GenAI use cases for tax technologists

Chris Zangrilli considers tax processes that can be enhanced by GenAI.

Seven people in a boardroom, as seen through a glass door. Five people in business attire sit around a minimalist white table in similarly styled chairs. The remaining person is standing and appears to be leading the conversation in the front of the room. She points to papers attached to the wall, as if she is going over important data.

In our recent communications and collaborations with customers, we’ve seen many tax departments starting to assess how they can leverage generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools. A recent report from Deloitte, Generative AI: What should tax directors be thinking about, can help with these assessments. 

The report is authored by partners in Deloitte’s London office. That said, nearly all of the insights and guidance here are just as relevant to indirect tax groups in other countries and regions. 

Much of the report focuses on the risks associated with AI (e.g., bias, hallucinations, ethical considerations, data governance issues and more) as well as the risk management and governance practices that help organizations develop trustworthy AI applications. This risk and governance-related guidance dovetails nicely with the four core principles that guide Vertex’s AI-related development work:

  1. Aligning AI with the right use cases.
  2. Empowering users with control.
  3. Prioritizing data security and privacy.
  4. Leveraging human intelligence for accountability.

When implementing a new AI solution, the co-authors of the Deloitte report encourage indirect tax groups to: 

  • Develop a comprehensive risk taxonomy;
  • Identify risks (and their potential severity) for each use case;
  • Implement technical controls and non-technical risk mitigation approaches;
  • Adapt current governance frameworks to address AI; and
  • Integrate responsible AI practices into development activities – and into the organizational culture.

The report highlights GenAI use cases in the tax compliance lifecycle, such as efficiency & productivity enhancements, targeted tax risk reviews, robust M&A due diligence, knowledge management improvements, ecosystem integrations and streamlining procurement activities.   While the list of use cases continues to grow, they all rely on data as the fuel for GenAI. This places higher expectations on the understanding and cleanliness of the data to support the use cases that it is fueling.

I found the report’s guidance to tax leaders responsible for selecting GenAI use case decisions particularly helpful: the two most critical elements to consider, according to the co-report, include:

  1. The human effort required to complete the task (or process) without GenAI; and
  2. The effort required to fact-check, validate and/or otherwise oversee the output from the GenAI application. 

“If a task requires effort to execute but is easy to validate,” the co-authors point out, “it has the hallmarks of a good use case.”

I have a hunch we’ll be seeing more AI and GenAI use cases as the pace of tax technology transformation continues to accelerate.
 

Blog author

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Chris Zangrilli

Vice President of Technology Strategy at Vertex Inc.

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Chris Zangrilli is Vice President of Technology Strategy at Vertex Inc. In his role, he leads the technology strategy and innovation efforts, applying emerging technologies to understand the art of the possible to drive growth. He has held several technology leadership roles responsible for the architecture and development of SaaS solutions. He brings 30 years of technology and strategic expertise, driving value to customers through tax technology solutions.

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