Only One in Six Enterprises Treats Indirect Tax as a Standing Board Item

The study measures where tax errors are identified, not how often they occur, and does not establish that board attention causes better outcomes.

Rhea-AI Summary

Vertex (NASDAQ: VERX) released its 2026 CompOps Index, examining how enterprises oversee indirect tax and coordinate tax, technology and finance functions. Only 16% report indirect tax as a standing board or executive-committee item; at 43%, it surfaces only when a problem arises, if ever.

Among enterprises discussing indirect tax at least periodically at board level, 4% say errors are usually identified externally, versus 16% among those that do not. Likewise, 48% report answering tax-authority notices within five business days, versus 26%. These comparisons measure associations, not causation or error frequency.

The double-blind survey covered 750 decision makers and was conducted in August and September 2026. Among enterprises holding indirect tax reserves, 73% say at least a quarter relates to tax treatments they cannot readily substantiate, rather than unclear law.

Key Figures

Board-level standing item: 16% Issue-triggered discussion: 43% Errors identified externally: 4% vs. 16% +5 more

Board-level standing item

16%

Enterprises reporting indirect tax as a standing board or executive-committee item

Issue-triggered discussion

43%

Indirect tax surfaces only when a problem arises, if ever

Errors identified externally

4% vs. 16%

Enterprises discussing indirect tax periodically at board level vs. others

Notice response within five business days

48% vs. 26%

Enterprises discussing indirect tax periodically at board level vs. others

Manual taxability changes

13% vs. 26%

Enterprises discussing indirect tax periodically at board level vs. others

AI operating autonomously or handling routine work

54% vs. 21%

Enterprises discussing indirect tax periodically at board level vs. those that do not

Funded strategic technology priority

85% vs. 5%

IT leaders in the most capable vs. least capable AI tiers

Automated regulatory-change monitoring

55% vs. 9%

Enterprises in the most capable vs. least capable AI tiers

Key Terms

double-blind survey, forward-looking statements

2 terms

double-blind survey technical

"is based on a double-blind survey of 750 decision makers"

A double-blind survey is a data-collection procedure in which both the people answering the survey and the personnel who interact with respondents or analyze identifiable responses are kept unaware of key information that could bias results—commonly which experimental condition a respondent received, which version of a questionnaire they saw, or the identity of the sponsoring party. Typical mechanics include using neutral third-party administrators, coded response records, and masked materials so neither respondents nor frontline staff can alter behavior or interpretation based on that information; full double-blinding can be difficult when sponsorship or question content is obvious to respondents.

forward-looking statements regulatory

"All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties"

Forward-looking statements are predictions or plans that companies share about what they expect to happen in the future, like estimating sales or profits. They matter because they help investors understand a company's outlook, but since they are based on guesses and assumptions, they can sometimes be wrong.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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The 2026 Vertex CompOps™ Index finds that enterprises where indirect tax reaches the board regularly, are four times less likely to say errors are most often identified externally and nearly twice as likely to answer tax-authority notices within five business days

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Nov. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vertex, Inc. (NASDAQ:VERX) (“Vertex” or the “Company”), the Decision-to-Defense™ global indirect tax and compliance company, today released the 2026 Vertex CompOps™ Index, a global study of how enterprises govern indirect tax and compliance, and how closely tax, IT, and finance work together to run it.

At most enterprises, indirect tax has no standing place in the room where strategy is set. Only one in six (16%) reports it as a standing item at board or executive-committee level, and at 43%, it surfaces only when a problem arises, if ever. Those that discuss it there at least periodically look markedly different. They are one-quarter as likely to say their errors are usually identified by external parties (4% vs. 16%), nearly twice as likely to answer a tax-authority notice within five business days (48% vs. 26%), and half as likely to make and verify taxability changes entirely by hand (13% vs. 26%).

“Indirect tax is one of the few functions where determinations are made continuously, exposure is lasting, but conversations about risk are episodic and after the fact,” said Allison Cerra, Chief Marketing Officer at Vertex. “The enterprises running indirect tax best govern it like any other strategic function, as a recurring part of how the business is run, not only when issues surface. The gap between those two postures is not a matter of scale. It is a matter of attention.”

The gaps extend to AI. Among enterprises that discuss indirect tax at least periodically at the board level, 54% say AI now operates largely autonomously or handles routine work in their tax workflows, compared with 21% of those that do not. They are also more likely to have a dedicated budget and a named executive owner for AI in indirect tax.

