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Crises don’t send calendar invites. From regulatory shocks and economic downturns to cyber incidents and corporate restructures, the unexpected is always around the corner. In this environment, the tax team’s ability to respond swiftly, smartly, and strategically is a critical business asset.
In-house tax teams are no longer background players. They're embedded in core decision-making, commercial planning, and enterprise risk management. As our In-house Tax Technology Report 2025 makes clear, the teams that thrive are not just compliant. They’re creative, collaborative, and resilient.
Tax teams are facing an unprecedented level of complexity. Globalisation, evolving regulation, and rapid digital acceleration are reshaping the tax landscape. Nearly half (44%) of in-house professionals cite keeping up with tax updates as their top challenge for 2025.
Resilience isn’t about weathering the storm. It’s about building the systems, skills, and culture to respond proactively.
“Today’s tax teams need to be agile and commercially focused,” says Jonathan Scriven of LexisNexis, “with the skills to navigate cross-border complexity, digital systems, and fast-changing regulations.”
Lean teams, tight deadlines, and rising expectations leave little room for rigid processes. Tax leaders must look at crisis preparation through a lens of agility, automating routine tasks, embedding digital tools, and enabling faster responses.
Stephen Payne, Head of Tax at LVMH UK and Belmond, explains:
“We’ve automated workflows to free up time for higher-value work. That flexibility lets us focus on risks and opportunities, not just outputs.”
This mindset is essential when time is tight and stakes are high. Teams that can pivot fast are better equipped to advise in volatile situations, from last-minute legislative changes to M&A deals, disputes, or audits.
Crisis often exposes cracks in outdated systems. Whether it’s scrambling for data during a surprise audit or managing compliance during an economic shock, your tech infrastructure matters.
And tax teams know it. Over half (51%) expect tech skills to become more important, while 41% anticipate a rise in tax tech budgets this year.
But tech alone doesn’t build resilience. It must be understood, embedded, and used effectively. Peter Dobson at Amey puts it succinctly:
“Architecture gets the fundamentals right so operations can be efficiently and effectively delivered.”
During a crisis, slow communication is a liability. Yet 32% of tax professionals describe cross-departmental collaboration as slow or very slow.
When tax can’t engage IT, finance, and operations effectively, risk escalates. That’s why building strong stakeholder relationships before a crisis is crucial.
“Tax is no longer siloed,” says Payne. “We’re working more closely with other departments than ever before to address complex issues that impact the wider business.”
Regular touchpoints, shared tools, and joint planning sessions are small investments that pay big dividends in a crisis.
Resilience isn’t just about having one strong leader. It’s about empowering the whole team. As tax roles evolve, even junior staff are expected to prompt, review, and interpret AI-generated outputs.
Encouraging ownership, promoting initiative, and providing leadership training across the team helps ensure that no matter who’s in the room, your team can respond.
When asked about top traits in tax leaders, survey respondents named communication, attention to detail, and commercial awareness. These aren’t just crisis traits. They’re everyday essentials for building team-wide confidence and clarity.
Scenario planning is a valuable tool for anticipating disruptions and clarifying roles, responsibilities, and responses.
Start by identifying likely crisis scenarios (e.g., data breach, major tax reform, system failure). Then create playbooks that outline:
In times of stress, clear playbooks remove ambiguity and boost confidence.
In a world of compounding complexity and rapid change, the most successful in-house tax teams are those that combine rigour with resilience. They prepare thoroughly, respond calmly, and emerge stronger.
Resilience isn’t built overnight. But with the right technology, team culture, workflows, and leadership, your tax function can be a stabilising force during uncertainty, and a strategic asset during recovery.