CHARTERED TAX ADVISERS - Inside Careers

74 Pages·2012·2.1 MB·English

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© 2012 20
1
2
/1 Live jobs at www.insidecareers.co.uk/tax
3
your
tax career
starts here
Contents
06introduction from Ciot
07introduction from att
tHe profession emploYer direCtorY
10Career opportunities in tax
14the future of the tax profession
16Salaries and benefits
18faqs
graduate profiles referenCe taBle
22Bdo - Tax Assistant
24Haslers - Tax Executive
26ernst & Young - Tax Adviser
28smith & Williamson - Corporate Tax Trainee
senior profiles Visit our WeBsite
For more advice, live jobs, internships, tax
32Bdo - Assistant Tax Manager
forums, industry news and updates
34pwC - Director
36diageo - Tax Executive
38turcan Connell - Senior Solicitor
finding tHe rigHt joB
42education & skills needed
44routes into taxation
46getting an internship
tHe institute & qualifiCations
50the Chartered institute of taxation
54the association of taxation technicians
56tax exams & what’s involved
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Editorial
Editor the compilation © 2012 Cambridge
laura mcfarlane market intelligence ltd.
Associate Publisher all rights reserved. no part of this
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Acknowledgments While every effort has been made to
We are indebted to the Chartered ensure its accuracy, no responsibility for
institute of taxation for their support, in loss occasioned to any person acting or
particular to james Heywood for his help refraining from action as a result of any
throughout the preparation of the guide material in this publication can be accepted
and for reviewing the text for balance and by the publisher or authors.
accuracy.
inside Careers is an associate member of
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06
introduCtion
CIOT: Introduction
patrick stevens, the president of the Ciot, introduces this years’
Inside Careers Guide for Chartered Tax Advisers. He outlines some of
the key benefits of this profession and joining the CIOT.
Welcome to the Inside Careers Guide for and small firms, accountancy firms, boutique
Chartered Tax Advisers. firms, or solicitors and barristers.
Qualification as a Chartered Tax Adviser tax advisers can also be found in many
(Cta) is the ‘gold standard’ amongst tax different workplaces: in the voluntary sector,
professionals. the Chartered institute of HmrC and other parts of government, banking
taxation is the leading professional body for and finance, and commerce and industry.
those providing tax advice with a membership
of over 16,000. Whatever kind of employment you may
seek in taxation, you will benefit from the
training undertaken to enable you to sit the
examinations of the Chartered institute of
Whatever direction taxation. success in these examinations will
provide clear independent evidence of having
you choose, you will
attained a high professional standard that
find yourself as part
should enable you to demonstrate a wide-
of a profession that
range of uK tax knowledge.
is challenging but at
the same time very Whatever direction in taxation you choose, you
rewarding. will find yourself as part of a profession that is
challenging and demanding but at the same time
very rewarding. i wish you the best of luck and
every success in your future career. 
Patrick Stevens CTA (Fellow)
FCA is president of the Chartered
the largest proportion of our membership are institute of taxation
people in public tax practice and we have an
enormous range of different sorts of practices
where our members work, for example, large
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07
introduCtion
ATT: Introduction
Working together with the Ciot, the att promote the
tax profession and help ensure and maintain the quality of services provided by
tax professionals. the president of the att, stuart mcKinnon talks through some
of his thoughts on the industry and the association.
When choosing a career, taxation may not be tax technicians are trained to deal with the
the first thing that springs to mind. Yet it offers whole range of taxes, and to understand the
many of the things people are looking for in a related legal and accounting issues. they can
varied, fulfilling and rewarding career. Tax can work in professional firms of all sizes, in industry
be challenging (even though it is not supposed and commerce and in the revenue departments.
to be ‘taxing’), and a tax professional can have As tax law evolves, the knowledge required for
many opportunities for career progression and the job is constantly changing. Learning does not
personal development. stop on passing the exams, giving the challenge of
constantly adding to one’s expertise.
