The trend of technology in managing related-party transactions is reshaping the way businesses approach tax compliance and risk management. The explosion of AI, Big Data, Blockchain or RPA not only helps to make data transparent but also optimizes the process of filing, price analysis and periodic monitoring. In the context of increasingly strict tax authorities, timely grasping and applying these technologies becomes a key factor for businesses to both meet international standards and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.
Reasons to care about the trend of affiliate transaction management technology
Management technology trends affiliate transactions is directly changing both the method and the standards of evidence that businesses must provide when preparing related-party transaction documents and when facing tax audits. Technology is not only a supporting tool but also a factor that changes the nature of the process: from data collection, comparative price analysis, to document storage and creating transparent evidence for tax authorities. Businesses cannot continue to use completely manual methods if they want to maintain competitiveness and minimize tax assessment risks.
Specifically, there are clear influencing mechanisms:
- Increased depth and breadth of analytical data: Big Data and the ability to combine multiple sources (ERP, CRM, sales systems, industry data sources) allow for the construction of a rich market price comparison set (benchmark), reducing the risk of bias due to small samples or unrepresentative data. These are all documents that businesses must create and maintain to prove that related-party transactions are conducted according to the principle of independent market prices and comply with Decree 132/2020/ND-CP such as: National file (Local File), global file (Master File) and national profit margin (CbCR).
- Automated risk and anomaly detection: Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML) enables the ability to detect values that are clearly outliers compared to the majority of the remaining data in the dataset, model transaction behavior, and automatically score risks. In practice, the assessment system can provide early warning of transactions that are at risk of being considered inappropriate compared to market prices, helping businesses proactively review before being inspected.
- Transparency and document authenticity: Blockchain technology and the mechanism of converting original data (Hashing) or attaching time to data to prove that data exists at a specific point in time with an unmodifiable timestamp (Timestamping), creating a detailed record of all activities and changes in the system or process, helping with transparency, internal control and supporting auditing, detecting errors or fraud (Audit Trail).
For example: Create a hash of the electronic contract and timestamp it 09/22/2025 so that anyone who checks it later will know the contract exists intact from this date.
- Optimize operating costs and reduce errors: Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and automatic data integration help shorten reconciliation time between parent and affiliate companies, reduce errors due to manual entry and focus on high-value analysis.
- New requirements for explainability and verification: When using AI/ML, businesses need to ensure the ability to explain results (explainability), store training data, and have a sample testing process because tax authorities may request explanations of methods and data sources. Similarly, the use of blockchain still requires legal compliance, privacy policies, and authentication of the identities of participating parties.
The trend of technology for managing related-party transactions will improve the ability to prove the reasonableness of transfer prices, shorten the response time when being audited and reduce the possibility of being taxed. On the contrary, implementing the trend of technology for managing related-party transactions in a sketchy manner or without data management will easily create risks (lack of transparency, data leakage, etc.).
Outstanding Affiliate Transaction Management Technology Trends
To better understand how the trend of technology in managing related transactions affects the process of managing related transactions, let's take a detailed look at the most prominent technology trends in managing related transactions today. The table below summarizes the technology trends in managing related transactions from practical applications, outstanding benefits to illustrative examples, helping businesses easily visualize the direct impact on tax compliance, data transparency and optimizing operating costs.
