Helping your organisation harness technology to strengthen tax processes and reduce risk.

Tax functions today face rising expectations from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), other tax authorities and internal stakeholders, while managing increasing data volumes, tighter budgets and greater scrutiny.

At Saffery, we help organisations modernise the way tax is delivered, supporting clients from mid‑market businesses to large international groups. Whether you’re preparing for mandatory e‑invoicing, considering AI use-cases, responding to regulatory digitisation, or looking to automate manual work, we help ensure your tax processes are accurate, efficient and future‑ready.

Our team is led by Robert John who has over 15 years’ of in-house and practice experience designing and implementing technology-enabled tax solutions for complex businesses. We combine tax expertise, in‑house operational experience and hands‑on technology capability to help clients adopt the right tools and processes for their business.

What is tax technology and transformation?

Tax technology and transformation focuses on how tax work is done – the systems, data, processes and people involved in delivering accurate compliance and meaningful insights.

A successful transformation brings together:

  • People: bridging tax and IT, supporting change and upskilling teams,
  • Processes: documenting and optimising tax and finance workflows,
  • Technology and data: identifying risks, automating tasks and unlocking analytics, and
  • Tax expertise: ensuring technology supports technical requirements.

This holistic approach helps tax teams streamline operations, reduce compliance risk and make better decisions supported by accurate data.

Key issues facing tax and finance teams

Businesses are operating in an increasingly digital and complex environment. Common challenges include:

Regulatory digitisation

HMRC’s transformation agenda, including Making Tax Digital, e‑invoicing from April 2029, digital submissions and new data‑led controls, requires accurate, real‑time tax data and robust processes.

Operational efficiency pressures

Many tax teams face high manual workloads, fragmented spreadsheets and limited access to real‑time data. Automation and analytics can significantly reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.

Increased scrutiny and risk

Tax authorities now use advanced tools and third‑party data to identify discrepancies quickly. Organisations must have stronger governance, digital tax controls and joined‑up data to reduce risk.

Our tax technology services

We support clients through three core service areas, tailored to your specific challenges and priorities.

Automation, AI and analytics

We help organisations digitise and automate manual or repetitive tax processes, using both pre‑built and bespoke solutions. Some of the areas we can help include:

  • Automating VAT, customs and other indirect tax processes,
  • Deploying AI‑enabled VAT coding tools and return review workflows,
  • Building risk-based analytics into your processes to support governance,
  • Designing analytics dashboards for tax risk, employee travel, expenses and benefits,
  • Acting as the bridge between you and your IT teams to speed up delivery, and
  • Supporting large data reviews for audits or investigations.

System transformation

We help organisations implement, improve and manage the systems used to deliver tax compliance and reporting. This includes:

  • Configuring enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms such as SAP, Microsoft, Yardi, Coins, Sage, Xero and commonly-used platforms such as AlphaTax, Microsoft Suite and Alteryx,
  • Optimising existing systems to ensure they deliver the right outputs and insights,
  • E-invoicing readiness reviews ahead of the 2029 go-live date,
  • Providing ongoing support, such as a “help desk” with one of our systems experts,
  • Reviewing controls, governance and system configurations, and
  • Supporting project teams by acting as the interface between finance and IT.

Our experience includes major ERP reviews, tax system implementations and optimisation projects across multiple industries.

Process reviews, strategy and training

We support clients with broader finance and tax transformation exercises as well as targeted improvements by:

  • Supporting strategic discussions on AI adoption, process redesign and change management,
  • Reviewing existing processes and identifying opportunities for improvement,
  • Developing tax technology strategies aligned to business goals,
  • Designing operating models, and
  • Delivering tax‑specific technology training.

How we can help

Our specialists help organisations modernise tax operations, reduce manual effort and prepare for future regulatory change.

Get in touch with our experts to find out how we can support you.

Useful insights

What role does AI have in tax advice?

What’s changing in CIS compliance from April 2026? – Saffery

Contact us

Robert John

Director, Edinburgh

Key experience

Robert leads the Tax Technology and Transformation offering at Saffery.
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