Tax scorecard reporting system

• US 20070022026A1
• Filed: 07/19/2005
• Published: 01/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Accenture Global Services Limited (Accenture PLC)
• Original Assignee: Accenture Global Services GmbH (Accenture PLC)
• Inventors: Elsky, Scott, Davidson, David, Parkan, William
• Granted Patent: US 7,752,094 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/31
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/207 Tax processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/02 Banking, e.g. interest calculation or account maintenance credit or loans G06Q40/03
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/123 Tax preparation or submission

Abstract

A data processing system provides a tax scorecard that displays one or more scorecard windows dedicated to a specific tax perspective. Each tax perspective may have at least one corresponding tax objective, and each tax objective may have at least one corresponding tax key performance indicator. The tax perspectives may be directed toward gathering, monitoring, and analyzing tax data, financial data, and employee opinion data and monitoring business processes. Each scorecard may include drill down capability from a top level analysis to more detailed information related to a tax perspective, objective, or key performance indicator. The key performance indicators may be directed toward monitoring effective tax rates, tax budgets, income before taxes, rating agency liquidity ratios, active or completed business processes, documents contributed or accessed, cross-functional collaboration, allocation of time, communication, performance feedback, professional growth, or other data.

Claims

1. A data processing system for monitoring, analyzing, and reporting tax data, the data processing system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising;

a scorecard database comprising tax performance data; and

a metrics processing program operable to generate;

evaluated tax key performance indicators based upon the tax performance data;

evaluated tax objectives based upon the evaluated key performance indicators; and

multiple different tax perspectives based upon the evaluated tax objectives;

and wherein the processor is operable to generate a tax scorecard display comprising;

a tax scorecard window for each of the tax perspectives, each tax scorecard window comprising a tax perspective status indicator summarizing the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window;

at least one of the evaluated tax objectives underlying the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window; and

at least one of the evaluated tax key performance indicators underlying the evaluated tax objective which in turn underlies the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window.

2. The data processing system of claim 1, where the multiple different tax perspectives comprise a ‘

tax excellence’

perspective, a ‘

tax finance excellence’

perspective, a ‘

tax business process excellence’

perspective, a ‘

tax employee excellence’

perspective, or any combination thereof.

3. The data processing system of claim 2, where the tax scorecard windows are scorecard quadrants.

4. The data processing system of claim 1, where at least one of the tax scorecard windows further comprises a drill down link to a tax key performance indicator report comprising evaluated tax key performance indicator dimensions which contribute to the evaluated tax key performance indicator.

5. The data processing system of claim 1, where the multiple different tax perspectives comprise a ‘

tax business process excellence’

perspective.

6. The data processing system of claim 5, where the evaluated tax business process key performance indicators include an active processes indicator, a completed processes indicator, a documents contributed indicator, a documents accessed indicator, or any combination thereof.

7. The data processing system of claim 1, where the multiple different tax perspectives comprise a ‘

tax excellence’

perspective.

8. The data processing system of claim 7, where the evaluated tax key performance indicators comprise an effective tax rate indicator, a tax budget indicator, or any combination thereof.

9. The data processing system of claim 1, where the multiple different tax perspectives comprise a ‘

tax finance excellence’

perspective.

10. The data processing system of claim 9, where the evaluated tax key performance indicators comprise an income before taxes indicator, a rating agency liquidity ratio indicator, or any combination thereof.

11. The data processing system of claim 1, where the multiple different tax perspectives comprise a ‘

tax employee excellence’

perspective.

12. The data processing system of claim 1, where the evaluated tax key performance indicators comprise a cross-functional collaboration indicator, an allocation of time indicator, a communication indicator, a performance feedback indicator, a professional growth indicator, or any combination thereof.

13. The data processing system of claim 1, where the processor is operable to display an initial homepage, accept a login name and a password, and provide remote access to the tax scorecard through the initial homepage.

14. A data processing system for monitoring and analyzing tax data, the data processing system comprising:

a processor;

a network interface operable to receive a first tax performance data set organized by a first dimension set and a second tax performance data set organized by a second dimension set different than the first dimension set;

a memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising;

a unified database table comprising a shared data dimension which accommodates the first and second tax performance data sets as unified tax performance data in the unified database table;

a metrics processing program operable to generate;

evaluated tax key performance indicators based upon the unified tax performance data;

evaluated tax objectives based upon the evaluated key performance indicators; and

multiple different tax perspectives based upon the evaluated tax objectives;

and wherein the processor is operable to generate a tax scorecard display comprising;

a tax scorecard window for at least one of the tax perspectives, each tax scorecard window comprising a tax perspective analysis display comprising;

a tax perspective status indicator summarizing the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window;

at least one of the evaluated tax objectives underlying the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window; and

at least one of the evaluated tax key performance indicators underlying the evaluated tax objective which in turn underlies the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window.

