The Price of Perfection – When Wishes Fall Short

“I want a technology that establishes a single source of truth which would solve all my problems,” said the CFO.

“Ah, the final wish.  Are you sure you know what you’re asking for?” The Genie’s voice was rich with intrigue.
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“More than ever,” the CFO replied, his voice steady but filled with a quiet desperation. “Give me a system that integrates everything – from data entry and invoice processing to tax filings. No more discrepancies. No more questions. Just the truth.”
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The Genie smiled, his eyes twinkling. “So be it. Your wish is granted.”

The CFO was convinced this was the end of his long-standing struggles. He couldn't imagine wanting anything better!
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His first wish had been simple: No more GST notices. The Genie had granted it in an instant—emails wiped clean, desk uncluttered. His second wish? Ultimate automation. The Genie, ever obliging, had given him the most powerful compliance system in existence. It learned, adapted, and automated everything. And his final wish was for a single source of truth which would solve all my problems.

With the three wishes granted, the CFO left the office that day with a sense of contentment he hadn’t felt in years. That night, he slept soundly, his mind free of worries. The next morning was seamless—no mention of notices, no looming deadlines, just smooth sailing. The entire finance team was in high spirits, and the CFO? He was even happier. As he glanced at the lamp on his desk, he knew exactly why.
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A few weeks had gone by when the CFO received an unexpected email.

It was from Mr. Adit Tor, a name that sent a chill down his spine. Adit Tor was no ordinary auditor – he was an infamous figure in the world of tax compliance, known for his unyielding scrutiny and deep knowledge of financial intricacies. 
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The subject was: “Audit Notification – Urgent Attention Required.”

The CFO pounced up. He clicked on it immediately.
 
The said email:

His heart raced as he opened the message. It was clear from the tone that Mr. Tor had already begun his audit, and a wave of panic hit him.

The CFO’s hands trembled as he forwarded the email to his tax head, GSTina. The system was supposed to be perfect. So how could there be discrepancies?

He had just forwarded the email when GSTina burst into his chamber. “How did this happen?” the CFO asked her, his voice cracking under the pressure.

GSTina replied, “Sir, at first, it had been bliss. The dreaded GST notices had disappeared. But we didn’t notice that the notices weren’t really gone—the risks had only been buried, and the system had simply stopped flagging the issues.”

The system had been suppressing minor compliance alerts to prevent notices. But those minor issues had now snowballed into a full-blown compliance investigation.“

But how did the notices even occur?” the CFO said, quite annoyed. “We even got an expensive and fully automated system that handled everything!”

‍“Yes, and it did, but the system was too rigid. It followed rules, but it didn’t understand them. There are gaps!” said GSTina

When an invoice had a missing field, the system made assumptions. When vendors filed late, the system processed the data anyway.

The third wish should have fixed it all, then. Yet, it became apparent that the “single source of truth” wasn’t as foolproof as he expected. It was only as reliable as the data it was fed, and it couldn’t account for the unpredictable elements in tax compliance.

This “truth” was far from perfect.
The real story was much deeper…

‍From the time they got the email for the audit, the team started scrambling to gather the necessary information. The flaws in the system quickly became apparent. Vendor invoice misclassifications, tax credit mismatches, and discrepancies in the reconciliations were everywhere. The system had been a powerful tool, but without context, it was useless.

As the pressure mounted, the CFO realised the painful truth: he had asked for the wrong things.
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The Genie had given him what he wanted, but none of his wishes had addressed the real issue—the complexity and unpredictability of the world of tax compliance.
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And now, with Mr. Adit Tor’s audit underway, it was clear: the price of perfection could be far higher than he had ever imagined.
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A knock on the door. The assistant walked in, his face pale. “Sir… Mr. Adit Tor wants to meet.”
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To be continued…