RICHARD CURTIS TAKES A LOOK AT BLT’S 2010 INDIRECT TAX SALARY SURVEY
‘A year of minimal job cuts and a continuing high profile.’ No; we’re not talking about the Liberal Democrats, but VAT specialists according to BLT’s 2010 Indirect Tax Salary Survey. This was aided by the fact that there was little sign of any simplification of the indirect tax legislation plus some important judgments in VAT cases; for example, Conde Nast/Fleming. All of this meant that indirect tax specialists were kept busy over the last 12 months.
However, it wasn’t unmitigated good news; there was a slowdown in recruitment, promotions and salary increases. That said, the proverbial ‘green shoots’ have made an appearance since the beginning of the year and the VAT job market seems to be leading tax out of the recession as firms cope with a build-up of work and a lack of resources to do it. Consequently, there has been a ‘flurry of new jobs’ in
this sector.
Sharpening the indirect tax focus on to the customs and international trade areas, the survey reports that there were a few senior appointments, but while this specialist knowledge is highly valued, it is rarely reflected in a buoyant job market. Export control consultancy seems to be a growth area however.
So if you are an indirect tax specialist who is thinking about where the next rung on your career ladder might lie, where should you be looking?
The vision thing
Do you have deep sector skills, above average commercial ability or vision and creativity? If you – or perhaps more importantly if your boss – can see these capabilities in you then you are likely to be the sort of indirect tax specialist who is being sought by one of the Big 4 firms. They have had relatively few job losses in this field in the UK – and while promotions have been more difficult to achieve, there have been a few notable partner appointments.
Other abilities that are sought are mental attitude, intelligence, technical and commercial skills, and ‘clean’ backgrounds.
BLT suggests that while during the difficult days of 2009 these firms concentrated on business winners at senior manager/director and associate partner grades, the recovering market looks as though it will see more opportunities for those at a more junior level, as firms look to expand their practices to meet demand for their indirect tax expertise.
If you are looking for a more rarefied atmosphere, law firms continue to ‘fly the flag’ with their indirect tax expertise, but the combination of relevant VAT qualifications and legal expertise is hard to find – unless you, dear reader, know differently!
In the middle
Life for the indirect tax specialist in mid-tier, independent and boutique firms and for sole practitioners has been more of a mixed bag according to the BLT survey.
The larger ‘Tier A’ firms who model themselves more on Big 4
operations have continued to experience positive results and confidence. Similarly, the specialists (take a note those of you with experience of, for example, charities, education, landed estates and high net worth individuals) have not suffered unduly in the recession. Conversely, times have been harder for some firms who deal mainly with owner-managed businesses. While job cuts have still been rare, so have replacement roles.
There have been islands of ‘recession-friendly’ businesses – those dealing with the public sector being a prominent one. Firms that offer tax and technology solutions for international businesses also report successful times and BLT predicts that this could be an area that will grow in the years ahead.
In-house
For large businesses, getting their indirect tax numbers right will always be an important consideration and one of the focuses of in-house indirect tax teams is on systems, processes and compliance. This continuing and ever-present workload has resulted in very few redundancies. While the job market has been ‘steady’ this past year, the new decade is looking much more promising.
BLT reports that vacancies at more senior levels – senior manager and above – will continue to be hard fought over, with priority tending to be given to those already working in the in-house team.
Conclusion
BLT reports that ‘tough, intense, rewarding, challenging, interesting, depressing, busy’ were all adjectives that its questionnaire respondents used to describe this past year.
But what’s ahead? BLT predicts good times, steady expansion of Big 4 VAT teams, increasing demand for advice on indirect tax and technology and process improvement, growth of in-house teams, and the expansion of VAT departments in the Far East and the USA. All in all, things seem to be looking up.
If you would like a full copy of the BLT 2010 Indirect Tax Salary Survey, email Guy Barrand at gnb@blt.co.uk.
