The Mechanics of Effectively Leading Tax Teams
COURSE AGENDA
Lead modern tax teams with a focused 16-week programme that turns leadership theory into daily practice. You will set governance, design operating models, align with finance and legal, build audit readiness, manage risk, and drive digital change. Led by Prof. Dr Daniel N. Erasmus, and validated by Middlesex University with InformaConnect, the course equips emerging and current heads of tax to shape strategy, develop people, and deliver results in complex multinational environments.
Duration
16 weeks, part-time
Credits
60 University Credits – if PG-Cert route followed*
Effort
6–10 hrs/week average*
*Student dependent
Assessment
1x Final Assessment – if
PG-Cert route followed*
Format
Online – Recorded lectures, Prescribed Reading, Live Q&As
Award
PG-Certificate*, Middlesex
University
Course Agenda - Over 16 weeks, you will study:
Unit 1: Strategic Leadership in Tax Management
Aim
This unit aims to equip you with the essential leadership skills necessary to manage, inspire, and strategically align tax teams with broader organisational goals. It explores the evolving expectations of tax leaders as both technical experts and enterprise influencers.
Emphasis is placed on fostering high-performance team cultures, communicating effectively across business units, and developing succession and talent strategies that build long-term functional resilience.
Learning Outcomes
This unit aims to equip you with the essential leadership skills necessary to manage, inspire, and strategically align tax teams with broader organisational goals. It explores the evolving expectations of tax leaders as both technical experts and enterprise influencers.
Emphasis is placed on fostering high-performance team cultures, communicating effectively across business units, and developing succession and talent strategies that build long-term functional resilience.
Learning Outcomes
- Lead the strategic alignment of tax functions with corporate vision and financial objectives.
- Build and manage high-performance, diverse tax teams withclear role clarity and accountability.
- Communicate tax priorities effectively to executive stakeholders and cross-functional leaders.
- Apply leadership styles and techniques appropriate to varied team dynamics and pressure environments.
- Develop a leadership succession plan within the tax function.
- Promote team engagement, motivation, and ownership in delivering tax outcomes.
Unit 2: International Taxation Frameworks and Compliance
Aim
This unit enables tax leaders to navigate the complexities of international tax regulation, including OECD and UN frameworks, BEPS initiatives, and jurisdiction-specific compliance obligations.
Focus is placed on translating technical compliance requirements into team-wide implementation plans, and leading global reporting initiatives with transparency, efficiency, and strategic oversight. Real-world case studies will enable participants to grasp the practical implications of international tax laws and compliance challenges.
Learning Outcomes
This unit enables tax leaders to navigate the complexities of international tax regulation, including OECD and UN frameworks, BEPS initiatives, and jurisdiction-specific compliance obligations.
Focus is placed on translating technical compliance requirements into team-wide implementation plans, and leading global reporting initiatives with transparency, efficiency, and strategic oversight. Real-world case studies will enable participants to grasp the practical implications of international tax laws and compliance challenges.
Learning Outcomes
- Interpret key international tax frameworks and apply them within team-driven compliance structures.
- Lead the implementation of global tax reporting and documentation standards (e.g. CbCR, Pillar Two).
- Communicate compliance expectations clearly across geographies and reporting lines.
- Develop internal controls and team workflows to proactively manage cross-border risks.
- Guide teams through regulatory changes and manage compliance transitions.
- Monitor and enforce transparency, ethics, and reputational considerations in compliance processes.
Unit 3: Tax Risk Management and Governance
Aim
This unit focuses on the tax leader’s role in designing and embedding effective tax risk management and governance frameworks within their teams.
It covers identifying and escalating tax risks, assigning responsibility within the team, and leading the cultural transformation toward a risk-aware, governance-driven function to support enterprise-wide accountability.
Learning Outcomes
- Lead the creation and maintenance of audit-ready documentation processes.
- Direct team roles and responsibilities during audits or regulatory reviews.
- Guide dispute resolution through APAs, MAPs, and litigation strategy.
- Communicate with regulators professionally and strategically during inspections.
- Coach teams on procedural and substantive legal responses.
- Apply lessons from audit case studies to build internal defence frameworks.
Unit 4: Effective Tax Audit Defence and Dispute Resolution
Aim
This unit develops the tax leader’s capability to manage audit readiness, respond strategically to revenue authority reviews, and lead dispute resolution strategies.
The learning covers team-led audit preparation, defensible documentation, legal positioning, and leadership during crossworder contentious engagements with regulators. A detailed analysis of procedural and substantive tax litigation approaches will prepare you to effectively manage interactions with revenue authorities, reducing organisational exposure to tax-related risks.
Learning Outcomes
This unit develops the tax leader’s capability to manage audit readiness, respond strategically to revenue authority reviews, and lead dispute resolution strategies.
The learning covers team-led audit preparation, defensible documentation, legal positioning, and leadership during crossworder contentious engagements with regulators. A detailed analysis of procedural and substantive tax litigation approaches will prepare you to effectively manage interactions with revenue authorities, reducing organisational exposure to tax-related risks.
Learning Outcomes
- Lead the creation and maintenance of audit-ready documentation processes.
