Middle East Government Agency Modernizes Tax Platform for Enhanced Compliance & Efficiency

Industry: Banking and Financial Services | Services: Data & Analytics, Digital Operations

Client Overview

A Middle East government agency responsible for tax and customs duty collections sought to modernize its tax analytics platform. The legacy system—built in-house—lacked source traceability, had cumbersome troubleshooting, and risked instability, especially in onboarding new clients or adapting to evolving compliance mandates. Sutherland was engaged as a strategic partner to map a sustainable and modern architecture.

The Challenge

Modernizing Tax Systems for Optimal Compliance and Efficiency

The agency’s in-house tax calculation platform had multiple deficiencies: lack of source traceability for calculations, absence of parameterized reporting, difficulty troubleshooting, heavy maintenance burden due to copy-paste practices, occasional requirement for reverse-engineering code, and inability to onboard new clients reliably. These created high risk, reduced reliability, and obstructed efficient tax collection and management.

Sutherland Solution

Roadmap & Architecture Overhaul with Analytics Enablement

As a global leader in business and digital transformation, Sutherland was chosen as a strategic partner to bring an innovative solution to this client’s challenges. Sutherland’s expert team was quick to understand the client’s challenges as we:

1. Applied the D.I.C.E. (Data, Insights, Consultation, Execution) framework for assessing system health, data maturity, and platform risk. Delivered a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) status report to clarify priority areas.
2. Produced a detailed assessment with actionable project plans, timelines, and investment vs benefit analysis.
3. Designed an advanced architecture for a new analytics platform, ensuring parameterized reporting, source traceability, and robust governance. 
4. Included training and change-management components—coaching plan for adoption of new interactive dashboards

The Outcome

Enhanced Decision-Making, Regulatory Compliance & Operational Integrity

Post-transformation, the agency now benefits from stronger accountability in tax and customs collections, improved financial reporting accuracy, and streamlined risk reporting. Data governance is fortified; errors and manual, fragile maintenance processes are reduced; and the platform can support onboarding new clients reliably. Regulatory compliance is enhanced, audit clearance improved, and business operations optimized across revenue, risk, and cost functions.