Success Story - Fortive

Challenge

Fortive’s voluminous foreign Return to Provision (RTP) process lacked two essential elements: standardization and automation. Different regions (Asia, Europe, etc.) relied on their own templates and formats, making uniform reporting unnecessarily challenging to manage.

Finance contacts all over the world manually entered RTP estimates and adjustments into Corptax during soft and hard closes — an inefficient and somewhat error-prone process.

Fortive couldn’t be sure when numbers were static and final, which hampered review and analytics efforts. Plus, external auditors raised issues with frequent adjustments made to RTP data throughout the year and changes made to post-filed data.

As Fortive’s Tax Manager Ryan Chippendale put it, “The most important aspect for us was to ensure data quality and process standardization in how we managed RTP.”

The Fortive team required a fluid, automated RTP solution that:

• Centralized data

• Protected data and limited Corptax edits to key personnel only

• Enabled consistent and comprehensive data entry

• Improved process understanding and status visibility across all regions

Solution

In 2020, Fortive launched their RTP transformation by creating and implementing a standardized template for all regions. Their goal was to capture uniform data, reduce constant back-and-forth between the global tax team and foreign controllers, limit unproductive access to Corptax, minimize pressure on foreign controllers, and allow tax headquarters to better manage their reporting timeline.

The new standard template and related workflow tasks proved a massive upgrade to their existing process, and Fortive continued to refine and invest in their modernization effort in subsequent years. First, they needed a better way to quickly and concisely aggregate foreign template data into a single file that was ready to import into Corptax. Using Alteryx, they consolidated the templates into one master file in a matter of seconds — eliminating manual file preparation and data movement, minimizing errors, and freeing up valuable time for preparers and reviewers.

Fortive then took automation to the next level by introducing the CSC Corptax Connector^® for Alteryx. The Connector made it seamless to aggregate and import foreign RTP templates into Corptax. It also allowed Fortive to quickly pre-populate foreign RTP templates with known data from Corptax before sending them out. Now, foreign controllers were able to review vs. input information, and headquarters achieved instant tie-outs between amounts imported into Corptax and Fortive’s offline workpapers.

Lastly, Fortive began to leverage Corptax multi-year RTP workpapers to more easily handle RTPs from previous years. This solved the issue of late RTPs in regions with extended filing periods, such as the UK and Germany. Multi-year workpapers also enhanced data visibility and accuracy, offering better insight for reviews, planning, and integration into Alteryx workflows.

Results

The standardized RTP templates and automated data entry save Fortive’s preparers and reviewers collectively ~500 hours per year and furnish consistent data. By minimizing the number of people manipulating data in Corptax, the process is organized, and data entered into Corptax is accurate.

The integration of Alteryx and the Corptax Connector further streamlines processes and improves audit readiness. By integrating the latest data, the Corptax Connector facilitates analytics and makes tax reporting more reliable. Multi-year RTP workpapers reduce the need for manual adjustments, which speeds up data entry and improves data readiness in the context of planning.

As Tax Manager Prashneel Kumar sums up, “The new workflow makes it quick to populate and generate accurate RTP packages and push completed package data into Corptax – and the Connector highlights major efficiency gains over our previous manual process.”

Following the success of the provision project, Fortive introduced Corptax and Alteryx automation into many other areas of the tax continuum. The team has implemented Corptax interim workpapers for their provision and year-to-date ETR using the same automation to extend benefits from annual to quarterly. Also, Fortive uses Corptax and Alteryx for compliance to consolidate large datasets and integrate them into workflows — from estimated payments to state and federal compliance and back to provision.

Fortive’s innovative integration of Corptax, Alteryx, and the Corptax Connector not only transformed their RTP process, but set a new standard for automation across the tax lifecycle. Through these tools, Fortive optimizes efficiency and data accuracy and enables the team to focus on high-impact strategies.