Tax Professionals In Demand
Few people have a better overview of the market for tax professionals than Aideen Murphy, partner, Tax & Practice, in Barden, the talent advisory and recruitment firm. Established nine years ago, Barden has 40 advisers based in Cork, Dublin, Waterford, and San Francisco. The firm initially specialised in Accounting & Tax recruitment, and has evolved to provide staffing solutions in the areas of Business Support, Executive Search, Financial Services, Legal, Life Sciences, Supply Chain and Technology.
According to Murphy: “We are fortunate that Ireland is enjoying a period of economic growth, but this doesn’t ease the pressure created by talent demands. We like to get to the core of our clients’ issues, brainstorm internally and offer genuine solutions. The exceptional people within our firm take time to truly understand each market. This has resulted in us carving out a niche in the talent advisory space and recruitment sector.”
What qualifications do employers favour when recruiting a tax professional?
Generally speaking, the Chartered Tax Advisor qualification offered by the Irish Tax Institute is the key qualification sought by employers.
However, it does depend on the role. If your day-to-day has a strong element of tax accounting, it is likely an accounting qualification will also be required. Some professionals qualify as both accountants and tax advisers when training, so the dual qualification can be beneficial if you’re keen to secure a tax accounting driven role in the future. We also see many tax qualified professionals who are also qualified lawyers. This dual qualification offers a different perspective.
What are the career advantages for an accountant who specialises in the tax area?
Tax is a very diverse area to work in. Historically there was a preconception that tax is only about filing returns and meeting compliance deadlines, but it’s much more than that. Nearly every business decision has a tax effect. Within the corporate space, the tax function has now gained a seat at the table and is involved in the decisionmaking process for businesses rather than being consulted after the fact.
We have also noticed the creation of many new in-house tax functions within industry, not just in within Corporate Tax but also areas like Indirect Tax, Transfer Pricing and Tax Technology. Given the changing landscape of global tax, and the complexities that these changes bring, there is also an increased reliance on the tax adviser within practice. Depending on your role, working in tax can offer a wide remit of duties. For example, in industry there is scope to oversee business operations while collaborating closely with key executives, and in practice there is the opportunity to be a technical expert and adviser.
Where are the best employment opportunities for tax professionals?
Tax professionals are in high demand across the board at the moment. We have been battling with a short supply of tax talent in Ireland for over a year now, particularly at the recently qualified to 2/3 years PQE mark. An outflow of talent to international markets (Australia in particular) has been the biggest driver of this. Both industry and practice offer plenty of opportunities across various levels.