Working together to create trustworthy taxation

Right from the early stages of the development of Valmis, Vero discovered that the project has massive testing needs both due to both the system size and its different interfaces.

After consulting colleagues from similar large-scale ERP projects, Vero concluded that test automation is one of the most important ways to meet the test requirements of the Valmis project. “We realized early on that it is not possible to conduct regression testing of a project of this size completely manually,” Levasma says.

Following a call for tender in 2015, Tietokarhu and Gofore were selected as Vero’s test automation partners. “Gofore offered us the expertise we needed for the project and Tietokarhu gave us the workforce and taxation knowledge. Gofore has found an ideal solution for an integrated system that is exceptionally large and continually changing. It was especially important for us that the solution offers flexibility and maintainability to keep up with evolving taxation,” Levasma adds.

Vero continued its partnership with Tietokarhu until the fall of 2019, after which it signed a new six-year contract directly with Gofore.

For Vero, continuity has always been of utmost importance — ensuring that all systems always function reliably. In fact, continuity is one of Vero’s steadfast cornerstones and is a basis for all their activities.

Without test automation and the quality of information systems it produces, tax applications along with services provided to citizens and businesses would not work with the certainty we are used to. For instance, an unstable operation could delay tax refunds, causing major problems for businesses — this could destabilize society as a whole.

The quality of systems can ensure that taxation is reliable and trustworthy. When an individual or business can count on the fundamentals of taxation and its reliable functioning, it also facilitates smooth payment of taxes.

This is reflected in the fact that Finns are much more conscientious taxpayers than, say, Americans.

Gofore’s test automation and quality assurance services for Vero covers both continuous application management and new application development. The role of automation is becoming increasingly important as new features are added to keep up with taxation changes.

“Every single time something is modified, an automated test has to run to ensure that the changes have not broken the system somewhere else. We run these tests tens of thousands of times, and the benefits multiply as we run them year after year.”

Test automation saves a massive amount of manual work. “Without automation, comprehensive testing would not be possible. Automation can run constantly at no additional cost. This makes a tremendous difference to the quality of the systems as all changes can be tested as soon as they are made.”

Changes in taxation are a common occurrence in the tax administration system. Weekly modifications made to Vero’s Valmis software are tested immediately. The tests reveal if the changes have compromised the functionality of the system. Any detected errors are then resolved immediately.

After five years of working with Gofore, Levasma says he is feeling confident about their future working relationship. ”Right from the beginning, I have been pleased with Gofore’s expertise as our test automation partner. Their experts have done a good and innovative job. They listen to what we need and have been able to solve problems efficiently. I warmly recommended working with Gofore to everyone including my American colleagues,” Levasma concludes.