When people talk about the future of tax, the conversation almost inevitably turns to technology. AI dominates conference agendas, digital transformation appears in almost every strategy presentation, and tax teams everywhere are asking the same questions.
What does this mean for our profession? How quickly is change coming? And perhaps most importantly, are we ready for it?
To explore those questions, Rutherford Cross Tax specialist, Ben Jones, sat down with Patricia Rocha Jordan, EMEA Invoicing Solutions and Strategy Lead at Vertex, and recently voted one of TaxTech500’s Top 50 Women in Tax Technology.
From Accounting to Tax Technology
After discussing her homeland Portugal’s unfortunate exit from the world cup, and which international team we thought had the best midfield… our conversation turned to cover everything from e-invoicing mandates and AI, to leadership, visibility and the future skills tax professionals will need to develop in an increasingly digital world.
Like many successful people in tax and most of the professionals I interview, Patricia didn’t grow up dreaming of a career in tax technology.
“I don’t think someone wakes up in the morning as a six-year-old and says, ‘I want to work in tax technology!'”
Instead, her career evolved after starting her career in accounting and audit before moving into the tax technology world with Thomson Reuters. Patricia found herself increasingly drawn to the intersection between tax, systems and business transformation. It was a space where she could combine technical expertise with problem solving, communication and innovation.
Today, Patricia works at Vertex, where she describes herself as somewhat of a translator. While her official title is EMEA Invoicing Solutions and Strategy Lead, her day-to-day role centres on connecting different worlds. She acts as a bridge between customers, regulators, product teams, sales functions and technology specialists, helping each group understand not only what is happening in the increasingly complex world of invoicing and indirect tax, but what those developments actually mean in practice.
Keeping Pace with Regulatory Change
Patricia explained that one of the greatest challenges facing multinational organisations is simply keeping pace with regulatory change.
“There is knowing what’s happening, and then appreciating what that means for you and your business.”
I love the simplicity of breaking it down into two stages: understanding that a new mandate is coming is one thing – understanding how it affects systems, processes, suppliers, customers and internal stakeholders is something entirely different.
To help solve that challenge, Patricia is a strong advocate for AI-powered regulatory intelligence: technology that monitors regulatory developments globally, helps teams identify the changes that genuinely matter and ensures information reaches the right people at the right time. It’s one of the clearest examples of where Patricia sees artificial intelligence delivering immediate value.
AI as an Assistant, Not a Replacement
The conversation naturally turned to AI, a topic that seems impossible to avoid at the moment. Depending on who you speak to, artificial intelligence is either about to revolutionise the profession or replace half of it. Patricia’s view was considerably more balanced.
She believes AI has enormous potential when it comes to processing information, identifying patterns and helping professionals focus their attention where it matters most. Regulatory monitoring, anomaly detection and reconciliation processes are all areas where she is already seeing tangible benefits.
Tax authorities themselves are increasingly adopting similar technologies to identify unusual behaviours and potential compliance risks. However, Patricia doesn’t believe that AI is ready to replace human judgement.
“We’re not there yet when it comes to AI making tax decisions for us.”
The reason, she explained, is that tax decisions are rarely black and white. Legislation is complex, business structures are nuanced, and data is often imperfect. AI can help identify issues, highlight anomalies and surface relevant information, but experienced professionals are still required to assess the context and determine the right course of action.
It was a point I found reassuring. During our discussion, Patricia repeatedly described AI as an assistant rather than a replacement. The opportunity isn’t to remove people from the process altogether. Instead, it’s about freeing talented professionals from repetitive work so they can focus on the analysis, judgement and problem-solving that genuinely add value. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of e-invoicing.
Most people probably view e-invoicing as a compliance exercise – a tax requirement, and something that needed done because regulations said so. Patricia challenges that assumption.
“This is not an IT project,” she explained. “It’s a disruption of the way the business operates.”
Her point was that e-invoicing impacts far more than the tax team. It affects finance, procurement, legal functions, customer relationships and supplier relationships. As governments move towards real-time visibility of transactions and digital reporting obligations, organisations are being forced to rethink how information flows through their entire business. That level of change requires much more than simply implementing software.
“Most companies think it’s an IT upgrade,” Patricia said. “They don’t appreciate the legwork that needs to happen behind the scenes.”
Data governance, ownership, accountability and stakeholder alignment often present bigger challenges than the technology itself. Patricia believes many organisations remain behind where they should be, not because they aren’t investing in solutions, but because they underestimate the scale of the transformation required to support them. For tax professionals, these developments are creating a fascinating shift in the role itself.
Why Future Tax Professionals Need to Be ‘Unicorns’
Historically, technical expertise sat at the heart of the profession. While it still does, Patricia believes the most successful tax professionals of the future will combine strong technical capabilities with a broader understanding of technology, data and business operations. In fact, she goes one step further with the metaphor.
“Future tax professionals need to be unicorns.”
Patricia shared this means professionals who can translate between different disciplines; people who can explain regulatory requirements to software developers, help CFOs understand technology investments and work effectively across multiple teams and functions.
As technology becomes increasingly embedded within tax, the ability to operate across those worlds will become a major differentiator. Patricia’s advice for those entering the profession was straightforward.
“Tax professionals need to become more IT savvy.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean learning to code. It means understanding systems, appreciating how data moves through organisations and becoming comfortable engaging with colleagues from different technical backgrounds. Perhaps even more importantly, it means remaining curious.
“We need to be more open to change and welcome that change.”
It’s easy advice to give and harder advice to follow. Yet throughout our discussion it became clear that curiosity has been one of the defining characteristics of Patricia’s own career. Rather than viewing technology as a threat, she sees it as an opportunity to enhance the profession and broaden the influence of tax teams within organisations.
Confidence, Visibility and the Future of the Profession
Towards the end of our conversation, we turned to Patricia’s recent inclusion in TaxTech 500’s Top 50 Women in Tax Technology list. Reading through the comments on her announcement post beforehand, I was struck by the number of people describing her not just as a technical expert, but as a mentor, collaborator and trusted colleague.
Patricia was clearly honoured by the recognition but was far more interested in discussing what it means for the wider profession.
“The challenge isn’t capability. The challenge is confidence and visibility,” she said when discussing women entering the sector.
She spoke candidly about imposter syndrome, self-promotion and the tendency for many talented professionals to understate their achievements. For Patricia, initiatives like the Top 50 list matter because they create visibility and provide role models for the next generation considering careers in tax and technology.
What stood out most from my conversation with Patricia was her ability to make complex topics accessible, whether that’s through football analogies, relatable metaphors or breaking things down into manageable steps.
Technology will continue to evolve, regulatory requirements will continue to become more digital and the profession will undoubtedly look very different ten years from now, but the future of tax won’t be defined by technology alone. It will be defined by professionals who can connect ideas, build relationships, translate complexity into action and help organisations navigate change.
Or, in Patricia’s words, people who can speak everyone’s language.
Please contact Ben Jones for support with Tax recruitment at your organisation, or for advice with your own Tax career: [email protected].
This blog is part of our new series, “The Future of Tax Tech”. If you would like to be part of future instalments and share your insights on the world of tax, don’t hesitate to reach out to Ben Jones.
