Many companies view their tax practice as generalists whom they can entrust with any matter. The reality, however, is somewhat different. Hardly any other sector deals with such a wide range of highly complex issues as tax consultancy. For smaller tax offices and firms in particular, it is virtually impossible to cover all these areas comprehensively and reliably. The taxlocater platform has been launched to make it easier to find specialists in specific tax areas. On „hsp live at 11“, hsp CEO Paul Liese spoke to Helena Schneider, founder of taxlocater.
Paul Liese and our interviewee, Helena Schneider, met at the StB Expo in Hamburg. Helena began her career as an economist: profitability calculations, numerical correlations, development analyses, process optimisation, and so on. She ended up in tax consultancy by chance. She was captivated by the subject of tax, as tax consultancy is complex, often illogical and constantly evolving. Now she wants to bring together tax professionals with businesses. To this end, she has set up the platform taxlocater founded.
The original idea came from co-founder Gerhard Schneider, who, as a tax adviser, knows how to address his clients’ problems – even beyond the spoken word. In the past, he has repeatedly called upon specialists to deal with specific issues. During the coronavirus pandemic, the search for specialist professionals shifted online. At the time, Helena was working intensively on digital business models. So it wasn’t long before she turned her attention to the new situation and set up an online platform to find experts.
For specific topics, specialist experts are the better choice
The role of tax advisers is moving towards that of a generalist. Clients turn to tax firms with all manner of problems. However, specialised professionals are needed to deal with specific scenarios, topics and issues. Companies looking for such a specialist can contact taxlocater. Conversely, specialists can showcase their skills to companies on the platform. Through her platform, Helena aims not only to connect people with expertise but also to highlight the fact that specific topics require specialists.
On taxlocater, businesses don’t just find tax advisers. The platform also connects users with other tax-related services and products, such as software and training courses. Companies should no longer have to scour the entire internet for information on these topics, but should be able to find everything on a single platform at a single address. As taxlocater is still quite new, the team is currently having to put a lot of effort into raising awareness of the platform. This includes Helena’s hope that more and more specialist tax professionals will sign up to the platform and offer their services. This encompasses not only tax advisers, but also tax clerks and other specialist professionals from the tax sector.
In future, taxlocater is set to evolve from a service that is little more than a search engine into an intelligent curator of relevant expert services. This means that companies should be able to find the right comprehensive package quickly and easily, rather than having to click through a list of search results. To this end, all modern technical possibilities are to be utilised. However, according to Helena, there is still a long way to go.
External support does not weaken one’s own position; rather, it strengthens it
Paul raises the concern, from the tax advisers’ perspective, that such a platform could lead to the loss of a client to a specialist tax professional. Helena counters that bringing in external support for a specific case does not call the client relationship into question as a whole. On the contrary, tax advisers who consult specialists on particular issues come across as more credible and reliable. This means that businesses can be confident that their tax advisers are always seeking the best solution for them – rather than simply trying to keep as large a slice of the pie as possible within their own firm. taxlocater can therefore also be used by tax firms to find specialist experts for specific cases.
For some time now, taxlocater has been publishing blog articles on a regular basis. Paul asks Helena whether these are produced in-house or written by external specialists. Helena replies that both are the case. Through these articles, the platform aims to draw companies’ attention to specific scenarios and cases where it would be advisable to engage a specialist.
German 
English