Board: Affiliate Transaction Management Technology Trends: Detailed Applications and Benefits
| Technology trends | Affiliate transaction management application | Outstanding benefits | Detailed explanation | Illustrative example |
| AI and Machine Learning. | Analyze transaction price data, detect abnormalities, optimize tax risk control processes. | Reduce tax assessment risks, forecast market price trends independently. | The AI system forecasts link prices, warns of unusual transactions, increases accuracy when creating national profiles (Local File), global profiles (Master File) and national profit margins (CbCR). | A multinational corporation with 15 subsidiaries and 120,000 internal transactions/year, thanks to the AI system detecting 3.2% transactions with 10% price deviations compared to the benchmark, adjusted 120 transactions in time, saving about 2.5 million USD in potential taxes and reducing the risk of collection. |
| Big Data and Data Analytics | Process big data from ERP, CRM, industry data sources; compare independent market prices. | Provide reliable evidence, increase accuracy when preparing Transfer Pricing Documents | Combine multi-source data to build a comprehensive market price benchmark, reducing the risk of data bias. | An FMCG company in Vietnam used Big Data from 5,000 invoices, 2 million price data points and 12 industry reports to determine the average market price for each product, reducing the TP record error to less than 1.5% compared to the manual method. |
| Blockchain | Store documents, contracts, internal contracts transparently and cannot be modified | Increase transparency, reduce fraud risks, and enhance trust with tax authorities. | Store intercompany contracts with timestamps and immutable audit trails. | An international logistics corporation stores 10,000 contracts and 50,000 shipping documents on the blockchain. Thanks to timestamps, tax authorities can easily access data, 100% valid records, reducing the risk of collection and fines from 500,000 USD to 0 USD |
| RPA | Automate periodic reporting, balance data between affiliates | Reduce manual errors, save labor costs, increase operating efficiency. | Automate TP report synthesis (including national profile, global profile and national profit margin), data reconciliation, reduce processing time | A pharmaceutical corporation with 20 subsidiaries had to compile 2,500 reconciliation data tables each quarter. RPA automatically processed 90% of work, reducing time from 15 days to 3 days and reducing manual entry errors from 7% to 0.5%. |
| Cloud Computing | Centralized management of linked transaction records, cross-border access | Flexible, secure, safe data backup. | TP records are stored centrally on the cloud, supporting quick retrieval for audits and checks. | A global technology corporation stores 200,000 TP documents on the cloud, allowing 50 employees in 10 countries to access simultaneously. The system automatically backs up every 6 hours, ensuring no data loss. Thanks to that, when conducting international inspections, documents are retrieved quickly, reducing response time from 10 days to 1 day. |
The trend of technology in managing related-party transactions is becoming a key tool to help businesses make data transparent, reduce tax risks and optimize costs. Grasping the right trend of technology in managing related-party transactions will turn technology into a competitive advantage instead of a potential risk.
After reviewing in detail the trends in technology for managing related-party transactions and the practical applications of each trend in technology for managing related-party transactions, the next step is to analyze the specific impacts of these trends in technology for managing related-party transactions on businesses. Understanding the benefits, challenges and implementation methods will help businesses not only comply with international laws and standards, but also optimize operating costs, improve tax risk management efficiency and create sustainable competitive advantages.
The impact of affiliate transaction management technology trends on businesses
The technology trends in affiliate transaction management are creating important impacts, specifically as follows:
Increase transparency and data accuracy
To fully understand the benefits of new technologies, businesses can consider the key impacts of each of the following trends in transaction management technology:
- Helps businesses collect, store and analyze related transaction data accurately, reducing the risk of being taxed by tax authorities.
For example, Blockchain and Big Data provide audit trails and reliable market price benchmarks.
Reduce the risk of error and fraud
Technology trends in transaction management not only support automation, but also help businesses collect, analyze and store accurate transaction data, minimizing tax assessment risks. Some specific impacts:
- Automation using AI and RPA helps detect unusual transactions, providing early warning of transactions that are at risk of being inconsistent with market prices.
- Minimize errors due to manual processing, increase reliability of TP records
Optimize costs and operational efficiency
To optimize affiliate transaction management, businesses should consider the prominent benefits that each affiliate transaction management technology trend brings:
- RPA and Cloud help automate periodic reporting, data reconciliation and centralized record management, saving time and human resources.
- Businesses can focus resources on strategic analysis instead of manual work.
Create competitive advantage
Businesses today are under pressure to comply with the law while optimizing costs. The application of technology trends in transaction management brings many strategic benefits, which can be summarized through the following key points:
- Businesses that effectively embrace and implement technology trends in affiliate transaction management will enhance their reputation, improve compliance, and create a foundation for global expansion.
Conclude
Technology trends in managing related-party transactions are shaping the way businesses approach tax compliance, data transparency and operating cost optimization. The application of AI, Big Data, Blockchain, RPA or Cloud not only helps detect risks early but also improves the accuracy and transparency of related-party transaction records, thereby reducing the risk of tax imposition and increasing credibility with tax authorities and partners.
To turn these technology trends into a real competitive advantage, businesses need to build a synchronous digital transformation strategy, combining data, processes and personnel with the right skills. If you are looking for guidance on implementing effective technology trends in managing related-party transactions, experts at MAN - Master Accountant Network are ready to accompany, advise and implement optimal solutions, helping businesses both comply with international standards and maximize the effectiveness of tax risk management.
Contact information MAN – Master Accountant Network
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