It’s summertime so most of us will be visiting ice cream parlours on hot days. Before you know it, you may find yourself coming back simply because the ice cream tastes better or because they serve your favourite flavours. We all know good ingredients alone are not enough to make great ice cream. It is the ‘chef’s’ touch and expertise that really makes the difference. So how does excellent ice cream relate to VAT returns, reporting and reconciliation?
Oracle EBS
Actually in more ways than you might expect. Think of Oracle’s E-Business Suite as your ingredients supplier. Many of you may wonder why Oracle does not produce VAT returns as part of the E-Business Suite. We think the simple answer is that development staff is too limited to adequately meet the many changes in the VAT arena. Moreover, many people have considered Excel to be the Holy Grail in compensating for any shortcomings in streamlining as well as reporting VAT data for way too long. In many organisations the use of Excel depends on personal rather than shared engagement. On top of that, it is way too slow while leaving too much room for mistakes and inconsistencies.
Reversed charge mechanism
The market is changing rapidly. Anti-fraud measures and the growing share of VAT income are just two examples. The sheer number of changes is fueled by the fact that within the EU nowadays, a majority vote is all it takes for member countries to get the necessary approval to implement new VAT requirements. You need more examples? Think of the new reversed charge mechanism for all bigger transactions in the Czech Republic, SAF-T reporting in Poland as of 1 January 2020, or the impact of a no-deal Brexit, which seems to move from the qualification ‘very unlikely’ to ‘might actually happen’.
Tax authorities’ appetite
Back to the ice cream chef metaphor: the tax authorities’ ever changing appetite for VAT reporting requires a professional approach in the ‘kitchen’. Ingredients (data) are changing in order to produce new flavours (e-invoicing, MTD, etcetera.). What customer wouldn’t expect a professional approach in order to meet current and new requirements? ‘Chef’ may seem an overrated qualification for a software supplier. On the other hand, at 4apps we know Oracle EBS like the back of our hands, while closely monitoring new developments, implementing them whenever appropriate and reducing the time needed to deliver VAT returns and reconciliations (just a mouse click will do the job).
Just think about it next time you buy a Raspberry Ripple or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough…
If you want to know more about Oracle Fusion Application, feel free to contact us.
To get in touch with our ‘chef’ directly, please contact Henk Tiesma at +31 646 178 187 or email h.tiesma@4apps.com
