Breaking News: Tax Directors Stressed

Tax executives can't make their headcounts and budgets keep pace with their departments' increasing workloads. And though tax departments are gaining visibility within the corporation, their leaders are having to do more work they regard as less valuable to the business. The reason? According to KPMG's annual survey of senior tax executives, it's all about compliance.

Among the survey's findings:

• Some 42 percent of tax executives said they actually have fewer days in the financial close process than they did last year, with only seven percent saying they have more time.
• Tax departments continue to grapple with increased work as a result of SOX 404 compliance requirements (80 percent), increased documentation requirements (86 percent), and increased independent auditor requirements (81 percent).
• Some 89 percent of tax directors say increased tax accounting and SOX 404 requirements are forcing them to spend less time on tax planning than they would like.
• In addition to technology-specific improvements, tax departments reported they plan to increase training (56 percent) add resources/staff (44 percent), and increase use of outside consulting (35 percent).

Increasing Regulatory Demands Are Changing Role of Corporate Tax Departments, KPMG Study Reveals [KPMG]

And as long as I'm linking, here's a link to a story jobsinthemoney ran on what tax directors look for in job candidates:

What Tax Directors Look for When Hiring [JITM]