VAT Compliance & Recovery

Within the rapidly changing global economy, tax executives face significantly increased VAT administrative responsibilities, compounded by the growing pressure to accomplish more with fewer resources and greater accuracy in less time. However, indirect taxes are often labour intensive and increase the risk management challenges of overpaying or underpaying with interest, penalties, and the added expense of audit defence.

As a result, audit issues arising from gaps in process or policy are an increasing concern for tax executives and senior business stakeholders. Suboptimal processes and controls can adversely affect cash flow, profitability, compliance, and accounting performance; therefore, it is critical to have the right people, processes, and systems in place to reduce cost, mitigate risk, and improve efficiency.

Varying degrees of complexity and inconsistencies in VAT rules also present challenges for businesses managing their input VAT claims on a wide range of business purchases and employee expenses. As businesses grow, diversify, and move into new ventures, accurate compliance becomes progressively more difficult. Small systemic errors multiplied exponentially over time can amount to material overpayments and operational challenges.

At Stratagem, we understand the complex environments in which our clients operate. We understand the unique provisions of tax regulations in every industry and stay current with the latest changes in VAT law and jurisprudence as they apply to our clients’ businesses. These efforts translate into significant tax savings and superior results for our clients.

VAT Recovery Review

Leveraging highly experienced VAT experts and cutting-edge technology, Stratagem, along with our trusted partners, Ryan, offer a comprehensive suite of VAT recovery and advisory services to assist clients in proactively managing these challenges while providing the necessary resources to deliver substantial VAT savings, protecting profitability and shareholder value. We thoroughly scour our clients’ accounts payable systems, records, and processes to identify VAT reduction and savings opportunities, providing a confidential reporting package that includes:

Full details of all saving
Exposure identification
Process improvement opportunities
Audit trail to source documents

Our unique performance-driven compensation model for VAT recovery projects is contingent on the VAT savings that we deliver to our clients. This mitigates client risk and focuses our efforts on delivering significant VAT savings, process improvements, and superior results.

At the heart of our VAT reviews lies Ryan eReview®, a sophisticated technology tool. Using this proprietary indirect tax review software, Stratagem along with our partner, Ryan examine more than one million transactions at a time to identify refund savings opportunities. Simply put, our commitment to excellence and utilisation of sophisticated, proprietary technology ensures we are able to conduct the most thorough, efficient, and effective recovery reviews in the industry.

Why Conduct a VAT Review

By conducting a thorough review of accounts payable (AP) transactions, tax filings, and relevant data, we assess your current state and uncover gaps that could have a detrimental economic impact. Our tailored, comprehensive process includes identifying the root cause of missed opportunities, quantifying the potential benefits, making recommendations for your future state, and providing solutions that eliminate these gaps to improve your total tax performance. Our findings enable clients to make a business case for change, quantifying the cost of gaps and errant transactions, documenting the economic benefits, and return on investment of closing the gaps while outlining a roadmap for greater performance and improved efficiency. Our team provides the necessary resources to prepare, submit, and manage the claims process from the beginning through repayment from the tax authority. Many clients decide to reinvest these savings back into their tax function as transformation initiatives to enhance reliability, accuracy, and overall tax performance through the alignment of people, processes, and systems with the ultimate goal of building their tax centre of excellence.

Comprehensive, Integrated VAT Review Process

Divided into eight discrete steps, our VAT review process and methodology are timely, accurate, and comprehensive with minimal client disruptions and time requirements. We leverage best practices honed over 30 years and thousands of engagements to ensure the project from start to finish is as efficient and effective as possible. No other VAT review process is more thorough, which is why our partner, Ryan, was previously recognised by International Tax Review as the European Innovator of the Year, clearly differentiating our Firm’s VAT services from the competition.