James H.
About me
| James H. | |
| Language and Linguistic Science | |
| Languages and Linguistics | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 2012 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Private Client Tax Advisor | |
| Deloitte LLP | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Finance and consultancy | |
| 2012 |
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A day in the life of a Private Client Tax Advisor in the United Kingdom
Courses taken since graduation
Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT), Chartered Tax Advisor (CTA)
Where I hope to be in 5 years
I was promoted to Assistant Manager in 2014, and I'd like to be promoted to Manager within the next couple of years. After that... who knows! Progression can be very fast, so I'll see if I can keep up!
My advice to students considering work
Make yourself stand out and show passion for something. Employers won't expect you to be an expert in your field from day one, but they will want to see enthusiasm and drive. Your extra-curricular activities don't need to be something extraordinary or unusual - think about your involvement in societies, sports teams, part-time work. Anything you have done is an asset and can be turned into a positive experience to differentiate you from other candidates.
Keep an eye on things happening in the news - don't worry about being able to talk in depth about the Budget or the recession, but have an awareness of general market trends and be able to discuss your own thoughts. You don't have to be right (especially as no one really knows what's going to happen!) but try to form your own opinions - for example, what do you think will happen in a post-credit crunch Britain? How might recent events in the Middle East affect cross-border and UK business? The most important thing is being able to formulate an opinion.
My advice about working in my industry
Keep an eye on things happening in the news - don't worry about being able to talk in depth about the Budget or the recession, but have an awareness of general market trends and be able to discuss your own thoughts. You don't have to be right (especially as no one really knows what's going to happen!) but try to form your own opinions - for example, what do you think will happen in a post-credit crunch Britain? How might recent events in the Middle East affect cross-border and UK business? The most important thing is being able to formulate an opinion.
What I do
I work in the Private Client Services (PCS) team, part of the Tax service line. In PCS we advise high net worth individuals, wealthy families, entrepreneurs, trustees and partnerships (to name a few) on how to structure their tax affairs to best achieve their aims - whether that is selling a business, passing wealth onto their family or buying a yacht! - and to ensure they are compliant with all of their tax reporting requirements. We also advise on international tax aspects for people coming to the UK to live or work.
My day-to-day job is as varied as the clients we look after! After a check of my emails, I will prioritise my 'to do' list for that day or week, taking into account any urgent work that may have come in. I could spend a large part of my day emailing or calling clients and third parties, preparing for and attending meetings, or researching complex tax problems.
Keeping up to date with the law is an important part of the job, as this affects the advice we give to our clients. We also have regular internal technical briefings, conference calls to discuss specific areas of tax and written notes to help improve our own awareness.
Skills I use and how I developed them
Extracurricular skills:
In my first year, there was a structured study programme leading to the ATT qualification. I'm due to sit my final two Chartered Institute of Taxation exams in November 2014, at which point I will be a Chartered Tax Advisory - one of the most prestigious tax qualifications in the world.
All of the transferrable skills learned in my degree have been invaluable - time management, self-discipline and report writing to name but a few. I have also been fortunate enough to bring in the odd bit of French direct from my degree when speaking to overseas offices - it can definitely help things get done a bit more quickly!
What I like most
My personal favourite part of the job is being presented with a complex question by a client and finding the best possible solution by working with senior members of the team and people from other departments. While some questions can be answered on the spot, others take time to plan, research and write up, but it is very rewarding to present your solution to the client knowing that you have done your absolute best.
What I like least
In common with most other professions - the admin! My biggest tip would be to keep up to date with your timesheet, make time to do your filing and keep on top of your inbox. Even though this isn't delivering advisory or compliance services to your client, it's an equally important part of the job so that there is a clear record of what's been done and someone else could look at your work if need be.
Next steps...
If you like the look of James’s profile, the next steps are down to you! You can send James a message to find out more about their career journey.