Dyno Nobel Cuts Global Transfer Pricing Costs by 67% with Exactera

ABOUT DYNO NOBEL

The Challenge: Finding a Reliable, Flexible Global Transfer Pricing Partner

Milan Crane, CPA, Tax Director and Risk Manager at Dyno Nobel, runs a four-person tax department responsible for multiple jurisdiction income tax returns, tax provisioning, transfer pricing compliance, R&D; tax credit claims, indirect tax, and more. As a chemical and explosives manufacturer with intercompany transactions across Australia, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Turkey, South Africa, and beyond — and a business still expanding — there was no room for inefficiency.

Over 17 years, Crane had outsourced transfer pricing to multiple providers. Two boutique consultants proved unreliable — there were times he wondered whether he would receive a report at all. He then turned to a Big Four firm, but found the model too rigid for a growing global business.

“It seemed like the contractual relationship with the Big Four firm always centered on ‘define your transactions precisely upfront,’ and “that’s what they will do for you. If something came along after the fact, it was hard to add it,” Crane says. “It was too rigid. Day one I would have to identify everything. What if I missed something?”

The reports themselves were also a problem. Outside providers tended to produce voluminous documentation that expounded on data already explained in the numbers — a practice Crane believed invited unnecessary scrutiny from tax authorities and drove up already costly consultancy fees.

“The analyses that we had seen done by multiple providers seemed to focus on the minutia,” says Crane. “I would get voluminous reports that didn’t require all of that explanation. I thought, ‘Is that what I’m paying for? Is that why costs are so high?’”

Why Dyno Nobel Chose Exactera for Global Transfer Pricing Compliance

Crane needed three things: continuity, flexibility, and a provider that could evolve with the business. He also knew that not all jurisdictions treat transfer pricing with the same level of scrutiny—and he wanted to focus attention where it was most needed.

“In the U.S., I might feel that transfer pricing compliance is essentially a commodity, but my boss in Australia views it as critical because of the aggressiveness of the Australian Taxation Office.”

Six years ago, Crane turned to Exactera to manage global transfer pricing compliance for Dyno Nobel and its parent company. Exactera’s team leveraged its AI-native platform to deliver clean, concise, and easy-to-understand reports—following Crane’s belief that less is often more when it comes to effective transfer pricing documentation.

“Exactera’s approach was more fluid. In an expanding global business, that was critical.”

“I liked the presentation style. What other companies were doing in five pages, Exactera could do in one.”

Exactera’s flexible service model allowed Crane to add or remove jurisdictions and transactions as the business evolved, avoiding the rigid upfront scoping that had made the Big Four relationship so frustrating. For example, if the finance team created a new intercompany loan arrangement during the year, Exactera could incorporate it into the compliance process.

“Our approach is more holistic because it allows us to explore each and every transaction during the reporting analysis process, as opposed to pre-deciding a list that does not consider the magnitude of the underlying transaction.”

The Results: 67% Cost Reduction and 10% Time Saved on Transfer Pricing

The impact on Dyno Nobel’s tax department was measurable across cost, time, and documentation quality — all three improving simultaneously.

• 67% Cost Reduction: Dyno Nobel now spends approximately 33% of what it previously spent to fulfil its global transfer pricing documentation needs — a 67% reduction in compliance costs.
• 50% Less Team Input Per Report: With Exactera’s concise, well-structured reports, the areas needing changes are easy to identify. Team input per report dropped by approximately 50% compared to previous providers.
• 10% of Tax Department Time Recovered: Across both transfer pricing compliance and R&D; tax credit claims, Dyno Nobel’s tax team recovered roughly 10% of their working time — redirected to higher-value tax analysis.

“With Exactera’s reports, the areas that need changing are easy to identify. When the Senior Tax Manager and I receive reports, it’s very easy for us to go into particular sections and make changes. Our input is about 50% of what we used to have to do on other more voluminous reports. Exactera narrows the contribution needed from our team, but the documentation still accomplishes what we need it to.”

“We are spending about 33% of what we were previously spending to fulfil our global transfer pricing documentation needs.”

Crane was so pleased with Exactera’s transfer pricing compliance that he also enlisted the company to manage Dyno Nobel’s R&D tax credit claims — applying the same efficient, technology-driven approach to another area of tax compliance. Learn more about Exactera R&D Tax Credits

“Exactera’s technology exceeds its competitors and offers a better product at a better price.”

“Exactera has given us a lot of bang for our buck.”

Ready to reduce your global transfer pricing compliance costs?  Speak to an Exactera transfer pricing expert today.