Tax departments come to the fore as companies wrestle with corporate governance

The pre-eminence of the CFO in the company tax department is coming under threat as CEOs begin to take a keener interest in tax affairs due to corporate governance pressures, according to a survey by Ernst & Young. Of the 354 tax directors interviewed, more than half say they are seeing more direction coming from the CEO. And, while 62% of tax directors say their CFO is still responsible for tax decisions, 31% say that final policy and procedure approval are now in the hands, not of the CFO, but of the CEO and board.