Rapid globalization, new developments in regulation, changes in accounting standards and increased demands from revenue authorities for greater transparency on tax and accounting structures and records are all increasing the burden on accounting, finance and tax departments.

At the same time, accounting and finance functions are under pressure to provide more and better reporting and compliance in an ever shorter time frame with fewer resources.

Given these challenges, it is not surprising that accounting, finance and tax departments often spend a disproportionate amount of time on routine compliance and compilation activities, rather than focusing on higher value activities such as core business support, strategic tax planning, quality and risk management and process and technology improvement.

As a result, many companies are looking for more consistent, more efficient and more cost effective ways to meet their compliance obligations and want to keep a close watch on some critical Financial Statement (FS) compliance and bookkeeping processes.