About Us

 

What is Taxology?

Taxology is the study of "digital & enterprise technolgies in tax". It examines the fundamental concepts & principles that underpin these new capabilities and makes them available to today's tax industry professionals working in today's corporate environments.

The basic tenets of taxology are:

  1. Good enterprise tax solutions are constructed, not installed
  2. Tax business sculpts the use of technology; technology amplifies the scope of business
  3. 'Data' is the lifeblood of corporate-wide tax solutions and defines its effectiveness
  4. Organizational innovation is both a prerequisite for, and a consequence of, effective taxology
  5. Taxology is different, a non-trivial body of knowledge, and a distinct skill set.

An expert in taxology is called a taxologist. A taxologist is separate from a tax technologist, who is an expert in tax technology tools. The flow is:

Tax Manager <> Taxologist <> Tax Technologist <> IT Service Technician

A good taxologist is well-versed in the nuances of tax technology governance, control, and adoption that typically escape non-specialists. This is a prerequisite for high-quality tax transformation, and improving on the backward-looking process automation that is common in its absence.

Taxologists are highly-skilled, capable leaders with broad experience. Within the organization, they are instrumental to socializing aspects of innovation, refining objectives and verifying structures for fulfilment. They partner with tax business and IT service management as coordinator & master-builder, in the same way an architect oversees a bricks 'n' mortar construction site.

That said, all stakeholders, including senior tax leadership, need a basic understanding of taxology to prevent digitalization's success criteria being overlooked and its elevated possibilities undermined. A journey then unfolds that must be travelled by every tech-enabled, data-driven tax department of today and tomorrow.

Why does it matter?

Digitalization is rebooting the rules of the game in tax and the players must learn new skills. This can be tough because like rebuilding your golf swing, you have to unlearn a few things first.

The market is generally unhelpful in this regard. Compelled by commercial reality, it must pander to current mindsets and deliver what customers want, even when they might need something else to be more successful. Stubborn corporate environments mired in old habits can also be a killer, that is:

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast."    -- attributed to Peter Drucker

Yet, meaningful breakthroughs start with the right knowledge, and tax is running out of time. Methods like Agile and platforms help, but still require stakeholders to be grounded in new competencies and adept at being digitally-aware, tech-savvy, and data literate. Taxology matters because it provides the know-how & vision to get ahead in this game.

That makes the PawPaw Taxology and TPA Global & e-Bright partnership unique. Our training is independent and our services offer a risk-free way to explore the new thinking first. To ensure your next initiative is founded upon solid digital-era principles, join us.

Learn more ...

Who are PawPaw Taxology?

Geoff Peck
Founder & Chief Taxologist

London, UK

Geoff_croppedGeoff has been immersed in enterprise tax solutions at global majors for more than twenty years. With a solid academic background and experience of working across Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa, Geoff excels as thought leader and practitioner in the planning, architecture and governance of end-to-end corporate tax systems. Prior to third-party global tax engines, Geoff built three tax engines and later founded a boutique consultancy that briefly became the largest in the world dedicated to new-age tax technologies. Geoff is the principal author behind the unique Tax Technology Insight Series and a regular blogger, speaker and adviser to tax & tax technology leadership at major corporations.

Bill Wilson
Founder & Business Development

Los Angeles, USA

Bill is a globally minded business leader with in-depth experience of cross-functional and cross-cultural teams at major corporations in highly competitive markets. Bill has worked in industries such as healthcare, financial services and automotive on four continents, and is well known for master-minding systems and best practices that deliver sustained growth through improved corporate visibility and image. Bill has demonstrated a career long commitment to top quality products and services backed by world class customer support. Prior to co-founding PawPaw Taxology, Bill ran his own business consulting and financial services businesses.

Geoff Peck and Bill Wilson met in Johannesburg over 30 years ago, and while their careers eventually took them to Europe and the USA respectively, Africa left an indelible mark on their hearts.

So, while forming a business together, their choice of benevolent cause was simple – the conservation of the rapidly dwindling wildlife of southern Africa. They support several great organizations dedicated to wilderness protection and eliminating poaching in that amazing part of the world. Please explore them below, escaping (for a few minutes) the enigmatic world of tax technology.