10 Feb 2012 The Complete World Map of e-invoicing

Over the last few weeks we’ve been exploring the diverse interpretation of laws and the different approaches that governments have taken to electronic invoicing around the world. We’ve presented it as a series of maps with high level commentary on some of the details in 4 regions. Now that it is complete, we’ve consolidated the map into a single picture. It makes for interesting reading and it’s now available for download here.

Follow this link to download the large version of the Complete World Map of e-invoicing

World map of e-invoicing insights

I didn’t know before doing the research for the world map of e-invoicing, how diverse the map is. I’ve dealt at some detail with e-invoicing on a global basis for a number of years but being based in Europe, my focus has always been primarily on the European countries and the EU in particular. The new insight I’ve gained is not so much that there are as many different ways to approach e-invoicing as there are regulatory environments but rather, the approach taken in Latin America and China to use electronic invoicing as a means of policing corporate tax collection is an opportunity that Europe and North America could benefit from.

This might seem radical, indeed many will instinctively react to such a suggestion by resisting tighter government control of business but it’s not about that. It’s about automating financial reporting as well as automating business processes. EU governments have been paranoid about VAT fraud for years and with good reason. Crooks stole literally €millions using a carousel fraud technique a few years ago yet at the same time, the regulatory authorities overlooked the opportunity to set up a government sponsored e-invoicing platform that could allow them to monitor VAT collection and payment much more closely.

Food for thought!