Knowledge flows in taxation: an empirical study

van der Rijt, P.G., Hasseldine, J and Holland, K.M. (2008) Knowledge flows in taxation: an empirical study (University of Southampton Discussion Paper Series: Centre for Research in Accounting, Accountability and Governance, CRAAG-08-07) Southampton, UK. University of Southampton

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore how developments in tax legislation in the UK are captured by companies and incorporated into their tax knowledge. The institutions that play a crucial role in the implementation of tax knowledge are the government (HMRC), accounting firms, and corporate tax payers. The relationships between these institutions are described in the context of a knowledge market, where HMRC is identified as a knowledge seller, accounting firms defined as knowledge brokers, and corporate taxpayers as knowledge buyers. Our findings are based on qualitative in-depth interviews with employees in this knowledge market. The results suggest that knowledge brokers, who are intermediaries between the knowledge seller and knowledge buyers, have a relatively strong position in the knowledge market. These findings imply that knowledge brokers experience challenges in terms of how to create new knowledge, how to find a balance in the kowledge they contribute and collect, and how to handle scepticism of knowledge buyers. Further, the results show that inter- and intra-organisational processes of knowledge sharing are related, and shed light on facilitators of and barriers to these processes.

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