Innovate Tax Appoints Eddie Reijners to Head New Division

This month marks an exciting new era for Innovate Tax with the appointment of renowned tax expert, Eddie Reijners. Reijners’ addition to the Innovate Tax management team comes as it capitalises on its huge success over the past twelve months in transforming the way indirect tax automation is approached, implemented and supported in Oracle (ERP).

Andrew Bohnet, founder and managing director of Innovate Tax, said of Reijner’s appointment:

“With Eddie joining the team, it allows us to move forward from just being known as the Oracle ERP tax experts and allow us to work across all ERP solutions and 3rd party tax engines’ offerings.”

Bohnet’s passion for innovation within tax technology industry is well documented, having become one of the most frequently sought-after speakers and thought leaders on the international tax circuit. His authority within the field of tax technology has garnered much attention from organisations and potential clients alike, who, until now, were previously outside the scope of Innovate Tax’s target segment, due to using SAP rather than Oracle ERP. Reijner’s appointment, however, changes all of that.

In his appointment, Reijners brings with him a trove of skills and industry experience. His rare combination of specialist knowledge of multiple ERPs and multi-jurisdictional indirect tax expertise effectively dissolves any limitations previously faced by Innovate Tax when developing ‘non-Oracle’ solutions.

Based in the Netherlands, Reijners integrates into Innovate Tax’s already global presence in a more refined demographic. Eddie’s prior appointments as ‘Programme Leader – Director Tax Engine Centre of Excellence’, at General Electric and Senior Manager at PwC will bring an extra degree of proficiency to the vastly expanding company.

On joining Innovate Tax, Reijners said:

“Whilst working at GE I got to know Andrew and was very impressed by Innovate’s solution for Oracle. Innovate Tax’s impressive deployment methodology and post-install support was appealing for a multi-national conglomerate such as GE, as it focused on the best indirect tax solution for us and the benefit to GE’s Tax team.

This client-centric approach was a refreshing outlook, and one I am very much interested in being a part of now that I have joined the Innovate team.”

Reijners will focus on the development of a new sister division to run alongside Innovate Tax’s existing Oracle eBTax operation, under the anticipated name of ‘Innovate Tax Tech Advisory and Procurement’. The diversification aims to advance new opportunities for Innovate Tax through its diligence on entry to the market - in competing for tax projects that are regulating on any software - whilst avoiding disruption to the current Oracle focused team.

Eddie’s expertise spans an impressive twenty-five plus years, predominantly within tax technology, making him uniquely qualified to spearhead this new business venture. His background also includes Oracle and SAP, as well as vast 3^rd party tax engine practice, most notably the Thomson Reuters ‘OneSource’ tax engine – in which Eddie was heavily involved in the technical development.

On the future of tax technology, Reijners feels optimistic:

“Technology has come a long way since I started in IT in 1994, when still working on greenscreens, phone with wires, modems that beeped! I see a very bright future for tax technology, with companies realising they need more control on their tax frameworks and to have the ability to quickly adopt new legislations, or the need to move quickly into new economic territories. For that reason – and many more besides - it's very important for businesses to invest in a solid, controllable tax technology solution.”

Harkening back to its inception, Bohnet said of Innovate Tax:

“When I started out in setting up the business, I did so because of the severe lack of true tax technology skills in the market. I have taken my passion and drive to continue to push the boundaries of what and how tax technology should be done within ERP solutions.”

With Eddie Reijners officially in post, Innovate Tax strengthens its resolve to innovate within tax, whilst looking forward to an even more prosperous future.