Listen Now

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP20Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression (free course): https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse You’ll LearnHow to have direction and motivation immediately after qualifying (whether ATT/CTA or other tax qualification) to continue progressing your careerTips to help make a decision on the direction to take your tax career inHow to set worthwhile goals and objectives (along with the importance of them)Whether you should do another professional qualification (such as ADIT, STEP, ACA, etc) ResourcesTTPP 2 – How to Improve your Productivity with Carl Pullein (Productivity Expert): https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp2/Take control of your career progression (free course): https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP19Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeStep-by-step guide to create your very own revision folder:  https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/revisionfolderguide  You’ll LearnStudents’ experiences from the November 2020 exams, and how to avoid their common pitfallsHow to prepare for the May 2021 ATT/CTA examsWhat material you can take into the exam (Nitin suggests a revision folder – don't let the name fool you)How to create your very own ‘revision’ folder (step-by-step guide can be found here) How to approach doing tables in the softwareNitin’s summary on how to approach the studying stage (more detail in episode 5 of the podcast)Nitin’s tips on revising for the May 2021 exams  Resources TTPP5: HOW TO PASS THE NOVEMBER 2020 ATT AND CTA EXAMS (OPEN BOOK FOR THE FIRST TIME) WITH NITIN RABHERU – this is still relevant! Step-by-step guide to creating your very own revision folderCIOT/ATT exam skills focus sessions Nitin’s ATT/CTA Exams Support Page

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP18Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourseYou’ll LearnTips on how to become better at explaining tax rules and concepts clear to others (including colleagues and clients)Why firstly fully understanding the tax rules you are explaining is importantThat you don’t need to just use words – pictures, diagrams and handouts can helpPracticing over time will, whilst making effort, will help you to be become better at explaining to othersOther similar episodes of the podcastTTPP 10: HOW TO WRITE GOOD-QUALITY AND PRACTICAL TAX ADVICETTPP 7: HOW TO HAVE EFFECTIVE MEETINGS AS A TAX PROFESSIONAL WITH LOREN LAZARONYTTPP 6: HOW TO BUILD AND MAINTAIN STRONG TAX KNOWLEDGE TO EXCEL AS A TAX PROFESSIONALTTPP 4: HOW TO BE A BETTER DELEGATOR TO PROGRESS YOUR CAREER WITH MIKE CLAYTONTTPP 1: HOW TO UNDERTAKE EFFECTIVE TAX RESEARCH

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP17 Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse You’ll Learn How the ADIT qualification will benefit your career Who the ideal candidates are for the ADIT qualification Whether the CTA or ADIT is more beneficial for you  What knowledge and skills you will learn from doing ADIT What you need to do to obtain the ADIT Advice on how to convince your employers to cover the costs (and maybe study time) to do the ADIT Resources Enrol on Free Course – Take Control of your Own Tax-Career Progression Helpful articles by Catriona: Which is the best qualification for your tax career – ADIT International Tax Affiliate or CTA Chartered Tax Adviser?  https://extrataxtraining.com/cta-vs-adit/ How much does it cost to study ADIThttps://extrataxtraining.com/cost_of_adit/ ADIT prospectus from CIOT website: https://www.tax.org.uk/adit-international-tax/prospective-students/prospectus-and-syllabus  

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP16Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourseYou’ll LearnWhat the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People are, and how these will help your tax career and personal lifeHow the 7 habits translate to a career of working in tax, with examplesHow to become more effective in your tax job with the habitsResourcesThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R CoveyThe companion workbookRelated TTPP EpisodesTTPP 1: HOW TO UNDERTAKE EFFECTIVE TAX RESEARCHTTPP 4: HOW TO BE A BETTER DELEGATOR TO PROGRESS YOUR CAREER WITH MIKE CLAYTONTTPP 10: HOW TO WRITE GOOD-QUALITY AND PRACTICAL TAX ADVICETTPP12: ROAD TO TAX MANAGER – ACCELERATE YOUR PROGRESSION WITH 10 TIPS LEARNT FROM MY JOURNEYTTPP 14: HOW TO STEP UP INTO YOUR NEW TAX ROLE/PROMOTION (EXCEL & CONTINUE PROGRESSING!)Note: the Amazon links above are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through them, you will be supporting the podcast as I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. If you have found the podcast of my other material helpful, I would appreciate the support by purchasing through those links.

