• Develop consistent internal communications tools to keep tax department key personnel up to speed on tax results and upcoming challenges; and
• Make training and development of tax personnel a top priority.

The glut of new work created by various tax regulations paired with a limited talent pool may cause companies to delay work in some important tax and finance regulatory areas, according to the survey and roundtable of 150 executives conducted by Jefferson Wells.

Respondents' major concerns centered on the limited available resources to deal with FAS 109 reporting, new IRS reporting requirements (like Schedule M-3 and e-filing), SOX compliance and other tax-process integration issues. Many foresaw an emerging need for tax professionals to become even more technically proficient. They also discussed using third-party providers to satisfy these additional requirements, helping to alleviate the increased work-load in today's tax departments.

However, all of these issues are also creating an evolution -- many corporate tax departments are becoming more effectively integrated into overall company operations. Furthermore, tax is no longer viewed as an isolated corporate function, but rather a strategic part of a corporation's viability and a critical part of a company's well-being.

"In light of the increased demand for more accurate and efficient tax reporting, a key trend has emerged." said Paul Sassano, tax solutions director at Jefferson Wells. "Many companies are undergoing considerable process improvements to more effectively integrate tax provision (FAS 109) calculations, tax compliance reporting requirements and Sec. 404 internal control evidence. A significant number of large companies will be implementing tax accounting technology solutions to help them with these demands."