Participants will receive the following:

• Comprehensive training materials
• Practical control checklists
• Tax dispute resolution guide
• Real case law insights from Tax Tribunal and High Court cases
• Certificate of Completion

1. Introduction to Tax Risk Management

• Definitions, concepts and principles
• Tax governance structures designed to manage risks
• Communicating tax risks within the organisation

2. Undertaking a Tax Risk Assessment

• Methodologies, tools and templates to deploy in identifying, classifying, prioritizing and mitigating tax risks.
• Assessing impact and likelihood of tax risks and deploying appropriate resources towards mitigating these risks.
• Linking tax risk assessments to the wider enterprise risk assessment frameworks.
• Action planning and follow through to ensure ongoing monitoring and mitigation of identified risks and looking out for new ones.

3. Deep dive into specific risk types

• Examining various risks based on actual organisation’s experiences.
• Some pertinent TAT and High Court decisions demonstrating how various risks crystallised, and their consequences.

4. Tax Control Framework as a means of managing tax risks and optimizing opportunities – Processes and Controls

• Understanding controls: The COSO Framework and tax risk management
• The Tax Control Framework components – Policy and Principles, Strategy, People and Structure, Processes, Controls, Data, Technology.

5. Engaging with Tax Authorities

• Overview of structure and functions of KRA, and key interactions with taxpayers.
• Understanding filing requirements, payment, queries and correspondence; best practices around these.
• Developing appropriate communication protocols and escalation mechanisms for dealing with the KRA.

6. Effective Management of Tax Audits

• Understanding the processes and laws governing tax audits.
• Identifying and applying techniques for ensuring audits run as smoothly as possible.
• Maintaining positive relationships with audit teams.
• Tracking and maintaining a log of information requested and provided to the audit teams.
• Evaluating requests for information from revenue authorities to identify potential risks and mitigations thereto.
• Central point of contact.
• Documenting issues and findings, closure meetings and issuing letters of findings.
• Engaging tax advisors (and legal counsel as appropriate).
• Negotiating with revenue authorities to mitigate the impact of findings and settlement of uncontested liabilities.

7. Tax Dispute Resolution

• Tax dispute processes under the Tax Procedures Act and other tax laws.
• Triggers for disputes – ‘Tax decisions’.
• Objections and Objection Decisions.
• Organising evidence and documentation.
• Important procedures and timelines governing the dispute procedures.
• Developing strategies and techniques for managing the dispute process.
• Appeals to the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT): filing requirements (including timelines), proceedings and decisions, settlement and enforcement mechanisms.
• The Alternative Dispute Resolution process.
• Appeals to the High Court, and Court of Appeal.
• Common pitfalls and ways to avoid these.

David is the Managing Director of TMC Services Limited, a Tax and Management Consulting Company.

David has over 25 years’ professional experience in law, audit, taxation, treasury management, project management, governance, risk management, and controls and compliance. He has gained experience working in professional firms (HH&M, EY and KPMG) and in the FMCG industry (BAT and EABL) in various roles including Tax Manager, Group Treasury and Tax Manager, Strategic Tax and Treasury Projects Manager, Head of Controls Assurance, and Head of Controls, Compliance and Ethics.

He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya, a Certified Public Accountant and an MBA graduate from the Manchester Business School, University of Manchester.

His recent experience at TMC has focused on solving complex strategic and operational tax problems for clients across African countries and sectors such as manufacturing, FMCG, media, entertainment, telecommunications, agriculture, insurance and security systems.

David developed this workshop as a response to the challenges that he has helped organisations to navigate with respect to tax compliance, strategy and planning, and in dealing with and resolving various tax disputes, right from managing audits to objections, disputes at the Tax Appeals Tribunal and eventual settlement of cases.

In addition to the Workshop Leader, the participants shall obtain insights and gain feedback from a Senior Tax Leader from a leading multinational enterprise, and a former member of the Tax Appeals Tribunal