HSP blog

Read inspiring and informative articles on topics such as documentation, tax compliance, digitalisation and sustainability.

## News and insights for businesses and law firms.

Read inspiring articles on topics such as documentation, tax compliance, digitalisation and sustainability.
## Tax compliance and small and medium-sized enterprises: Is the legislator out of touch with reality?(../../en/tax-compliance-and-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/index.html)

Last week, I spoke to tax adviser Torsten Stockem, a partner at the law firm Energiesozietät, about Section 38 of the EGAO. The law has been in place for several years now and deals with the trialling of alternative audit methods. During our conversation, Torsten and I realised that there are many fascinating aspects surrounding the law and the section in question.

By [Maori Kunigo](../../en/author/maori/index.md)\|2026-10-21T15:19:09\+02:00 22 October 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/tax-compliance-and-small-and-medium-sized-enterprises/index.md)
## First build a risk-control matrix in Excel, then look for software – how daft is that?(../../en/iks-excel-alternative/index.html)

Open Excel, pop in the risks, add the controls. Specify a probability of occurrence from 1 to 5, then the potential loss. Then quickly throw in a formula for the risk score, add some traffic-light colours, and your ‘ICS light’ is ready. Or ‘TCMS light’. Or is it? This is how many managers in companies think. It sounds pragmatic, but it often isn’t. Because this doesn’t just create a list. It already defines structures, assessment criteria, responsibilities and working methods.

By [Paul Liese](../../en/author/p-liese/index.md)\|2026-09-28T15:40:36\+02:00 1 October 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/iks-excel-alternative/index.md)
## TCMS Talk with Torsten Stockem: the biggest misconception about AI in tax compliance(../../en/tcms-with-ai-the-biggest-logical-fallacy/index.html)

Last Wednesday, on our programme „hsp live at 11“, I spoke with Torsten Stockem, a tax adviser and partner at the firm Energiesozietät, about the opportunities offered by AI in TCMS. The discussion centred on the wide range of opportunities that the use of AI tools offers professionals when setting up and maintaining a tax compliance management system.

By [Maori Kunigo](../../en/author/maori/index.md)\|2026-09-28T11:00:06\+02:00 18 September 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/tcms-with-ai-the-biggest-logical-fallacy/index.md)
## Tax Compliance with AI: How artificial intelligence supports an effective TCMS(../../en/creating-tcms-with-ai/index.html)

To many companies, a Tax Compliance Management System – or TCMS for short – initially sounds like extra paperwork, consultancy costs and new obligations. Where should one start? Who is responsible for setting it up? And how can this be managed at all alongside day-to-day business operations?

By [Maori Kunigo](../../en/author/maori/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:59:58\+02:00 10 September 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/creating-tcms-with-ai/index.md)
## Why many people want to know where a corporation makes its money and where it pays tax(../../en/public-country-by-country-reporting-pcbcr-explained-simply/index.html)

We’re all familiar with them: multinational corporations. They sell products in Germany, operate a company in France, employ staff in Spain, have a branch in Ireland, and run further companies here and there outside the EU. At the end of the year, we look at their annual report and find out: what was the turnover? How much profit was made?

By [Maori Kunigo](../../en/author/maori/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:59:50\+02:00 3 September 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/public-country-by-country-reporting-pcbcr-explained-simply/index.md)
## From a missing key to perfect process documentation?(../../en/process-documentation-shared-understanding/index.html)

Did you know that virtually every child can demonstrate just how important it is to keep an up-to-date record of what happens? This is exactly what happened to a colleague who couldn’t find his keys one morning. Hadn’t he put his bunch of keys on the shelf in the hall the night before, as usual?

By [Maori Kunigo](../../en/author/maori/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:59:14\+02:00 27 August 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/process-documentation-shared-understanding/index.md)
## How tax firms are helping their clients go digital – and reaping the benefits themselves(../../en/how-tax-firms-are-helping-their-clients-go-digital-and-reaping-the-benefits-themselves/index.html)

Anyone working in the field of tax consultancy today has been experiencing a noticeable shift over the past few years. This is not just down to the wave of digitalisation that swept through Germany during the pandemic. The requirements of many clients are also changing. At a time when many software providers and app developers are automating repetitive tax and accounting tasks, companies expect more from a tax consultancy.

By [Paul Liese](../../en/author/p-liese/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:59:05\+02:00 20 August 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/how-tax-firms-are-helping-their-clients-go-digital-and-reaping-the-benefits-themselves/index.md)
## What does a tax compliance management system have to do with a lost car key?(../../en/what-does-a-tax-compliance-management-system-have-to-do-with-a-lost-car-key/index.html)

There are those moments when you think to yourself: ‘That can’t possibly happen.’ And then it does: you’re standing in front of the lift in the office block, the doors open, everything as usual. A quick step forwards, your car key loosely in your hand – and suddenly it slips from your fingers. A faint metallic clink. A brief pause. And then that glance downwards: the key is gone. Vanished. Into the gap between the lift and the floor, exactly three centimetres wide.

By [Paul Liese](../../en/author/p-liese/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:58:58\+02:00 6 August 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/what-does-a-tax-compliance-management-system-have-to-do-with-a-lost-car-key/index.md)
## Is Tax CMS worthless? Why the journey is more important than the destination(../../en/tax-cms-worthless-why-the-journey-is-more-important-than-the-destination/index.html)

Time and again in consultancy meetings, I find that prospective clients proudly show me the risk-control matrix they have already drawn up. And then comes the question of how they might „fit“ this into Opti.Tax. The problem is that these ‘make-a-wish’ TCMS are completely worthless, as they aren’t derived from the actual processes.

By [Paul Liese](../../en/author/p-liese/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:58:49\+02:00 22 July 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/tax-cms-worthless-why-the-journey-is-more-important-than-the-destination/index.md)
## Another file? How the pension file puts files to rest(../../en/adds-another-file-such-as-the-contingency-file-to-the-existing-files/index.html)

There are many things in life that make you think: „I definitely need more of that.“ Holidays, for example. Or coffee. Perhaps Wi-Fi on the train, too. And then there are things that instantly make you think the opposite. Right at the top of this list: files. And, as we all know, Germany has a special relationship with files. There are personnel files, tax files, medical records, building plans, The X-Files and probably, somewhere, a file about your files.

By [Paul Liese](../../en/author/p-liese/index.md)\|2026-09-28T10:58:41\+02:00 9 July 2026\|

[Read More](../../en/adds-another-file-such-as-the-contingency-file-to-the-existing-files/index.md)

1

| [2](../../en/blog/page/2/index.md) | [Next](../../en/blog/page/2/index.md) |