Five Inspire conference highlights you need to watch again

As the virtual conference curtain comes down at the end of Inspire 2021, discussions at this year’s event covered everything from UK MTD to tax AI, and how the skills needed within finance and tax departments are evolving. We’ve recapped some of our highlights, so you don’t miss out.

Over the course of two days, attendees to Europe’s largest indirect tax conference, Inspire 2021 were treated to unrivalled access to some of the brightest and most successful international business experts in the world. From Olympic Gold Medallist Ben Hunt-Davis to retail magnate Theo Paphitis and Green & Black's co-founder Jo Fairley.

With over 50 speakers and thousands of attendees joining from across the globe, the event offered business owners practical knowledge and expertise to support international expansion.

Missed out? Joined in but want to listen again? All Inspire 2021 sessions are available on demand. Register now to get access to all the Inspire 2021 sessions available on demand. 

Here are our top five conference highlights: 

1. Breaking and entering into new markets: The ability to grow your business outside of your domestic market is vital to ensure survival. Rejoin Hamish McRay, Associate Editor, The Independent, Ulf-Bjorn Ronn, CFO Ridestore, Ian Jindal, Founder of Internet Retailing to glean insight into the strategies, requirements, constraints and ideas to help expand your ecommerce markets. 
2. The rise of the Tax Technologist: Experts from Electrolux, Grant Thorton and ABinBEV discussed the different approaches businesses can apply to their Indirect Tax strategies and what the future holds, before digging into tax technology and how this has led to the rise of the tax technologist. 
3. Breaking down international borders: Customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted, and digital businesses must constantly adapt and innovate to resolve cart abandonment and improve their customer experience. Ayden and IMRG joined us to discuss the challenges of keeping operations streamlined while delivering positive customer experiences at scale, and strategies for building a loyal customer base in new markets.
4. Navigating the great EU VAT reform: Following the rollout of the biggest changes to VAT in 50 years, Avalara’s VAT experts demystified some of the many questions our viewers had about the EU VAT reforms. We also lifted the lid on what measures will be coming up over the coming years. This session was especially useful for companies with VAT compliance obligations across Europe.
5. The future of Finance: One of our most popular sessions was The Future of Finance. A stellar line-up of CFO’s and senior finance directors shared their priorities over the next 2-5 years. Ready to get ahead? Hear from Medtronic, IDC and Autodesk in this candid conversation.

We also heard from senior finance and tax professionals as they discussed the future of tax, how the landscape is changing and how tax technology is becoming a core requirement for businesses.

Whether you’re already selling cross-border, if you're looking to take the next step and find new markets or if you are selling domestically and want to expand into Europe and beyond, Avalara can support you and your business. Get in touch today for no obligation advice or to see if we can help.