Mandatory electronic audit files: a worldwide trend?

Transcription

1 Mandatory electronic audit files: a worldwide trend?

2 Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes (SAF-T) The SAF T standard, originally created by the OECD, is intended to give tax authorities easy access to the relevant data in an easily readable format. This leads to much more efficient and effective tax inspections. The legal requirements of the file are in line with the obligation of using certified billing and logistic software that prevent changes on documents already issued. The Standard Audit File for Tax Purposes (SAF-T) became obligatory for entities with head office or a permanent establishment liable to Corporate Income Tax in Portugal in 2008, with the objective of making tax inspection more efficient and reducing the effort. The latest development is the introduction of a new obligation in 2013: Taxpayers now have to submit billing data and logistic information on a monthly basis. This is what causes problems for many companies: The amount of data is large, and the extraction too complicated for a monthly submission of SAF-T files. Portugal, however, is not the only country using the OECD standard SAF-T. Similar obligations exist already in Austria and Luxemburg, and it can be assumed that other European countries will follow.

3 Tax All SAF -T submission directly via SAP self (test phase) The new requirement relates to the monthly submission of the so-called SAF-T reports for Portugal, which is mandatory since It is possible to use standard SAP for creating the required report but it is a very complicated change in SAP (more than 100 OSS notes) that will consume a lot of IT resources. We are currently developing an easy-to-use and lean SAF-T cockpit solution integrated in SAP with country specific flexibility. The KEY LiNKiT SAF-T solution is built in SAP and will be able to generate automatically the mandatory SAF T files based on the specific country s legal requirements (e.g. frequency, layout of the output).

4 Tax in Germany mandatory electronic Tax balance sheet There is a new legal requirement for the creation and submission of an electronic tax balance sheet (e-balance) in XBRL for all companies located in Germany. This poses a major challenge because many ERP software providers, such as SAP, do not offer a satisfactory solution for complying with the comprehensive legal requirements. Separate software applications for the submission of the report will be required. We have launched ebilanz-cockpit : an easy-to-use, user-friendly, cost efficient and fully integrated SAP solution for German electronic tax balance Client references are available.

5 Time line for Mandatory Submission of E-Bilanz

6 A simple and lean method The KEY LiNKiT ebilanz-cockpit is an easy-to-use and lean solution for the German e-balance. It is fully integrated into SAP, thus easily accessible while it avoids problems with generic interface risks. The cockpit s ten steps process, provide an intuitive guideline for the process of creating and filing the e-balance. The cockpit has clever features, such as the drag & drop functionality for mapping the company s chart of accounts to the required fiscal taxonomy, making the cockpit an user-friendly tool. In order to provide a comprehensive solution for the entire corporate group, the cockpit also has an interface for non-sap systems, enabling the upload of financial data from subsidiaries not using SAP. All the group s tax balances can be created in and filed from one central SAP system. Various characteristics of the cockpit ensure an audit-proof process. The tax adjustments made in the cockpit do not influence the regular SAP data and are tracked in a separate document journal. Just as in SAP itself, all entries and changes are recorded, thus ensuring that the cockpit meets high standards of IT and process security, including a full audit trail.

7 10 steps to the e-balance 1. Import taxonomy: Easy import and storage of the different taxonomies 2. Import source data: Import of financial statements, Balance Sheet and P&L, from standard SAP report OR file upload (for non-sap systems) 3. Maintain master data: Manual entry of all relevant data OR import from previous year 4. GAAP mapping: Mapping of chart of accounts to fiscal taxonomy via drag & drop OR import from previous year or sample mapping 5. Data transfer: Combination of source data and taxonomy mapping to an initial e- balance 6. Edit e-balance: Entry of tax adjustments, of-which-positions, additional reporting elements 7. Check balance sheet: Internal check of consistency, correctness and completeness 8. Generate XBRL: Conversion of the e-balance into the XBRL format 9. ERiC validation: Validation with the test routines provided by the fiscal authorities 10. Send e-balance: Electronic submission of the e-balance to the tax office (incl. test functionality)

8 Process overview

9 Implementation process The implementation process includes the following activities: 1. ebilanz readiness check 2. Installation and configuration of the KEY LiNKiT ebilanz Cockpit in your SAP - System 3. Installing the relevant taxonomies (depending on legal requirements according to your business) 4. Sending test data to tax authorities 5. Key user training 6. On-site Support during first productive data transmission to tax authorities

10 Return on Investment opportunities 1. Full compliance with the legal requirements in Germany 2. Lower overall costs due to quick and easy implementation 3. Reduction of risks by media continuity (generic interface risks) and audit-proof documentation 4. Efficient process of e-balance creation and submission 5. Less time needed due to master data mapping and import functionality 6. Lower maintenance costs because of complete integration in SAP: no additional interfaces, no additional costs for installation / distribution / maintenance of additional software 7. Lower software costs because of upload functionality for data from non-sap systems: no additional software for non-sap companies needed 8. Centralized support and dedicated contact person for all questions regarding the technical issues of the electronic tax balance 9. Less time for training: SAP-integrated solution with intuitive handling and use of SAP standard functionalities 10. Centralized solution in which all steps of the process can be executed or triggered 11. Reduced risk of data loss because all data is stored safely in the SAP system and thus easily accessible and available for years