Finnish Tax Administration supports Cyprus Tax Department in software reform

Finnish Tax Administration is implementing a support project in Cyprus, in which they offer assistance and support for the Cyprus Tax Department in the deployment of a new off-the-shelf software

Pictured here are Ambassador Harri Mäki-Reinikka (middle), project manager Heidi Selin (third from left) and Finnish Tax Administration visitors with the Embassy staff

Representatives of the Finnish tax administration visited Cyprus as part of a project to support the Cypriot tax administration. The program also included a presentation of the project at the Embassy in Nicosia. Present in the meeting were project manager Heidi Selin, project management expert Virpi Pikkarainen, change management expert Mirka Nukarinen and software testing expert Marko Virtanen from the Finnish Tax Administration.

The support project has its basis on a Finnish Tax Administration programme called ‘Valmis’, which was awarded the Project of the Year Award in Finland in 2020 and placed second in the International Project Management Association's (IPMA) international competition in 2021. In the ‘Valmis’ programme, which was implemented in 2013-2021, the Tax Administration renewed its own internal information systems and introduced a new tax system and the OmaVero service to the customers. The successful programme has aroused international interest, and several countries have asked the Finnish Tax Administration to support their deployment of off-the-shelf software. This offers an excellent opportunity to share Finnish know-how around the world.

The aim of the Cyprus support project is to share the lessons of Finland's own off-the-shelf software project with the Cypriot tax administration(Link to another website.). The three-year support project started in the autumn of 2020, and due to the covid-19 pandemic, the first visit of the project team to Cyprus only took place now. However, in the project, contact between Finland and Cyprus is frequent, for example in the form of status meetings and updates.

The support of the Finnish Tax Administration to the Cypriot Tax Department has covered many different areas. In general, sharing information and experiences on best practices and avoiding pitfalls in different parts of the project has proved valuable. Support for change management and good and efficient project management practices, for example, have also become necessary. In the busy phases of the project, the emotional support of those who experienced a similar project is important to the Cypriots.