Deloitte's Ideas Labs to deliver research-driven solutions to business challenges

Deloitte LLP, the global management consultancy major, has announced its Idea Labs and the work of five fellows who have researched key business challenges to provide unique insights and actionable strategies for clients. The thought leadership across the firm's business areas will provide key inputs to structuring solutions on key issues relevant to the market place.

According to Deloitte vice chairman and regional managing partner Greg Durant, the company's investment in the intensive research programme and the five fellows demonstrated its commitment to providing clients with cutting-edge thought leadership that anticipates future marketplace issues and offers actionable solutions for their business needs.

The work of the Idea Labs' Fellows who are subject matter specialists offers fresh perspectives on a range of business challenges pertaining to indirect tax, capital budgeting, valuation and risk management, ethical behaviour at the workplace ant judgment frameworks.

Indirect tax
Scott Shafer's report on sourcing cash, Looking for Cash: Tap the Indirect Tax Opportunity focuses on leveraging indirect tax, an area CFOs are prospecting to recover large amounts of cash via refunds of overpayment of value-added tax, sales tax and use tax. Scott's extensive research and recent work with clients on indirect sales tax estimates that on an average about 10 per cent of transaction taxes paid are recoverable.

Scott will follow up his report with the second part of his research that will focus on ''Synchronising Tax with Business Strategy'' to help corporates lower their effective tax rate while executing their business strategy.

Capital budgeting
Charles Alsdorf's research reports on capital budgeting, Capital Budgeting in the Downturn: Four Disciplines takes a close look at how CFOs and budget directors can rebalance their portfolio of projects and manage the cash needs of the moment and ''Improving Capital Budgeting: Five Disciplines'' offers valuable insights into improving the capital budgeting process and realising sustained value for years into the future. The reports offer perspectives on aligning cash cash flows and capital outlays with corporate strategy.