Peter Paul Boon, Global Director Group Tax at NN Group, joins Tax Leaders Unplugged podcast to discuss how a 14-person tax team manages tax strategy and compliance for a multinational insurer with 19,000 employees.
In this episode, he shares:
- Why NN Group prioritizes strategy over technical tax knowledge
- How to scale a tax function without increasing headcount
- The 80/20 rule of tax leadership—why tax is mostly a business function
- How NN Group trained non-tax teams to take accountability for tax risks
- Why NN Group publishes a Total Tax Contribution Report—and how it -changed their governance approach
Key Insights & Learnings
✔ Tax is 80% business understanding, 20% technical knowledge
"Most business leaders don’t care about tax memos. They need solutions, not explanations."
✔ Train your tax team to speak business, not tax
"If you can explain tax to an 8-year-old, you can explain it to your CFO."
✔ Decentralize tax responsibility across the company
"With 19,000 employees, tax risks can’t sit with 14 people. We train the business to take ownership."
✔ Be transparent: Why NN Group publishes its tax contribution report
"We started tracking our total tax contribution internally in 2013. Now, it’s a public report and a governance benchmark."
✔ The secret to influencing the CFO: Speak in cash impact, not regulations
"Your CFO doesn’t want surprises. Show them the numbers and the risks—without the jargon."
📍 Full conversation breakdown:
[00:00:00] Introduction – Peter Paul Boon’s journey from Dutch tax authorities to in-house tax leadership
[00:01:42] Why NN Group’s tax team is deeply involved in social innovation and financial literacy programs
[00:04:40] The Tax Elevator Pitch Test – Why explaining tax to an 8-year-old is the best stakeholder training
[00:05:28] Why Peter Paul Boon has stayed at NN Group for 25+ years and how he’s kept the job interesting
[00:08:54] Encouraging tax team members to rotate into other roles in the business
[00:09:54] How long does it take to reach full speed in an in-house tax role?
[00:11:36] The 80/20 rule – Why tax leadership is 80% business, 20% technical knowledge
[00:13:33] The difference between advisory tax work vs. in-house tax leadership
[00:19:00] How NN Group trains 19,000 employees to be tax-aware without overwhelming them
[00:20:36] 14 people managing tax for 19,000 employees – How they make it work
[00:22:13] Why tax teams should bring solutions, not problems – making tax advice business-friendly
[00:25:06] Letting Other People Do the Work (LOPDTW): How NN Group decentralizes tax risk
[00:26:31] How to make tax the co-responsibility of the entire organization
[00:29:03] How NN Group trains its tax team beyond technical knowledge
[00:31:17] The CFO-Tax Relationship – How to communicate risk and value
[00:34:21] Why tax teams should stop doing recurring compliance work
[00:35:40] How NN Group absorbed Pillar Two compliance without hiring more staff
[00:37:01] What Peter Paul Boon looks for when hiring: Eagerness, creativity, and being a team player
[00:39:10] Total Tax Contribution Reports – Why NN Group made tax transparency a priority
[00:47:00] Why NN Group started tracking total tax contribution internally in 2013
[00:51:05] Final advice: Be creative. Challenge everything. Think bigger.
