Specialist Taxes
The demand for Indirect Tax talent remains at an all-time high, stimulated by the globalisation of indirect tax regimes.
The continued shift towards a Digital Tax Administration and the increasing complexity of business supply chains, intensify the requisition for specialist advisers and tax transformation professionals to navigate these pressures. Yet, this growing demand is placing great strain on recruitment in this space. The number of vacancies far outweighs the availability of talent, particularly in the UK, where Brexit and Covid 19 have seen a significant portion of professionals move back into Europe.
To combat these pressures, the breadth of skills required to operate optimally within in-house tax functions is constantly developing, with the need to be effective in project management, business partnering and successfully deploy technology to ensure transparency and secure efficiencies. In addition, the ever-increasing interest from all levels up to the boardroom in Indirect Tax affairs makes effective communication paramount in creating a successful tax profile within a business.
Opportunities have come in all shapes and sizes and are high-volume since the Covid-19 aftermath, but with exceptional demand at the mid-manager level. Senior and leadership roles have been exciting, with a new range of positions coming from high-growth tech firms, PE-backed organisations and businesses formed from mergers or spin-offs, offering a different career path to a typical FTSE listed Head of VAT.
Specialist transfer pricing hires remain steady in-house, and smaller FTSE groups will debate whether an international tax business partner can also implement and manage transfer pricing policy. The larger and more complex the group, the more popular this specialist hire becomes. The impact of pillar two could see a notable shift in this pattern of hiring.