The EY study – Tax Compliance and CFO Priorities in Poland – indicates that the main concerns of Polish CFOs and chief accountants are about the present, not the future. At the top of the risk list are tax (60%) and regulatory issues (40%), followed by technology issues (10%). Short-term (up to 12 months), tax compliance (40%) and the introduction of the National e-Invoice System (33%) will be the biggest challenges. Long-term (up to 3 years), ensuring tax compliance (46%) will remain the most important, however technological adaptation is gaining in importance (30%). Meanwhile, CFOs and chief accountants strongly differ in their approach to AI. Over the next 12 months, 38% of the first group and 22% of the second group plan to implement AI-based tools replacing repetitive tasks in their companies. The difference is a whopping 16 percentage points – the most among the analyzed solutions.
The results of the study show that in the world of CFOs and chief accountants, tax risks are also inevitable, in addition to taxes themselves. According to 89% of respondents, these risks have increased over the year. Tax aspects took the lead (60%) in terms of risks that have particularly increased. Regulatory (40%) and financial areas (39%) were ranked lower. The list is closed by technology (10%), understood as a lack of appropriate investment in system development, necessary to adapt to a changing legal-business situation.
Financial directors and chief accountants in Poland are overwhelmed by legislative changes. As a result, they focus primarily on current activities and securing the organization in the area of compliance. They rarely look into the future longer than one year. Long-term, this could lead to a number of negative consequences, particularly in the aspect related to technological development in the tax area. This is not only about adapting the latest innovations within the organization, but also about adapting companies to changes introduced by regulators, who are quickly transitioning to the digital world. A prime example is the National e-Invoices System, for which, despite the rapidly approaching deadline, many companies are still unprepared – says Zbigniew Deptuła, Leader of the Tax Reporting Team, EY Poland.
Polish CFOs and chief accountants agree – the area of compliance has been, is and will remain their key challenge. In the perspective of the next 12 months, the aspect of ensuring tax settlement compliance was indicated by 40% of respondents. The next places were taken by the introduction of KSeF (33%) and adjusting to rapid legislative changes (31%). Interestingly, ESG reporting (15%) took one of the last places. This confirms that the over-year horizon significantly reduces the importance of a given