The Index also sorts enterprises into four tiers of AI capability in indirect tax and compliance, scored on data and system readiness, enablement, governance, and deployment. The most capable tier (13% of enterprises studied) treats indirect tax as an investment priority rather than a maintenance item: 85% of its IT leaders describe it as a funded strategic priority on the technology roadmap, against 5% in the least capable tier. The most capable tier also stays ahead of regulatory change: 55% proactively monitor for changes with automated updates, against 9% of the least capable tier.

Every group shares one problem: proving their tax position. About half of enterprises (52%) take a more conservative approach when they lack sufficient evidence, and among those holding indirect tax reserves, 73% say at least a quarter of the reserve is tied to tax treatments they cannot readily substantiate, not because the law is unclear.

“The findings suggest that operational maturity in indirect tax is less about organization size and more about governance,” said Kevin Permenter, Research Director, Enterprise Applications at IDC. “With compliance requirements becoming increasingly continuous, organizations that integrate tax into broader business and technology decisions appear far better positioned to adapt to change, manage risk proactively, and maintain visibility across the compliance lifecycle.”

The 2026 Vertex CompOps Index reveals where indirect tax risk hides and how leading enterprises get ahead of what's next. It is available at https://vertexcompops.kinsta.cloud/.

About Vertex  
Vertex is the Decision-to-Defense™ global indirect tax and compliance company. Vertex helps enterprises bring control to indirect tax and compliance across the full transaction lifecycle — from tax determination and e-invoicing through reporting, filing, and audit defense — to make outcomes easier to prove and improve over time. Trusted by more than 60% of the Fortune 500, Vertex combines decades of tax expertise, deep global tax and compliance knowledge, and embedded integrations to help organizations operate globally with confidence. With headquarters in North America and offices in South America and Europe, Vertex's purpose is to ensure businesses and communities thrive through trusted transactions.

For more information, visit www.vertexinc.com or follow us on X and LinkedIn, or subscribe on YouTube.

About the research
The 2026 Vertex CompOps Index is based on a double-blind survey of 750 decision makers at enterprises with at least $250 million in annual revenue and 1,000 or more employees, conducted by Emerald Research Group on behalf of Vertex in August and September 2026. Respondents were drawn from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, and spanned information technology, tax, and finance functions, each with authority over or influence on enterprise indirect tax and compliance technology decisions. Respondents were not informed of the study’s sponsor. Results are weighted.

The Index sorts enterprises into four tiers of AI capability, scored from 0 to 100. References to the “least capable” and “most capable” tiers refer to the lowest and highest of those four, which represent 20% and 13% of the enterprises studied, respectively. The tiers are not quartiles. Comparisons by board-level cadence are based on finance and tax respondents (n=369) and describe differences between organizations at a single point in time; they do not establish that board-level attention causes any outcome. Certain measures were asked only of specific functions and are reported on that base. The study measured where errors are identified, not how frequently they occur; no comparison of error rates between organizations is implied. Full methodology is available in the report.

Copyright © 2026 Vertex, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein is intended for information purposes only, may change at any time in the future, and is not legal or tax advice. Any product direction and potential roadmap information is not a guarantee, may not be incorporated into any contract, and is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality. This information should not be relied upon in making purchasing, legal, or tax decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Vertex’s products remain at the sole discretion of Vertex, Inc. Any statements in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties described in Vertex’s filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. Vertex cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which Vertex has no obligation to update and which speak only as of their dates.

Vertex Company Contact: mediainquiries@vertexinc.com  

FAQ

AI-generated questions and answers. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

What did Vertex's 2026 CompOps Index find about board oversight of indirect tax?

Only 16% of enterprises report indirect tax as a standing board or executive-committee item. At 43%, it surfaces only when a problem arises, if ever. Enterprises discussing it at least periodically report different operational outcomes, but the study does not establish that board attention causes those differences.

Which enterprises were included in Vertex's 2026 CompOps Index survey?

The survey covered enterprises with at least $250 million in annual revenue and 1,000 or more employees in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and France. Emerald Research Group conducted it on Vertex's behalf. Respondents were not told the sponsor, and results are weighted. Board-cadence comparisons use finance and tax respondents only, a base of 369.