CATHERINE QUIRKE: A PASSIONATE LEADER REFRESHING THE TAXATION INDUSTRY WITH TECH-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS

Integrity and passion are two major elements of an impactful leader who possess the power to influence the people around them. They are the ones who are considered the backbone of an organization. 

Business Talk is a great appreciator of leaders and executives with brilliant mindsets and unique business models. We have a great history of featuring numerous exemplary C-suite executives and their innovative and up-to-the-mark breakthroughs. And here again, we are back with another inspiring tale of passion and dedication by narrating the success story of Catherine Quirke, the CEO of Taxback International. Our editorial team had an interesting and amazing virtual meet with the visionary leader of the company. Catherine shared numerous unknown facts about the company and their overall entrepreneurial journey so far. Catherine Quirke’s dedication highly moved us to feature her in our exclusive edition – ‘Innovators with the Most Creative Breakthroughs in 2022.’ We truly hope that this fascinating read will add some extra value to the lives of our global readership panel and encourage them to break barriers and chase their dreams.

THE COMPANY PORTFOLIO

For a detailed introduction, our team asked Catherine to shine some light on the portfolio of the company, she replied, “Established in 1996 as part of the Taxback Group, Taxback International is a global corporation specializing in VAT Compliance and Recovery solutions. Taxback International has a global footprint encompassing over 30 offices worldwide covering Europe, Australasia, the United States, and Russia and a staff of over 1200. Taxback International was initially founded to provide VAT reclaim services to Events and Conferencing companies. However, with the place of supply rule changes introduced in 2010, we had to pivot the business in other directions. We started to focus more on VAT reclaim for corporate businesses, specifically around business travel. To do this effectively, we realized we would need to build out technology to automate the process to ensure we captured every single transaction. We partnered with the major Expense Management providers to get access to our client’s expense transaction data and corresponding invoices. We did this by building integrations into these partner platforms to automate the transfer of the data. We were the first VAT provider to do this over 10 years ago.”

Soon the team developed the world’s first automated VAT recovery solution, VATConnect. The platform automated the review of transactional data and images through AI and Machine Learning, which means they could recover VAT on even the smallest of receipts. Clients, for the first time, had full visibility of their overall global VAT reclaim potential and could easily monitor their compliance rates and accurately forecast their VAT recovery amounts. 

In addition, they introduced a Continuous Improvement Program, that adds extra value for its clients along with making it a leader in the sphere. This enabled the company to work with clients to introduce educational programs to their employees to increase compliance rates for future claims. 

“In parallel, we were also developing a unique platform to support our VAT Compliance clients. This has now evolved into the Comply platform that we see today. Like our VAT Reclaim solution, Comply is the first of its kind on the market, developed by VAT experts for VAT experts. We operate in over 20 languages through our 24-hour European Central Processing Centre and offer our platforms, website, and customer support center in multiple languages. We have a highly experienced team of VAT researchers and specialists with extensive knowledge of both EU and non-EU VAT laws and regulations. Taxback International invest heavily in research and development, constantly working to deliver innovation to our clients and partners and expanding our solution to provide new services in new areas so that we can scale and meet the requirements of the largest organizations in the world.” Catherine adds.

Given the challenges Covid-19 has inflicted on global organizations, the organization has adapted to ensure it is flexible in meeting the changing requirements of its clients. With over 12,500 existing clients, they work with some of the largest companies in the world, including Apple, Google, IBM, P&G, and Facebook, representing them on a global scale with their VAT compliance obligations. Taxback International has enjoyed an average growth rate of 50% over the last 6 years, and that growth rate is forecast to continue as the company significantly grows in the market. 

Developing a feedback loop within an organization is the key to developing new models and processes through which the company can ensure innovation efforts and perspectives are evaluated and implemented within its operational structure. As Catherine points out, “When new ways of doing things are introduced in our business, whether that is an internal process or a tech element, it is done gradually. Regular evaluations and feedback are required from team members to see what’s working and what’s not and, importantly, where improvements can be made.”

WHAT IS SO UNIQUE ABOUT TAXBACK INTERNATIONAL?

The process and tools to evaluate the creative capacity of the company entirely focus on creating an environment where employees can feel creative and get opportunities to explore the market. This means allowing for mistakes, growth, and adaptation. The goal is not necessarily instant success – though that is always welcome – but ultimately about working together to create new unique ideas. 

One of the major USPs of the company is its R&D process. Over the past two years, significant resources have been invested within Taxback International to ensure its products and services are the best in class. This has ranged not only from the hiring of key personnel (product managers, designers, and technology experts) to professional collaboration with AWS (Amazon Web Services). Its newest technology platform, Comply, is a groundbreaking platform within the VAT industry, addressing many of the key problems people have seen arise again and again. Though the team initially conceived of the idea two years ago, it has taken significant trials and testing to provide a product to clients that is as robust and dynamic as they can create.  Throwing some light on the reality of balancing speed, resources, and learning, Catherine admits, “Unfortunately, there’s no tried-and-true way to balance all three. If there was, everybody would be doing it. So, for companies to grow while developing their internal processes, agility and flexibility are required. This comes back to hiring team members you trust and allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them.” 