- Direct team roles and responsibilities during audits or regulatory reviews.
- Guide dispute resolution through APAs, MAPs, and litigation strategy.
- Communicate with regulators professionally and strategically during inspections.
- Coach teams on procedural and substantive legal responses.
- Apply lessons from audit case studies to build internal defence frameworks.
Unit 5: Tax Technology and Digital Transformation
Aim
This unit aims to position you as a tax leader and a change agent, equipped to guide your team through innovation, increase digital maturity, and deliver greater operational insight and control.
You will focus on competencies targeted at driving tax technologies and digital transformation to equip teams with the confidence to work with automation, AI, and data analytics. Practical exercises and real-world scenarios will provide hands-on experience in integrating digital solutions effectively into tax operations.
Learning Outcomes
This unit aims to position you as a tax leader and a change agent, equipped to guide your team through innovation, increase digital maturity, and deliver greater operational insight and control.
You will focus on competencies targeted at driving tax technologies and digital transformation to equip teams with the confidence to work with automation, AI, and data analytics. Practical exercises and real-world scenarios will provide hands-on experience in integrating digital solutions effectively into tax operations.
Learning Outcomes
- Assess the digital readiness of the tax function and identify technology gaps.
- Lead team adoption of automation tools and tax technology platforms.
- Manage change processes in implementing digital transformation projects.
- Upskill team members in using data analytics to identify risk and performance trends.
- Develop a tax technology roadmap aligned with organisational IT and compliance strategy.
- Promote a culture of innovation and continuous digital improvement within the team.
Unit 6: Operational Efficiency and Process Optimisation in Tax Functions
Aim
This unit enables tax leaders to enhance the operational efficiency of their functions through performance management, process optimisation, and effective resource allocation.
You will explore practical tools to streamline compliance, introduce KPIs, and manage team capacity to meet growing regulatory and strategic demands. Practical exercises will enable you to apply workflow and resource management techniques, to achieve tangible improvements in organisational tax operations.
Learning Outcomes
This unit enables tax leaders to enhance the operational efficiency of their functions through performance management, process optimisation, and effective resource allocation.
You will explore practical tools to streamline compliance, introduce KPIs, and manage team capacity to meet growing regulatory and strategic demands. Practical exercises will enable you to apply workflow and resource management techniques, to achieve tangible improvements in organisational tax operations.
Learning Outcomes
- Lead process reviews and re-engineering initiatives for greater tax function efficiency.
- Design KPIs and performance metrics to track team output and effectiveness.
- Optimise resource allocation and workload balancing across the tax team.
- Apply workflow tools to improve task visibility, accountability, and turnaround times.
- Promote continuous improvement and operational excellence within the function.
- Lead benchmarking and productivity assessments to inform team strategy.
Unit 7: Strategic Tax Planning and Business Integration
Aim
This unit explores the role of the tax leader in aligning tax planning with broader corporate strategy, finance, and ESG goals.
You will examine how to integrate tax into value creation, reputational management, and responsible business conduct, while maintaining compliance and competitiveness in global tax environments. Ethical considerations and sustainability in tax planning will also be addressed, supported by detailed case studies illustrating successful integration strategies.
Learning Outcomes
This unit explores the role of the tax leader in aligning tax planning with broader corporate strategy, finance, and ESG goals.
You will examine how to integrate tax into value creation, reputational management, and responsible business conduct, while maintaining compliance and competitiveness in global tax environments. Ethical considerations and sustainability in tax planning will also be addressed, supported by detailed case studies illustrating successful integration strategies.
Learning Outcomes
- Align tax planning initiatives with enterprise strategy, sustainability, and ethics.
- Lead team contributions to commercial transactions, investment planning, and business restructuring.
- Evaluate the ESG implications of tax decisions and reporting.
- Guide teams in balancing compliance with innovation in tax structuring.
- Build reputational resilience through responsible tax strategies.
- Translate strategic tax goals into team-level planning and execution frameworks.
Unit 8: Capstone Project – Implementing Effective Tax Team Leadership
Aim
This capstone unit endeavours to synthesise your learning into designing and presenting a real-world leadership solution. The unit culminates in strategic recommendations for enhancing tax team effectiveness, alongside personal reflection and development action planning.
During this unit, you will lead the development of a governance framework, digital strategy, or operational transformation plan for a tax function, demonstrating both personal leadership development and practical implementation skills.
Learning Outcomes
This capstone unit endeavours to synthesise your learning into designing and presenting a real-world leadership solution. The unit culminates in strategic recommendations for enhancing tax team effectiveness, alongside personal reflection and development action planning.
During this unit, you will lead the development of a governance framework, digital strategy, or operational transformation plan for a tax function, demonstrating both personal leadership development and practical implementation skills.
Learning Outcomes
- Develop a comprehensive leadership-driven tax strategy addressing risk, governance, or technology.
- Lead a team-based transformation initiative from designthrough execution.
- Deliver strategic recommendations tailored to specific organisational contexts.
- Demonstrate leadership self-awareness and articulate a personal development roadmap.
- Apply tools and frameworks from across the programme to a capstone scenario.
- Present and defend a strategic tax leadership initiative to a professional audience.
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