|
Tax Accountant Job Career Profile
What ever your area of interest, a career in tax has something to offer you,in either Corporate (Company) or Personal (Individual) Tax
Tax is not the most popular word in the English language. It is something most people would rather not think about. The same may apply to a career in taxation - which is a big mistake. Why is it such a mistake? After all, what could a career in tax ever do for you?
Well, there's the variety. Tax is a mixture of law, administration and accountancy and it draws on a huge range of intellectual, presentational and personal skills: Anyone with a technical and inventive mind will find that a career in tax provides them with an excellent and exciting opportunity to put those qualities to use".
Much of the job is understanding the legislation and then being able to explain it is simpler terms and with its implications to the client. There is a lot of organisation and management involved: it's not just number crunching.
Then there's the remuneration. The job market in tax has its ups and downs, as all job markets do. But a qualification and experience in tax form an excellent basis for a secure and well-remunerated career. And if you are ambitious, tax can lead you to the top - not only in professional practice but also in commercial management. There's also the challenge. Tax is a complex and ever-changing world where your actions translate pretty quickly into financial consequences. You have to make professional judgments and be prepared to back them up.
Many people's preconceptions about a career in taxation are due to a lack of understanding of the subject. There are always things to learn. This stops the job becoming boring and tedious. If you decide on a career in tax, there are really two separate paths (although people do switch between them): working for the government or working as a tax practitioner in private practice, commerce or industry.
A multi national group of companies is taxed differently on its activities around the world. Some professionals will advise on policy for our tax system, others will write the tax law. Someone else will administer the collection of taxes for the government. Others will act for businesses of all types who have to pay these taxes. Marketing, IT, media and publishing all need tax specialists.
Working for the government
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs have their own training and career structure, details of which are available on their website.
HMRC http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/jobs/
Working in practice, commerce or industry.
Unless you are already qualified as a lawyer or accountant and are looking to specialise in tax, you will have to find employment as a tax trainee. You might find the guide "The Tax Adviser's Profession" (part of the Inside Careers series) helpful as it contains a Register of Employers of Tax Trainees. Whilst the firms listed do not necessarily have immediate vacancies, they have all indicated that from time to time they take on trainees (some more frequently than others, depending on size). You will also find more information about the tremendous range of work in the field of tax.
Qualifications
There are two major bodies which award tax qualifications - The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) and The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).
Passing the ATT examination qualifies you as a Tax Technician (entitled to the designatory letters ATT) and entitles you to enter the CIOT exams. Passing the CIOT exams entitles you to use the letters CTA (Chartered Tax Adviser). This is seen as the pre-eminent qualification in tax.
For details about becoming an ATT member, go here.
http://www.att.org.uk/
For details about becoming a CIOT member, go here.
http://www.tax.org.uk/showarticle.pl?id=3004&n=143
Search all UK Tax Accountant Jobs click here
Or for your local Tax Accountant Job go here
for previous accountancy career profile articles based on different other job titles go here
|
