tax department.
Many of the federal pandemic relief provisions were
tied to the tax function, including the employee retention
credit that helped businesses maintain headcounts. The
pressures to meet tax reform obligations coupled with the
job changeover opportunities that have emerged during
the Great Resignation have left many departments feeling
under-resourced. If your company is experiencing a similar
situation, here are steps you can take to support your tax
function.
Turn to Technology
To address resource limitations, companies may turn
first to technology to build efficiencies in the tax process.
Automation and electronic workpapers and workflows may
help address filing requirements on time when headcounts
are down.
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2. Unfortunately, many companies in the Thomson Reuters
survey reported that technology was both the top priority
and an area facing a skills gap. While 45% stated they would
introduce technology and automation, 21% said advanced
technology was the primary skill gap on their existing team.
Companies may want to consider enlisting interim support
to help supplement and train existing staff on new processes
and systems to bridge this disconnect. New workflows may
also provide opportunities for top performers on your staff to
grow their skillsets, which may help you hold onto the staff you
least want to lose during this period of turnover.
Focus Resources on the Strategic
If you have a larger geographic footprint, either in the U.S.
or at overseas locations, your organization may be addressing
a larger volume of routine filing requirements. High volume,
including repetitive state income tax or foreign reporting
tasks, can be outsourced so that existing department
resources can focus on value-add projects and initiatives
the company wants to undertake. These higher priorities
may include complex transactions, automated processes or
adopting other types of new workflow efficiencies.
Isolate the Largest Performance Obstacle
Compliance risks and staff burnout are among the
leading challenges for companies with a resource-constrained
tax function. Fewer staff may mean less hands to support
filing deadlines, which may cause current staff to seek less
stressful opportunities. If your tax department has already felt
the impact of the Great Resignation or starts to experience
a higher rate of turnover, leadership should get together to
identify where (and in what form) support can alleviate the
strains on your tax function.
Evaluations of your tax department are best performed
with an internal team, which may include your chief financial
officer, tax director, controller, and audit committee or board
members tasked with financial performance. This team
should review the processes that support:
■
Year-end income tax provisions
■
Quarterly provisions and cash flow analysis
■
Tax staff recruiting, training and retention
■
Tax planning and forecasting
■
Federal and state income tax compliance
■
Foreign reporting and compliance
■
State and federal audit support
The results of the tax department assessment should
help identify what particular skill set you need in future tax
department candidates and, if you choose to outsource or
co-source, what capabilities you need from a provider.
NATE SMITH,CPA
CBIZ National Tax Office
nate.smith@cbiz.com | 727.572.1400, x348
Check out
“The CFO’s Guide
to Conquering the
Talent Crunch.”