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Are you purchasing a new corporate tax software product, but apprehensive about selecting the right solution for your needs?

Choosing the right tax software system for your organisation is a daunting, time-consuming and expensive process that is out of the comfort zone and experience of many Tax Managers and Financial Accountants.

The major tax software products on the market are extremely complex systems with many different strengths and weaknesses.  Making the wrong choice can be an expensive mistake that may result in lost productivity, low staff morale and damage to your professional reputation.

How can Lyon Solutions help?

Duncan Lyon has spent most of the last 20 years working for the Big 4 Accounting Firms, designing and selling tax software solutions to large organisations.  He has a deep understanding of the capabilities and weaknesses of the available tax  software products in the marketplace.

His strong corporate tax and finance background allow him to understand your business requirements and explain options to you in plain English.

Using our inside knowledge and experience of the tax software market, Lyon Solutions can provide you with independent advice on choosing the right tax solution for your needs and assist you with negotiating licence fees, implementation costs and other contract terms.

Lyon Solutions can also project manage your software implementation and assist in the design of new business processes to make the best use of your technology investment.

Contact us today to obtain expert independent advice on the right tax software solution for your needs.

Sydney, NSW 24 July 2007 — Lyon Solution Services (LSS) has provided valuable advice to Lion Nathan Limited on streamlining its systems and processes to capture and analyse GL transactions for FBT and Income Tax purposes.
LSS performed a comprehensive review of the end-to-end systems and processes used to capture and analyse GL transactions for tax purposes, including its Ariba procurement and MFG/PRO General Ledger systems.
LSS also reviewed Lion Nathan’s in-house systems to track and capture fringe benefits and entertainment expenses relating to the numerous events sponsored by Tooheys, Castlemaine XXXX and the group’s other premium brands.

Natasha Thompson, Lion Nathan’s Tax Manager commented “As a good corporate citizen, Lion Nathan upholds stringent standards in meeting its tax and FBT compliance obligations. However, due to manual inefficiencies in our current systems and processes, our Business Services Team was wasting a substantial amount of time collating information and preparing Income Tax and FBT calculations. By implementing the recommendations made by Lyon Solution Services we are aiming to halve our Income Tax and FBT compliance burden.”

About Lyon Solution Services

Lyon Solution Services Pty Limited was founded by Managing Director, Duncan Lyon. LSS works with large corporations to streamline and control their group tax operations by improving tax processes and systems, evaluating, selecting and rolling out effective technology solutions. LSS is based in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.lyonsolutions.com.au.

The 142 page Minerals Resource Rent Tax Bill 2011 passed through the House of Representatives on 23 November 2011, commencing on 1 July 2012.

This only leaves around seven months to design, test and roll out major and  complex upgrades to corporate tax reporting and compliance systems.

The “double tax” nature of the MRRT requires a major redesign and overhaul of deferred tax calculations and tax accounting systems, which the current commercial tax software packages are ill-equipped to handle.

Lyon Solution Services has the project management, tax and solution design skills you need to keep your Mining Tax under control.

Sydney, NSW 11 April 2007 — Lyon Solution Services (LSS) played a key role in the successful design and implementation of a new Tax Information Management system for the Wealth Management Division of National Australia Bank Limited  (NAB).

LSS assisted NAB in designing the Business Solution for their ambitious multi-million dollar project that has streamlined and controlled the Superannuation and Life Company tax compliance obligations of the bank.

The project directly impacted six major systems, including the Oracle General Ledger, unit pricing and several policy administration systems, and introduced a powerful new set of tools to automate the preparation of the consolidated life company income tax return.

Sonia Morris, Head of Tax – Wealth Management Australia NAB, commended LSS‘s contribution “Duncan Lyon played an important role in the successful delivery of our extremely complex and challenging tax project by assisting us in clearly articulating the end-to-end business solution and helping us bridge the communication gap between the Business Stakeholders and the Technology team.”

About Lyon Solution Services

Lyon Solution Services Pty Limited was founded by Managing Director, Duncan Lyon. LSS works with large corporations to streamline and control their group tax operations by improving tax processes and systems, evaluating, selecting and rolling out effective technology solutions. LSS is based in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.lyonsolutions.com.au.

Source:  IT Business Edge

Date Published: 28/9/2006

With Duncan Lyon, Managing Director of Lyon Solution Services (LSS).  LSS specializes in working with large corporations to streamline and control the compliance and reporting processes of corporate tax functions, with expertise on the transition to tax reporting under the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley.

Question: What are the International Financial Reporting Standards and how do they relate to Sarbanes-Oxley?

Lyon: The IFRS are accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that determine how corporations calculate and report their financial results. Historically, each country has adopted its own set, and the accounting “rules” for any two countries often contained major differences. For example, an American company reporting under both the U.S. and UK accounting standards could produce two completely different profit figures for the same year because of differences in the two countries’ accounting requirements.

