It's incredible how quickly time passes. We've been speaking about MTD for years now and with the extension due to Brexit and COVID-19, it seemed as if the elusive deadline would never arrive but here we are.
The 1st of April has now passed and all relevant UK businesses with an annual turnover of £85,000 or more are now required to be MTD phase 2 compliant for their next VAT filing. This means that by July this year, all applicable businesses should have filed their first MTD compliant submission.
So that's it you might be thinking? MTD is done and dusted and we can all sit back and relax. However, we're only in the opening chapter of this book and as we approach the final paragraph, there are still many more pages left.
You may not yet have filed your first return, but are thinking 'well we have a compliant solution in place so once it's filed we're all good'? Having a simple, compliant MTD solution implemented is fine and it will get you over the finish line, however, not taking full advantage of the benefits a digitalised platform can provide is a missed opportunity.
Over the last decade, the finance and tax function has moved away from being the traditional number-crunching team and now is much more aligned with being a data-driven strategic partner to the business. MTD compliant software will meet the requirements of the mandate but won't help you along your journey of providing additional value as a strategic partner.
Many organisations are working with outdated, legacy systems which make amending and analysing data a laborious task. MTD compliance alone doesn't necessarily mean that these systems will become more robust or fit for the modern finance function as Universal Aviation identified.
The firm knew that due to their size, structure and complexity there were more efficient ways for them to meet European tax deadlines. Coupled with the introduction of MTD there were a growing mound of obligations that Universal Aviation needed to comply with. ARKK knew that our for:sight platform would make them compliant with MTD and also dramatically improve some process inefficiencies Universal Aviation were experiencing.
Time was of the essence and Universal Aviation needed a solution in place as quickly as possible. Akash Kalaiya, EMEA Tax Manager at Universal Weather and Aviation, states that "The speed and accuracy of implementation were incredible. ARKK took the time to fully understand the complexity and issues of our company and set out an action plan to ensure we filed in time."
The action plan worked. With clear data requirements and timelines set out by ARKK and Universal Aviation, in under a month they had filed their first MTD submission. The company is now fully compliant with MTD phase 2 and has reviewed their current processes to minimise future disruption.
This is one example but there are multiple ways that a digital-first platform can help to enhance the finance and tax function by allowing quicker and more insightful data analysis. There's never been a better time to leverage technology to help your finance and tax team perform to the best of their ability.
Are you still searching for an MTD solution? Get in touch today to speak with our team. Or if you'd like to learn more about why financial automation is a great opportunity to enhance your finance function, have a read through our blog.