Transfer Pricing Survival Guide

Book excerpt: Transfer Pricing is an issue that has material implications for tax risks faced by MNEs. Yet, pragmatic guidance on identifying and managing transfer pricing risk is lacking. Consequently, CFOs and other stakeholders tend to underestimate risks while overestimating the costs for mitigating such risks. The first objective of the Survival Guide is to shed light on typical transfer pricing risks and provide an intuitive "risk matrix" that is designed to help CFOs as well as tax advisors to develop a quantitative understanding of the relevant risks. The second objective is to outline targeted mitigation strategies. The mitigation strategies outlined in the Survival Guide are based on pragmatic considerations rather than complex analysis. The aim is to provide you with concise explanations and help you to differentiate between tasks that are considered a "must" for mitigation purposes and those that can be regarded as merely "nice to have" The immediate utilization of the Survival Guide is as a frame of reference for making informed decisions about the scope and target of your transfer pricing projects. The Survival Guide presents a framework for thinking about transfer pricing risk that will also benefit tax professionals as well as academics with an interest in understanding the nature of transfer pricing risks.