Reframing Tax Expertise in Business Management: A Financial Governance Perspective on Executive Decision Power

In traditional business management literature, tax expertise has predominantly been framed as a technical or compliance-oriented function, positioned downstream from strategic and executive decision-making. This framing increasingly fails to reflect the realities of modern organizations operating under fiscal complexity, regulatory ambiguity, and heightened governance expectations. As taxation becomes more intertwined with organizational structure, risk exposure, and strategic feasibility, tax expertise emerges as a critical determinant of executive decision power rather than a peripheral support function. This article reframes tax expertise as a core component of financial governance that actively shapes executive decision authority. From a governance perspective, decision power is not derived solely from hierarchical position but from the ability to define evaluative criteria, interpret regulatory environments, and design control architectures under uncertainty. The study argues that tax expertise functions as a governance resource that influences how decisions are framed, constrained, and legitimized at the executive level. Through a conceptual and analytical approach, the paper examines how fiscal complexity redistributes decision power within organizations and elevates tax-informed judgment as a central leadership capability. By integrating tax expertise into the analysis of financial governance, the study contributes to business management literature by demonstrating how executive decision power is increasingly exercised through interpretive and design-oriented mechanisms rather than through formal authority alone. This perspective positions tax expertise as a strategic enabler of governance effectiveness and executive leadership in contemporary organizations.