A survey presented at the Swift International Banking Operations Seminar (SIBOS) taking place in Vienna 15 – 19 September shows that European companies are held back from switching to electronic invoicing by complex regulatory compliance requirements and legislation.
The survey found that despite the multiple advantages electronic invoicing offers for business owners – cost-effectiveness and more efficient resource administration among them – 40 percent of European companies currently show no direct interest in performing the switch from paper-based to electronic invoices mainly because their initiatives are hampered by pre-existing regulatory compliance requirements to various country-specific e-invoicing systems. Moreover, over half of the European companies which have subsidiaries and operate their businesses in six or more countries worldwide admit concern regarding the implementation of an e-invoicing system, mainly due to problems arising from the need to comply with multiple national e-invoicing legislations across the globe. Also, a quarter of the survey participants admitted that VAT compliance and auditing requirements – which are an integral part of the invoicing process – are also a problem in the context of dealing with different financial legislations in various countries, each with its own requirements and compliance standards. Therefore, although the benefits of implementing an electronic invoicing system are evident to European business owners, the survey conducted by independent research company Vanson Bourne shows that in actuality, e-invoicing implementation is undermined by its dependency on country-specific compliance regulations and by national VAT and tax compliance requirements.
Source: Sterling Commerce
