Why Indirect Tax Professionals Should Embrace VAT Compliance

Compliance is often considered the starting point of someone’s career in indirect tax. A mere stepping stone. 

Advisory is the glitz and glamour of the tax world, so when it comes to career progression it’s no surprise that most candidates want to pursue this route. 

But over the course of 2022, we observed a skyrocketing demand for VAT compliance specialists across the UK.  Our Head of Tax, Alex Mann explores some of the reasons for the VAT compliance recruitment crisis. 

In September of last year, 60% of all our in-house vacancies were compliance based. 

Due to this demand, the perception of what progression looks like in the compliance arena is transforming. Its image of being the advisory route’s boring older cousin could be crumbling before our eyes.

Obviously picking a career path where your skills are in demand is a bonus, but you shouldn’t choose the compliance route based on this alone. 

Clearly compliance isn’t what it used to be. The indirect world is changing, continuously having to adapt to global nuances in legislations and technological implementations. 

So who are the ones having to keep up with all of these technical changes as they take place?

It’s usually those in compliance. 

And this updated knowledge is extremely powerful when it comes to tax technology. 

Tax technology roles are steadily rising across the UK & EMEA regions, with the likes of Amazon becoming a powerhouse for in-house tax technology roles (that’s right, you’ve seen Amazon & tax in the same sentence!).

We predict this rise is likely to continue and demand for tax technology profiles will intensify over the coming decade. 

Throughout 2022, when hiring for tax technology profiles, we observed that employers in this space have begun to display a preference for candidates with solid compliance backgrounds. 

When it comes to advancing down the tax technology route, the knowledge required by a compliance professional provides a solid foundation.

We all know tax technology isn’t going away. There’ll be nowhere to hide from its grips. 

How Will You Stand Out in Tomorrow’s Market?

Let’s be honest, it’s always good to be in demand. But to future proof your career at the same time, well that’s the icing on the cake.