For more than 20 years, WGL and PowerPlan have enjoyed a longstanding collaborative relationship built upon mutual respect and trust.

The strength of the relationship became evident in 2022 when WGL was able to draw upon the resources of PowerPlan to solve a myriad of issues. “I knew we had a problem and, as many times in the past, I knew we could rely upon PowerPlan to focus on our situation and find a solution,” shared WGL Tax Director Charles Mannix.

PowerPlan provided a co-sourcing arrangement to handle WGL’s immediate in-house resource limitations. At the same time, the two organizations worked to develop a strategy to address WGL’s needs in the future. This long-term plan included the implementation of PowerPlan’s Tax Fixed Assets (TFA) solution, with the goal of WGL reclaiming the tax depreciation and deferred tax function.

“We expect tax rate changes in the next 12 months, and with TFA, we’re more than prepared to handle that challenge,” said Mannix.

Background

WGL is a diversified energy business that provides natural gas, electricity, green power, carbon reduction, and energy services. Its family of companies includes Washington Gas, WGL Energy, and Hampshire Gas.

Before transitioning to the new Tax Fixed Assets (TFA) solution, WGL had been using PowerTax since 2000, consistently turning to PowerPlan for reliable support whenever tax changes occurred.

The Challenge

WGL’s tax department faced a typical no-win situation for any team: staff reductions, an upcoming heavy regulatory schedule, and the retirement of key personnel. Their tax department staff was reduced by one third. The team lacked a robust, in-house tax team to manage PowerTax. This posed a risk to data integrity, operational efficiency, and the organization’s overall financial health. The scarcity of utility tax experts to join the team exacerbated an already difficult situation, leaving the tax team understaffed and lacking the necessary expertise to manage an upcoming regulatory schedule.

“The regulatory calendar provided a clear and easily communicated business case to transition away from PowerTax to the cloud and TFA,” shared Mannix. WGL needed a rapid, transformative solution allowing the internal tax team to take control of their tax operations, reduce reliance on external resources, and build a self-sufficient, knowledgeable, in-house team.

Implementation

From the start, WGL and PowerPlan collaborated on implementing TFA. To meet WGL’s immediate needs, the PowerPlan services team stepped in to run tax operations in the absence of in-house resources. At the same time, the TFA implementation was meticulously planned and executed, focusing on minimizing disruptions to WGL’s operations.

“We worked with the WGL team from start to finish,” said Kinav Patel, Strategic Account Executive at PowerPlan. “In this case, we were already deeply connected to the tax team at WGL, and the migration to TFA was seamless with incredible trust on both sides.”

Key phases of the project included data migration, system configuration, user training, and testing.

The Solution

Tax Fix Assets has centralized WGL’s tax processes and created real-time data insights like never before. With TFA, the team now operates with:

• Enhanced Efficiency: Automation of routine tasks, streamlined workflows, and the highly intuitive
• and easy-to-learn user interface have freed up valuable time for the tax team to focus on strategic initiatives.
• Improved Data Accuracy: TFA’s robust data validation and reconciliation capabilities have significantly reduced errors and inconsistencies, leading to increased confidence in tax reporting.
• Enhanced Decision Making: Real-time access to accurate and comprehensive tax data has enabled WGL to make informed and timely decisions.
• Reduced Cost: By automating processes and reducing manual effort, TFA has reduced overall costs to the enterprise.
• Mitigated Risk: TFA’s robust controls and audit trails have strengthened WGL’s compliance posture and reduced the risk of tax-related penalties.

“We have a much stronger solution for our tax function now,” said Mannix. “Because we have an easy to use, fully functioning system, we can focus more on tax strategy and less on blocking and tackling. The power of reconciliations in TFA is an underappreciated aspect of this new tool. Everything is validated in real-time while we work, and this has helped more than I could have realized.”

Upon implementation, PowerPlan’s services team has continued to support WGL through its tax operations.

The transition to TFA also proved to be cost effective, saving money over a five-year period as it eliminated the need for PowerTax upgrades and extensive external support.

“TFA has been a game changer for my team. It has helped us build trust across our entire organization, not just in tax, but in plant accounting and beyond. We have access to better data because our team now understands where the numbers are coming from. Our audit fees have gone down, and our internal team is freed up to look around the corner to see what’s coming down the pipeline,” said Mannix. “TFA literally gives you the data you need at your fingertips.”

As WGL continues to navigate the evolving tax landscape, PowerPlan will remain a cornerstone of its tax operations, enabling the company to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. WGL’s experience serves as a blueprint for other organizations seeking to optimize their tax operations and unlock new opportunities.

Learn more about Tax Fixed Assets and request a demo at powerplan.com/TFA.