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP15Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression (free course): https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP14Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourseYou’ll LearnThree key steps to step up into and excel in your new tax promotion or tax role. In brief: (understand what is expected of you, identify areas you need to work on and improve on them, and seek feedback to ensure your perception matches others’)How you can prepare and set yourself up for your next promotionAnswers to the questions: “When it comes to delegation, should you assign a full piece of work to a single individual or spread it over multiple?” and “Should you have role models to help you progress and develop, and if so, how?”Resources & Related Episodes of PodcastTTPP 3 – How to Obtain Good Quality Feedback (And Why You Should Ask for More)TTPP4 – How to be a Better Delegator to Progress Your Tax Career with Mike ClaytonFree course to help you accelerate your tax-career development at a pace set by you

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP13Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeTake control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse You’ll LearnWhy it’s important to have a work-life balance and that such a balance will be unique to you, your values and goalsJo’s tips to help you figure out the right work-life balance for you – having a vision will give you direction and something to work towardsWays to go about achieving that balance for you and how to overcome typical obstacles that get in the wayHow to take responsibility of your own work-life balance (as no one else will do it for you!)Polite and respectful ways to say “no”, which is key in getting your work-life balance Jo’s tips for managing your workload well as a tax professional, so you get work done quicker and a better balanceResourcesJo’s article: The Real Truth About Work Life BalanceJo’s “How to Say No” free webinar4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris Please note – this Amazon link is an affiliate link which means I will get a small commission to support the podcast if you purchase from Amazon, at no increased cost to you.TTPP 2: How to Improve Your Productivity with Better To-Do List and Email Management with Carl PulleinTTPP 4: How to be a Better Delegator to Progress your Tax Career with Mike Clayton

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP12Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeYou’ll Learn·         10 tips to help you progress and improve your tax career·         About misconceptions that I had about a successful tax career, so that you can throw them out the window and focus on what’s important to progress·         The benefits and value of having a tax specialism·         How to create your own career USP·         Key skills that you should start learning as soon as possible to set you up well for your future career in taxRelated Episodes·         TTPP 3: How to Obtain Good Quality Feedback (and Why You Should Ask for More!)·         TTPP 4: How to be a Better Delegator to Progress your Career with Mike ClaytonCalls to Action·         Decide on or understand what your USP isIntroA long 5 years ago (yes long!), I started my tax career as a Trainee Tax Consultant.As a naïve and slightly over-confident 21-year-old, I thought I knew exactly what I needed for a successful tax-career and that it would be plain sailing. I can now confidently say that I had no idea. Who would’ve known!Over the past 5 years, I’ve become CTA qualified and most recently, promoted to Tax Manager. Both of which I am proud of.I’m not saying these to brag or show off in any way. I’m saying it to give you confidence that you can achieve it too, and to just say I’ve learnt a thing or two over the past 5 years that I’d like to share that I think you’ll find useful.So, in this episode, I’m sharing tips from what I’ve learnt on my journey to Tax Manager, to help accelerate your progression and improve your tax career. 

