Electronic invoicing in the VAT reporting process of small and medium size companies in Finland
Rodarte Soto, Francisco (2015)
Rodarte Soto, Francisco
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2015
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015061013035
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2015061013035
Tiivistelmä
Organizations in both the private and public sectors strive to improve their organizational processes by utilizing information and communication technologies (ICTs). In the business to business (B2B) sector the sharing of information and data in real time has proven to be an essential strategy for improving business processes and facilitating activities along different businesses’ value chains. Despite the availability of technological resources and frameworks for integrating information among organizations, few governments and businesses integrate information sharing platforms on a business to government (B2G). A process such as reporting value added tax (VAT) requires interaction and sharing of information among businesses and governments.
The scope of this research is two-fold, first, to depict the processes and activities of VAT reporting including all organizations involved in the process; second, to analyze the impacts of electronic invoicing in the VAT reporting process for three SMEs operating in Finland. Both goals of the research were achieved by collecting qualitative data through questionnaires, interviews and secondary data with two accounting companies, two operators, three SMEs and one e-mail interview with the Finnish Tax Administration.
The results for the first research question are illustrated in a process map which shows the interaction of the firms involved in a VAT reporting process. Findings of the impact of e-invoice on the case companies illustrate that two case companies in the construction and manufacturing industries prefer not to utilize e-invoice because of its high costs for establishing an operator address. Additionally the most recognized burden for all the case companies when reporting VAT is the gathering and archiving of receipts for VAT reporting purposes.
The scope of this research is two-fold, first, to depict the processes and activities of VAT reporting including all organizations involved in the process; second, to analyze the impacts of electronic invoicing in the VAT reporting process for three SMEs operating in Finland. Both goals of the research were achieved by collecting qualitative data through questionnaires, interviews and secondary data with two accounting companies, two operators, three SMEs and one e-mail interview with the Finnish Tax Administration.
The results for the first research question are illustrated in a process map which shows the interaction of the firms involved in a VAT reporting process. Findings of the impact of e-invoice on the case companies illustrate that two case companies in the construction and manufacturing industries prefer not to utilize e-invoice because of its high costs for establishing an operator address. Additionally the most recognized burden for all the case companies when reporting VAT is the gathering and archiving of receipts for VAT reporting purposes.