A COMPANY FLOURISHES WITH CULTURE 

The culture of the company is one of the most important things company leaders must keep their focus on to ensure a smooth process of the business. The team of Taxback International truly believes that collaboration is the key to innovation. This means that every project needs the interdependency of several specialist teams to get a 360-degree view. This increased volume of viewpoints creates the maximum opportunity for diverse voices to be heard and means every challenge has a greater chance of being overcome ahead of time. 

Catherine further clarifies, “If a business is going to not only succeed but thrive, then it needs to develop an empowered workforce. This can only be done through building trust and confidence in the personalities and skillsets within the company. Once these are established it becomes easier for people within the company to take on more responsibility and to trust in those around them. After that, they can work together to create solutions to problems rather than dwelling on negatives. At Taxback International, we pride ourselves on being a company imbued with an entrepreneurial spirit. This stems right back to our beginnings and founder, Terry Clune, who founded his first company after spotting a gap in the market. This tradition of entrepreneurial endeavour has continued in the current company atmosphere of Taxback International. This goes back to empowering your employees to make decisions for themselves. As far as I can see, this is the only way for a business to grow and cultivate truly innovative ideas.”

TRANSFORMING CHALLENGES INTO OPPORTUNITIES

“The main challenge our customers present to us time and again is a lack of control and visibility on their global VAT compliance obligations. For large companies with multiple VAT registrations in multiple regions, using a combination of in-house teams and outsourced providers can mean there is a lack of visibility and control at a global level and can present lots of difficulties. This lack of visibility and control can often lead to missed submission deadlines and associated fines and penalties which is a constant worry for businesses. Other challenges include a lack of local tax knowledge and time spent keeping up with changing regulations, rules, and VAT rates. One of the biggest concerns facing businesses today is the continued adoption of digitization and real-time reporting around VAT compliance. Businesses need to be prepared and ready for this shift.”

Moreover, Catherine explains, “There’s also the very important issue of security and having a full audit trail of historic and current filings, data, and supporting documentation in one secure location. The general approach to VAT compliance is changing fast globally, and we could see there was nothing on the market to help businesses through this transition and into the future. Comply solves all of the above problems and more. We have over 20 years of experience building unique VAT compliance and VAT reclaim solutions, servicing some of the biggest companies in the world. We see the problems large businesses face every day. The combination of our extensive VAT expertise and in-house development teams put us in an ideal position to develop a game-changing platform that is transforming how businesses are thinking about and managing their VAT compliance obligations. 

Comply automates and simplifies VAT compliance for global organizations. In addition, our revolutionary payments technology enables tax office payments in local currencies and reconciliations within one platform. Comply delivers visibility and centralized control for VAT obligations in all jurisdictions. Comply eliminates the risk associated with global VAT obligations through the fully automated process from data validation to return preparation, review & approval to submission and payment of liabilities. Everything automated from start to finish in one single platform.” 

Shining some light on the difficult situations of the global pandemic, the exemplary leader says, “Like every other business, it took Taxback International time to adapt to COVID-19. Yet while there were disadvantages caused by the pandemic it also allowed us to reassess our market position. From this, we were able to make an appropriate yet significant pivot to our company model. Following detailed market research, we seized upon a niche opportunity to develop a robust VAT compliance platform – Comply. This was something the industry desperately needed and the market response to date has been incredibly positive. The pivot required hiring specialists and developing our existing teams to match our updated needs. This has only gone on to improve our company’s infrastructure, our market position, and additionally continue our entrepreneurial spirit.”

FUTURE ENDEAVOURS

The Taxback International team has scaled the success ladder at a brisk pace within its 25 year journey, but they are planning to take the organization to the next level with their futuristic ideas. When talking about the accolades and milestones achieved by the company and the leader, the list is extensive. Identifying some of the major moments that made her proud, Catherine asserts, “From my entire career, there are far too many to list. However, I am particularly proud of the pivot Taxback International took in the face of the pandemic. Though there was a huge challenge to our business, we assessed the market and successfully moved into the Financial Technology arena. To be part of a business that is now leading the way for global tax technologies is a very proud moment.”  

Over the coming years, Taxback International is planning to continue to solidify its position as a global hub of VAT consultancy, while expanding regions of operation and opening more local offices. Through continued expansion, they also want to offer their clients more comprehensive global services as well as expand their local network knowledge. 

“We will continue to attract highly qualified talent to our company to open new avenues for our business. With the easing of lockdown restrictions, too, we expect to see an increase in business travel so there will be a renewed focus on T&E VAT Reclaim. However, with the development of the Comply platform, we believe compliance is more than an obligation for our clients but a significantly valuable addition to their business.”

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