Signing off Europe
Final sign-off on 60–70 VAT returns a month across 19+ EMEA jurisdictions — clean, on time, defensible.
- Role
- VAT Controller · Manager, Indirect Tax
- Scope
- 19+ EMEA countries
- Years
- 2021 – Present
Context
EMEA VAT compliance runs on a monthly heartbeat. Returns for nearly every EU jurisdiction, plus Switzerland and Norway, move through preparation, review and filing against statutory deadlines that don't negotiate.
Every filing carries financial and reputational risk. Someone has to be the person whose signature says: this is right, and it's going out on time.
What I did
As VAT Controller, I hold final sign-off on 60–70 VAT returns every month. Each one has passed a standardized preparation and review chain before it reaches me; my job is to make sure the chain actually worked.
Each quarter I run filing-status reviews spanning 100+ returns — catching drift before it becomes a missed deadline. I coordinate directly with EY local offices and clients across the EU, Switzerland and Norway on submissions, technical queries and corrections.
When tax authorities audit, I support the engagement end to end: documentation, corrections, and responses that hold up.
Impact
A controller function that clients and local offices rely on — consistent, on-time filing at scale, with audit trails that survive scrutiny. Ten years in, the standard hasn't slipped.
60–70
returns signed off monthly
19+
EMEA jurisdictions
100+
returns reviewed quarterly
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