Deloitte Tax Analytics

It was advice from a college friend that brought Aleksander Kyoshi Ogatha to join Deloitte Brazil. That was ten years ago. "My friend was working at Deloitte Brazil and was always telling me that it's a great place to work," says Aleksander. "I applied and was selected for the internship program and found that my friend was right."

Equipped with degrees in law and accounting, Aleksander joined the tax team. He worked his way up, and when he made manager, expressed his interest in tax analytics. He was in the right place at the right time. The shift toward automating tax processes was gaining speed, and Brazil's tax leadership had launched a Tax Analytics practice and Tax Center of Excellence. Aleksander was also working with a leader who saw that he had the skills needed to work in tax analytics, and he was asked to join the team.

"My technology skills were good, but I knew if I was going to do the kind of high-quality work I wanted to do, they had to be better," says Aleksander. He made the most of the learning resources available at Deloitte Brazil and went back to college to pursue a degree in technology, his third degree, while he continued working. The push for improvement is one of the things that Aleksander likes most about Deloitte. "People give their all to not only drive value and improve services for clients, but to grow and support each other's success," says Aleksander. "The leader I was working with gave me the flexibility to work on my degree and the support to do my best work at Deloitte."

Aleksander now works with multinational clients headquartered in Brazil to understand their business challenges and, with colleagues across Deloitte's businesses and global network, to develop tax analytics solutions for cross-border engagements. "There are different tax regulations and laws in every market," says Aleksander, "so every analytics and technology solution has to be custom-tailored for each market in which a client operates." That takes a deep understanding of the client's business, global tax laws and processes, and technology, as well as a commitment to growth and innovation.

The technology and analytics people at Deloitte are a tight community, and they look to each other, whether they're in different business lines or parts of the world, to share ideas and approaches that they can adapt and implement for their clients. "We get together a few times a year, and not only do we talk technology and analytics, but we help each other to identify potential new client opportunities," says Aleksander. "I always have an eye out for where we might add a tax component to, for example, a consulting or financial advisory engagement."

The future of tax is analytics, and new technologies will continue to emerge and disrupt the way services are delivered. That is the consensus across the industry. Aleksander is excited to be a part of this change and to be at Deloitte Brazil. "I'm part of something global, working with great people in a dynamic, open, and innovative environment," concludes Aleksander, "and there are many channels to share ideas. That means I can make a difference, and that makes me happy."