15. The data processing system of claim 14, where a drill down link to a tax key performance indicator report that comprises tax key performance indicator dimensions that contribute to the tax key performance indicator.

16. The data processing system of claim 14, where the network interface receives the first tax data performance set from a first tax data provider and receives the second tax data performance set from a different second tax data provider.

17. The data processing system of claim 14, where the shared data dimension comprises:

an identified data dimension present in the first dimension set but not in the second dimension set, and where;

the processor stores in the shared data dimension actual tax data present in the first tax performance data set when the first tax performance data set is received, and stores default data in the shared data dimension when the second tax performance data set is received.

18. The data processing system of claim 14, where the shared data dimension comprises a currency, reporting unit, company organization, or market data dimension.

19. The data processing system of claim 14, where the tax scorecard display comprises a ‘

tax excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax finance excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax business process excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax employee excellence’

tax scorecard window, or any combination thereof.

20. The data processing system of claim 14, where the evaluated tax key performance indicators include an effective tax rate indicator and a tax budget indicator.

21. The data processing system of claim 14, where the evaluated tax key performance indicators include an income before taxes indicator and a rating agency liquidity ratio indicator.

22. A product comprising:

a machine readable medium; and

instructions stored on the medium for execution by a processor in a tax reporting data processing system, the instructions causing the processor to;

generate evaluated tax key performance indicators based upon tax performance data;

generate evaluated tax objectives based upon the evaluated key performance indicators;

generate multiple different tax perspectives based upon the evaluated tax objectives; and

generate a tax scorecard display comprising;

a tax scorecard window for each of the tax perspectives, each tax scorecard window comprising;

a tax perspective status indicator summarizing the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window;

at least one of the evaluated tax objectives underlying the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window; and

at least one of the evaluated tax key performance indicators underlying the evaluated tax objective which in turn underlies the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window.

23. The product of claim 22, where the tax scorecard display comprises a ‘

tax excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax finance excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax business process excellence’

scorecard window, a ‘

tax employee excellence’

scorecard window, or any combination thereof.

24. The product of claim 22, where the key performance indicators comprise an effective tax rate indicator and an effective tax budget indicator.

25. The product of claim 24, where the key performance indicators comprise an income before taxes indicator and a rating agency liquidity ratio indicator.

26. The product of claim 25, where the key performance indicators comprise an active processes indicator and a completed processes indicator.

27. The product of claim 22, where the key performance indicators comprise an allocation of time indicator, a communication indicator, a performance feedback indicator, a professional growth indicator, or any combination thereof.

28. The product of claim 22, where the tax performance data comprises actual and forecasted tax data.

29. The product of claim 22, where the tax performance data is arranged by multiple dimensions including a reporting unit dimension and a company organization dimension.

30. A method of monitoring tax data and presenting analysis via a data processing system, the method comprising:

generating evaluated tax key performance indicators based upon the tax performance data;

generating evaluated tax objectives based upon the evaluated key performance indicators;

generating multiple different tax perspectives based upon the evaluated tax objectives; and

generating a tax scorecard display comprising;

a tax scorecard window for each of the tax perspectives, each tax scorecard window comprising;

a tax perspective status indicator summarizing the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window;

at least one of the evaluated tax objectives underlying the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window; and

at least one of the evaluated tax key performance indicators underlying the evaluated tax objective which in turn underlies the tax perspective for that tax scorecard window.

31. The method of claim 30, where generating a tax scorecard display comprises:

generating a tax excellence perspective scorecard window, a tax finance perspective scorecard window, or both.

32. The method of claim 31, where generating a tax scorecard display further comprises:

generating a tax business process excellence perspective scorecard window, a tax employee excellence perspective scorecard window, or both.

33. The method of claim 30, where at least one of the tax scorecard windows further comprises a drill down link to a tax key performance indicator report.

34. The method of claim 33, where the tax key performance indicator report comprises an evaluated tax key performance indicator dimension which contributes to the evaluated tax key performance indicator.

35. The method of claim 30, further comprising:

displaying a tax scorecard portal page;

accepting a user name and a password; and

providing remote access to the tax scorecard display through the portal page.