CXO INSIGHT

Tell us a bit more about your business and how it started .

In 1979 , two visionaries in suburban Massachusetts sat at a kitchen table and brainstormed how to apply technology to the challenge of

calculating sales tax rates . Shortly thereafter , Sovos , as it is known today , was established .

Today , Sovos is a global provider of tax , compliance and trust solutions and services that helps businesses identify , determine and report on every tax transaction and obligation and is trusted by more than 100,000 companies in 100 + countries .

Our founders were early to identify a need for technology that would help businesses adapt to evolving sales and use tax regulations . In the 1970s and 80s , no one could foresee the e-commerce boom or the acceleration of tax regulations , digitisation and automation ahead . But what we started then has evolved into a critical need for companies of all sizes . Today , there are 19,000 taxing authorities across the globe , creating an average of 14,000 regulatory changes every month . We keep companies ahead of the compliance curve .

Steve Sprague , Chief Product & Strategy Officer , Sovos

In short , we began as a company that was ahead of the curve and correctly identified a need no one else saw . Today , we ’ re still that forward-thinking company , as the first to identify the need for an ‘ always-on ’ compliance solution to meet the government move to always-on transactions .

How has the business grown since it started and how did you ensure growth ?

As the global economy has changed , so has Sovos . Over the past 40 + years , we ’ ve expanded – in size , geographies and offerings – to address the complexities of modern tax compliance .

We ensured our growth through a multi-pronged approach strategy that stays true to our founders ’ foresight . First , we invested heavily in native engineering to keep pace with , or more often , stay ahead of accelerating regulatory changes and businesses ’ Digital Transformation . Second , we employed a strategic acquisition strategy to integrate best-in-breed technologies from across the globe . Third , we invested in our people , most notably by building a global network of tax experts in data and legal requirements .

Our solution today supports all indirect taxes ; taxes like sales and use taxes , VAT and excise taxes that are applied within the stream of commerce as goods are manufactured , distributed , transferred and sold at or , in the case of services , provided . As business operations increasingly became more global and governments

“ Our founders were early to identify a need for technology that would help businesses adapt to evolving sales and use tax regulations .”

Sovos is purpose-built for modern regulatory environments – it meets the ever-changing compliance needs of today ’ s global businesses through innovative technology that is highly scalable , reliable and secure . It has more than 2,600 employees working in 14 + countries , and it supports more than 100,000 customers ( including half the Fortune 500 ) that operate in more than 70 countries . Steve Sprague , Chief Product & Strategy Officer , Sovos , talks about the importance of the company ’ s technology , the trends he is seeing in the industry and what ’ s next for Sovos .

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