Their teams look after our tax-related matters worldwide: Delphine Keates (left) and Ana Donescu.
Finance
Team with a money-back guarantee
KWS has centralized a lot of platforms, processes and data as part of GLOBE. That also opens up new possibilities in relation to annual financial statements and tax returns as well as VAT refunds worldwide, as our tax experts Delphine Keates and Ana Donescu explain.
What are the tasks of the GTC GAT team?
Delphine Keates: Our team provides general accounting, tax and banking services for all companies supported by GLOBE. That means we prepare the financial statements at the end of the quarter and at the end of the fiscal year, manage fixed asset accounting, ensure that provisions are created correctly, and oversee the filing of local tax returns for currently 64 companies in the KWS Group. Our duties also include ensuring that external services are booked correctly and that everything goes smoothly in paying taxes and the salaries of our colleagues worldwide.
The last three countries will switch to using GLOBE on October 1. What progress has the GTC-GAT team itself made in that respect?
Delphine Keates: We’re in the process of integrating the last three countries: Argentina, Chile and Peru. This means our multicultural team is reaching its definitive size. For example, we’ve been able to attract three very experienced internal colleagues from the local service teams in South America to join us in Berlin. We’ll be working in our desired setup by the end of the year. Then all KWS countries will be covered and our team will be fully operational.
Tax & Tax Compliance – what is meant by that term and what does the team do?
Ana Donescu: Our Berlin-based team ensures proper tax reporting for currently 64 KWS subsidiaries. We prepare the monthly, quarterly and annual tax returns and submit them to the fiscal authorities, for instance. And we provide support during tax audits by the local authorities.
Among other things, your team has succeeded in obtaining a substantial refund of local value-added taxes. What’s the background to that?
Ana Donescu: Reclaiming taxes is a complex process that requires not only a lot of accurate data and excellent communication with local authorities, but also a precise understanding of our local business activities. We need this knowledge to determine, for example, whether reclaiming tax makes sense at all and when we should apply for a refund. In principle, this process is always based on recording all relevant transactions and the associated documents, such as invoices and receipts, correctly and in full. These documents must be available to the tax office immediately after the tax return is filed. Accuracy and a quick response are therefore vital.
To what extent does GLOBE help us recover more value-added tax?
Ana Donescu: By switching to GLOBE, we’re now in a position to really move forward in this area: We’ve centralized all the data and made it accessible by means of digital tools. We’ve brought together local market expertise and language skills. And we’ve established a standardized process that maximizes the results of tax applications. As a result, we now handle the entire tax refund process internally and with the requisite speed – from collection and submission of the data to communication and follow-up activities with local authorities. We work very closely with our country teams and have built up excellent relationships with local tax offices. In addition, this relationship of trust now makes the refund process easier the longer we operate in a country.
What sums have been involved specifically since you introduced and optimized the process?
Ana Donescu: In the last year and a half, we’ve recovered tens of millions in value-added tax in France, Russia and Serbia. They’re significant amounts for our local business and a significant increase compared to before we had GLOBE. That’s why we’re now analyzing other markets so as to support them in the same way. We’ve just rolled out the process in Bulgaria and we’re looking for other countries that are suitable – either because of their business structure or if the process is worthwhile because there are large seasonal fluctuations in a country. We can then also make a significant contribution there. |
Info
Delphine Keates joined KWS in 2012 and headed the Finance department at the Service Center Mediterranean in France. When the Service Center West was founded in 2014, she moved to Barcelona and built up a new finance team there. In 2018, she moved to Berlin and has since headed the General Ledger, Tax Compliance and Treasury (GAT) team at the newly created Global Transaction Center.
Ana Donescu joined KWS in November 2019 and has more than 15 years of experience in the field of taxes. In 2020, she took over as head of the Tax & Tax Compliance team, which numbers 15 colleagues and supports 23 countries. |
You are welcome to give your feedback on GLOBE at any time by sending an e-mail to:
AskGLOBE@kws.com
© KWS SAAT SE & Co. KGaA 2025