Tax, as Benjamin Franklin noted, is one of the
perpetual certainties of life. none of us can claim the association of taxation technicians is the
to be totally unaffected by taxation: much of what leading professional body for those providing
we buy is subject to VAT, and much of what we uK tax compliance services, with over seven
earn will be charged to income tax. the world of thousand fellows members and around four
tax is wider even than that: if we sell an asset for and a half thousand registered students. the
more than we paid for it, we may be subject to examinations are demanding, but those who are
Capital gains tax, anything we inherit may have successful can join a well-respected professional
been subject to Inheritance Tax, and we may be body which offers wide-ranging support to its
entitled to tax Credits. Businesses will have to members and whose voice is heard at the highest
confront taxes ranging from Corporation tax levels by those who influence tax policy and
on their profits, via PAYE and NIC on the wages practice in the uK. in today’s economic climate,
they pay their employees and Vat on their where career requirements are ever more
sales, to such exotica as Landfill Tax, Insurance competitive, being a member of the association
premium tax and Climate Change levy, of Taxation Technicians will enable difficult
depending on the nature of their trade. challenges to be met with confidence.
nor does tax remain static – every year sees at the guide will help you if you are thinking of
least one Budget and its associated finance act and entering a profession that can be well paid and
the decisions of the courts provide frequent new full of personal rewards and job satisfaction. 
interpretations of tax law. these constant changes
mean that there will always be fresh challenges to Stuart McKinnon CTA
face. individuals, partnerships and companies all ATT(Fellow) is president of the
need competent professional assistance in fulfilling association of taxation technicians.
their obligations under tax law, and members of
the association of taxation technicians are among
those who provide that help.
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For tax jobs & more info, visit www.insidecareers.co.uk/tax
tHe profession
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10 Career opportunities in tax
Rob Cottrell
14 tHe future of tHe tax profession
Claudia Engleman
16 salaries and Benefits
Antony Harvey
18 faqs
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10
tHe profession
Career opportunities in tax
graduates considering a career in tax can look forward to varied and challenging
work. With many different points of entry for graduates, it’s important to look
beyond qualifying to effectively plan your way to the top. But where should you
start? this article looks at all of the different areas of tax you could work in,
helping you to assess your options.
Why choose tax? accountancy firms is an obvious choice for the
the common stereotype of tax professionals majority of graduates.
often belies the fact that a background in
accountancy is increasingly the commercial There are four main qualifications for tax
driver of the board room, with qualified professionals – Chartered tax adviser (Cta),
accountants now at the helm of one fifth of the association of Chartered accountants (aCa),
uK’s ftse 100 companies. Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(aCCa) and association of tax technicians
in reality, tax is a dynamic and fast paced industry (att). the ‘Big four’ will usually sponsor and
which requires not only analytical ability, but support you through aCa and/or Cta.
excellent problem solving and commercial skills.
Modern tax professionals have to be equipped to even though the ‘Big four’ are the leading tax
communicate effectively and deliver out of the practices, there are other accountancy firms that
box strategic thinking and big-picture perspective offer excellent structure, training and progression.
in order to compete in an exceptionally firms such as grant thornton and Bdo, often
competitive market. referred to as ‘Mid-Tier’, are a definite option
for you as a graduate moving into tax. as with
tax also provides a stable career path and 2011 the ‘Big Four’, these firms will support and often
saw a string of announcements for positive growth sponsor you through your tax qualifications.
within leading accountancy firms, many increasing
their graduate intake on last year’s figures.
Finally, it pays to be qualified in tax; often very
well; if you prove yourself, you can realistically
aim for management within two to three years.
Where do I start?
as a graduate, tax has numerous points of
entry. The vast majority of high level university
graduates will join one of the ‘Big Four’
accountancy firms – Ernst & Young, PwC, KPMG
and deloitte.
The ‘Big Four’ firms all have structured training
programmes with a definitive progression route
to director or partner, and one of the attractive
aspects of this route is sponsorship whilst
you obtain your qualifications. Consequently,
starting out with the one of the major public
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