In the face of shifting economic and regulatory conditions in the UK, junior tax professionals need to consider what skills they need to acquire to help grow their careers in the long term.
Regulations are becoming more complex and stringent, with FATCA and BEPS regulations impacting the financial services sector, and HMRC’s risk based approach requiring businesses to provide a clear and concise approach to reporting.
New technologies can help businesses lower the risk of non-compliance, reduce operating costs, improve cash flow, and produce more accurate reporting numbers.
Robert Walters Director, Dan Harris, shares his top fives tips for junior tax professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve in a changing landscape.
Five steps to future proof your tax career
Embrace tax technology
- Be it within an accountancy firm or a tax team in industry, professionals should look to gain as much exposure to tax technology as possible
- Businesses are investing heavily in data analytics, robotics, tax technology platforms and senior tax professionals with expertise in this area, so professionals with a grounding in these fields will be highly sought after
Get involved in tax transformation projects
- Familiarity not only with how to use tax software systems but how to implement them will be a highly valuable skill
- As technology continues to develop, implementing new systems will become a regular occurrence, and experience within this area will be extremely sought after
Attend workshops/seminars demonstrating how technology and tax can work together
- There will be more of a shift towards high level review within teams, particularly surrounding ways to transform tax functions using technology
- Seeking out training and learning opportunities where you can develop strategic skills which will enable you to make effective use of technology rather than focusing on ‘low level’ work will make you highly employable
Move into an industry tax team early in your career to gain exposure to tax technology
- Businesses are less likely to outsource compliance and reporting work to the accountancy firms and service centres, leading to fewer lower level in-house tax roles
- Seek out in-house roles which offer potential for career progression to ensure that you are able to gain more strategic and technology related experience as quickly as possible to position yourself for senior roles
Stay aware of the changing tax landscape and how you can use technology to stay compliant
- Just as technology evolves, so will regulatory frameworks, complicating the interactions between the two.
- The ability to ensure that two work together harmoniously will be invaluable, and this will only be possible if tax professionals are able to combine an extensive knowledge of both.
More and more of the businesses we work with are expecting candidates to have had exposure to technology. Those that have a deep understanding of the robotics behind such systems, plus strong tax technical knowledge are in a fantastic position.
This experience can be gained at accountancy firm’s specific tax technology teams, at companies that produce and sell financial software, or in industry tax teams that are already embracing such technologies.
Wherever you gain the experience, be sure to not fall behind the curve.
