Microsoft does business in nearly every country around the world, with more than 400 legal entities generating over $200 billion in annual revenue. To repatriate earnings back to the United States from abroad, most subsidiaries issue dividends to the parent company each year. This process is crucial because it ensures that excess cash is available for use by Microsoft corporate, rather than languishing in bank accounts overseas.

"We do cash concentration whenever possible, but that concentrated cash still belongs to the subsidiaries," explains Edda Kuhlmann, senior treasury manager with Microsoft. "To make those funds available to corporate, we use the dividend." The dividends are particularly important for subsidiaries in countries that restrict participation in Microsoft's centralized cash-pooling structures.

For more than a decade, Microsoft's treasury group has coordinated the dividend process using an internally developed tool called STAT. "The STAT tool is part of a robust internal control system used by Microsoft's internal audit, tax, cash management, and legal teams," Kuhlmann says. "It monitors the status of statutory compliance for all our legal entities and houses financial statements, audit opinions, and management letters. It also provides source data such as filing dates, contacts, AGM [annual general membership meeting] information, and tax filing requirements for each entity around the world."