IFRS is being adopted by most of the world’s major  economies, and the U.S. is working to harmonize its accounting standards (U.S. GAAP) with IFRS. Once IFRS is adopted globally, it will bring much needed consistency to reported financial data and allow better flow of investment capital across national borders.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act imposes stringent financial reporting requirements on companies doing business in the U.S., including the establishment and certification of internal controls for the calculation and reporting of financial results.

In summary, IFRS is concerned with the accounting rules used to compute and report financial results. SOX is concerned with the process and controls around the maintenance of accounting records and preparation of accurate financial reports.

Question: What are the key obstacles for companies attempting to comply with these standards?

Lyon: The excessive burden and costs imposed on corporations to comply with SOX are well known but, despite recent pleas from big business, there appears to be little political motivation to relax the onerous requirements in the medium-term. On top of this, many large corporations are now having to overhaul their financial reporting processes and systems to report under IFRS, often in parallel with existing reporting requirements under U.S. GAAP. This is putting further pressure on over-stretched financial and IT resources.

The corporate tax functions of large corporations are under particular pressure. The tax systems of large corporations were highlighted as having the largest number of internal control weaknesses in the first year of audit reports under Sarbanes-Oxley. Under-funded tax cost centres have typically placed heavy reliance on unreliable spreadsheet technology and manual processes to prepare complex tax calculations and reports. In addition, the new tax reporting rules under IFRS require a fundamental change in reporting systems, processes and understanding for many organizations. The spotlight on corporate tax functions to comply with SOX and IFRS provides an ideal opportunity for a business case to invest in new systems and processes. However, tax managers with a technical background often lack the resources,  experience and skills to plan and manage the necessary changes.

Question: How does LSS determine what to recommend to a new client in terms of overcoming those obstacles?

Lyon: We start by working with senior management and stakeholders to assess their goals and objectives, identify current weaknesses and bottlenecks and draw up a strategic plan for change. We then work with the organisation to action the change program with a range of services, including project management, selection and implementation of new tax technology solutions and establishment of effective internal controls and procedures.

Tax can represent over 40% of reported corporate earnings, but tax systems were highlighted as having the largest number of internal control weaknesses in the first year of audit reports under Sarbanes-Oxley. Lyon Solution Services has launched a new service to help big business meet tax compliance obligations and streamline tax operations to provide timely and accurate tax data to support critical business decisions.

Sydney, NSW 23 September 2006 — In response to growing demand, Lyon Solution Services Pty Limited (LSS) has launched an independent service for large corporates seeking to streamline and control their corporate tax reporting and compliance operations.

Managing Director, Duncan Lyon explains “The recent transition to IFRS and the drive to comply with Sarbanes-Oxley and other corporate governance regulations have highlighted major internal control weaknesses and inefficiencies in the tax reporting and compliance functions of many large corporations.

Also, in-house corporate tax groups often struggle to provide timely and accurate tax information to Group Finance and the Board to support critical business decisions. Group Tax Managers lack the time, resources and specialist skills needed to address these concerns.

LSS provides the expertise and resources to transform group tax teams into responsive and efficient operations. LSS adopts a strategic approach by working with key stakeholders to determine priorities and deliver the most effective solution for each business.”

Lyon notes that operating separately from the Big 4  Accounting Firms “allows us to offer a personal and  economical service without concern for audit independence conflicts.”

LSS draws on over 20 years’ experience in working with the Big 4 Accounting Firms and large business in designing and  supplying tax technology and process solutions.

About Lyon Solution Services

Lyon Solution Services Pty Limited was founded by Managing Director, Duncan Lyon. LSS works with large corporations to streamline and control their group tax operations by improving tax processes and systems, evaluating, selecting and rolling out effective technology solutions. LSS is based in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.lyonsolutions.com.au.

Sydney, NSW 18 September 2006 — Lyon Solution Services (LSS) is pleased to announce the launch of a new service aimed at streamlining and controlling the corporate tax reporting and compliance functions of large businesses.

Duncan Lyon, Managing Director of LSS, says that “despite high investment in technology and systems to handle tax consolidation, IFRS and BAS in recent years, there are still clearly a large number of bottlenecks and internal control weaknesses in the tax compliance and reporting functions of big businesses.

Many of the technology solutions implemented have not delivered the returns that were promised and corporate tax staff are compensating with manual workarounds and unreliable spreadsheet-based solutions.”

LSS provides an independent consulting service to determine the goals and objectives of a corporate tax function and to prepare and deliver on a practical plan for streamlining and controlling its tax operations.

About Lyon Solution Services

Lyon Solution Services Pty Limited was founded by Managing Director, Duncan Lyon. LSS works with large corporations to streamline and control their group tax operations by improving tax processes and systems, evaluating, selecting and rolling out effective technology solutions. LSS is based in Sydney, Australia. For more information, please visit www.lyonsolutions.com.au.