Almost all companies have been subject to downsizing at one point or another. Even during periods of strong economic growth, sometimes the individual needs of companies in the short-term makes intermittent layoffs unavoidable. Following any downsizing activity, the question then becomes: How does a smaller group of people handle the same workload as before?

Cost reductions, efficiency gains, greater accuracy… these value propositions and more have long been drivers of change within organizations. From its earliest stages, automation has promised to deliver these benefits in spades. The idea of reducing human labor while at the same time transforming a business process for the better is why business leaders were attracted to automation from the start—and why many continue to view it as essential to organizational growth. 

The telecom industry has some unique aspects of assessment that don’t apply to other industries. In this post we’ll cover the issues associated with telecommunications tax assessments so you can ensure accurate valuation.

How would you characterize your tax team’s approach to business personal property tax—are you managing it (on top of deadlines and working on appeals) or just managing to get by (filing returns down to the wire and no time for appeals)?

The course of a tax year offers numerous opportunities for property tax practitioners to hone their precognitive skills. The ability to read and interpret available data for signs of what’s upcoming in the tax cycle—and then to determine if action should be taken—is key to carrying out the job successfully.

Like every industry, property tax has its share of conferences. Whatever you’d like to know more about, whether it’s real estate, personal property, business valuation, compliance, depreciation, tax technology, or anything else, there’s probably a conference that covers it. You’ll also find conferences that specialize in certain industries (like the Broadband Tax Institute’s annual conference for internet and cable companies) and ones that focus on taxation in certain regions (like the Texas Association of Assessing Officers conference). There’s no shortage of learning opportunities for those looking to expand their knowledge and skills.

I think it’s safe to say that all property tax teams strive to avoid penalties. But they happen. Teams working for companies with a large number of properties sometimes don’t have enough staff to keep up with deadlines or they have new, untrained staff members. Other times a failure in the process leads to a missed deadline, and extra expenses are incurred. But just because penalties happen doesn’t mean they’re acceptable—or that you should stop searching for ways to avoid them.

The start of a new year is a popular time for predictions—what developments do experts and visionaries see around the bend?

Whether or not your company operates in one of the few states that tax intangible assets—those that have no physical form but do have value—understanding intangible asset valuation is important. Why? Because it’s part and parcel of ensuring a fair assessment for both real estate and personal property.

Cumbersome software, inefficient processes, a lack of data visibility… these are just a few things commonly mentioned by property tax professionals when we ask them to identify pain points in their current practice. Until a few years ago, corporate tax practitioners at Comcast, the global telecommunications company, would’ve said the very same things about their processes. Then they switched to TotalPropertyTax (TPT), and eventually added MetaTaskerPT, and turned things around. Here’s the story of why Comcast chose CrowdReason software—and how it’s impacted their practice since its implementation.