When even toothbrush manufacturers now claim to use artificial intelligence (AI) in their products, it’s a sign—not that AI has come so far as to be ubiquitous, but that there’s definite confusion about the meaning of the term.

If you’re reading this, chances are your tax team is so caught up in mundane tasks they can’t address higher-value work such as research, planning, and analysis. So strategic tax questions for your organization go unanswered.

By now, just about every industry has found a way to incorporate robotic process automation (RPA) into its workflow, but so far, banks are leading the way. Why? Because succeeding in today’s global financial markets requires “unprecedented levels of speed, accuracy, and cost efficiency beyond what a human workforce can provide.”

Looking for ways to make your property tax management process more efficient? Given the magnitude and complexity of the various aspects of property tax—and the fact that corporate tax teams are increasingly being asked to do more with fewer resources—it’s no wonder.

By now every business leader has heard about the need to “digitally transform” to stay competitive. But not everyone is so clear as to what a digital transformation means in reality—and they’re even less clear on how to get the job done. Despite the confusion, many executives still name digital transformation a top priority.

If you haven’t yet read about it on our blog, you’ve surely heard it elsewhere: Enterprises around the world are heavily investing in digital transformation tools and services. And it’s pretty clear their efforts are paying off—research shows that companies committed to digitizing (converting information and processes to digital) are growing faster and have higher net profits after two to three years compared to those who didn’t make a similar investment. No wonder nearly eight in 10 companies in the U.S. are currently in the process of a digital transformation.

Much of the recent Association of Computers and Taxation conference was focused on data analytics—how to manipulate data, and the opportunities and challenges analysis presents. A problem that was discussed at length is one most companies are currently struggling with: How do tax departments gain easier access to the variety of data that will help them make more strategic decisions?

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.

By now, you’ve heard all about how automation saves time. Applied to the manual processes in any industry, it takes over the tedious and time-consuming (but necessary) tasks of everyday work so employees can focus on activities that provide a greater return. In the case of business personal property tax, automation means your team members can forego data extraction and data entry work in favor of long-term strategy activities like tax planning and predictive analytics—tasks that have real impact on an organization and make your team more valuable.

It’s no secret that the nature of work is changing, which is why a growing number of business leaders like yourself are beginning to assess what their future workforces might look like. Part of that assessment includes identifying which capabilities and tools will be most needed by their teams. In recent years, your research may have identified robotic process automation (RPA) as the answer to future challenges; today, there’s an advanced version of automation that will prove to be even more valuable for organizations: smart process automation, or SPA.