Thomson Reuters Acquires Tax Technology Provider SafeSend

Thomson Reuters recently announced it acquired tax technology provider SafeSend for $600 million. The deal aims to help companies access automation to accomplish manual, repetitive tasks within the tax and accounting workflows.

“The needs of our customers and their clients drive every decision we make at Thomson Reuters. This acquisition underscores our commitment to addressing the evolving challenges faced by tax professionals and taxpayers alike. By integrating SafeSend’s innovative technology with our existing solutions, we’re simplifying tax preparation workflows, and meeting the dynamic demands of businesses we serve to help them thrive in an increasingly complex tax landscape,” said Elizabeth Beastrom, president of Tax, Audit and Accounting Professionals at Thomson Reuters, in a press release.

Thomson Reuters signaled that it will continue to offer SafeSend as a solution that users can leverage as part of their larger tax software ecosystem. SafeSend automates the functions that are known as the “last-mile” of the tax return, including assembly, review, taxpayer e-signature, and delivery.

The acquisition supports Thomson Reuters vision for tax and accounting professionals, advancing efficiency in workflows for tax preparers and taxpayers across the U.S. Thomson Reuters intends to continue to offer SafeSend as a market solution, supporting the ability to interoperate with multiple vendors across a connected tax software ecosystem.

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for SafeSend customers. Becoming a part of Thomson Reuters will enable us to accelerate product development efforts and realize our shared vision of an end-to-end tax workflow solution,” said SafeSend co-founder Steve Dusablon.

Meeting the Market

Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of SafeSend comes as many SAP organizations are seeking to infuse automation into their tax processes. These advanced capabilities are emerging quickly as companies seek to ensure accuracy and compliance from their finance and accounting teams.

SAPinsider’s recent Tax Technology Innovation and Automation benchmark research report found that the desire to reduce tax risks and potential errors and increasing regulatory complexity and compliance requirements were the factors that most significantly affected how organizations approach tax technology innovation.

Businesses are searching for solutions that reduce the chances of manual errors to be introduced throughout the tax process. They also have indicated that the rapid changes in tax regulations in different jurisdictions around the world pose significant issues, making it difficult to remain compliant.

What This Means for SAPinsiders

Automation is here to stay, be prepared for it. Major organizations like Thomson Reuters have demonstrated through their investment that there is a significant appetite for automated tax solutions. Companies should ensure that they have rigorous data quality standards that allow them to take advantage of automated solutions.

Be proactive when dealing with shifting regulations. Companies cannot afford to have delayed reactions when different tax authorities update tax rates or other regulations. Using solutions that can automatically update these regulations can help ensure that companies remain compliant and avoid any major penalties.

Ensure that all parts of tax workflows have automation. Organizations should avoid half-measures whenever possible. When deploying automation, companies should ensure that all areas of a given process have automation. For instance, if tax information is automatically collected, businesses should also have automation in the “last mile” of their tax return as well.