You’ll Learn How to improve your chances of converting opportunities into client work without being pushy The common mistakes that people make when it comes to selling so you can avoid them What the preparation stage before a meeting to discuss opportunities with a client or prospective client should consist of What you should do during and at the end of these meetings to increase your chances of converting the opportunity into paid workHow best to follow up an opportunity with a client after you’ve quoted, without being pushy   How to politely ask a client if they are still interested in a potential service, and how you can use Martyn’s ‘ultimatum’ email as a last resort IntroductionIf you work in a role where you provide tax services and advice, at some point you will be faced with the requirement to win client work.  Or, if I were to use the dreaded word, ‘selling’ services to clients. As tax professionals, this is not something we are taught how to do. It’s one of those things we are expected to ‘pick up’ on the job. But it is absolutely paramount that you are able to win client work if you want to make it to Senior Manager or above, generally speaking. In some firms, you may even need to do this at more junior roles. So, if you want to progress your career to these levels, you will need to develop and work on the skill of winning client work. That’s why I thought it would be great to invite this episode’s guest, Martyn Sloman, onto the podcast.  Martyn is known as the “non-pushy” sales trainer – which instantly caught my attention, as I’ve been worried about coming across as pushy in the past, and maybe you have too. All of Martyn’s advice is provided to help you be “non-pushy” too, but be “professionally persistent”.  In the episode, Martyn provides some great tips to improve your chances of winning client work.  So, if this is something you are looking to get better at, I highly recommend you take a listen! Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP11Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP10Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeYou’ll Learn The approach I recommend you take to write good quality tax advice What you should do before and after writing the advice How to become quicker at writing adviceSome final tips to help you become better at writing tax adviceRelated EpisodesTTPP 1: How to Undertake Effective Tax ResearchTTPP 3: How to Obtain Good Quality Feedback (and Why You Should Ask for More!)TTPP 6: How to Build and Maintain Strong Tax Knowledge to Excel as a Tax ProfessionalResourcesEats, Shoots and Leave book by Lynne Truss (a book to help you master correct punctuation, if you prefer books – I know I do!) Just to note, if you purchase through this link, you will support the podcast as Amazon will make a small referral payment to me at no additional cost to you.Free apostrophe guides:         o   https://www.thepunctuationguide.com/apostrophe.html         o   For Acronyms in particular: hereFree guide to avoid comma splicing: hereSkill Share (where you can improve your skills from from online courses, covering everything from Excel (and other hard skills) to business writing (and other soft skills!). You can get access to all of their courses for free two months by signing up with this link: 2 Free Months of Skill Share. Just to note, by signing up for the free 2 months through this link, you will support the podcast, as Skill Share will make a small referral payment to me, at no cost (and no additional cost if you decide to continue to use after the free two months) to you.

You’ll Learn About the impact that COVID-19 has had on the tax-job market Trends in terms of how coronavirus has affected the recruitment process of tax jobs and remote working Georgiana’s tips on how to approach your job search Georgiana’s CV and interview preparation tips for tax professionals What you could do if you’ve been made redundant to increase your chances of getting a job quicklyIntroductionCoronavirus has taken its toll across the UK economy, and it is no secret that it has taken an impact on available jobs, including jobs within the tax profession.  Some working in tax have been furloughed for prolonged periods, and some will be at risk of, or have already been faced with, redundancy.  It is inevitably a difficult time, and I wanted to help in some way through the podcast, to help those of you who are in an unfortunate position and need to look for a new job in an unprecedented market. So, Georgiana Head, an experienced and well-known tax recruiter, joined me on the podcast to explain from her experience what the current tax-job market looks like, how it is changing, and to provide you with tips to improve your chances of successfully landing your next job. Georgiana first trained in tax, becoming ATT qualified and working for PwC, before moving to recruitment. She works closely with candidates to help them understand suitable and available jobs, even if this is for a role which she is not recruiting for, and helps them to increase their chances of being offered a tax job by improving CVs and helping them to properly prepare for interviews.  Take a listen to find out what Georgiana has to say! Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP9Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp8You’ll Learn Essential Excel shortcuts and time-savers to enable you to become quicker at using Excel Highly used, must-know and beneficial formulas, which will enable you to do 90% (or at least most) of the tasks you’ll ever need or want to do in Excel Tips to help you review formulas to correct mistakes and errors Some pointers for good practice when creating an Excel sheets so they are more useable, easily understandable, and less likely to be broken by others What you can do if you’re stuck IntroductionBefore I started working in tax, being able to use Excel hadn’t even crossed my mind. All I thought would be important was learning tax rules and being able to advise accordingly. But, as you probably know, there’s much more to being a tax professional. You may not see it as essential but being able to use Excel well will save you SO MUCH time and hassle in the long term. And there will probably be times where you have no choice but to use it! I got thrown in the deep end within weeks of my first tax job, with what was a large and difficult Excel task, with another one to follow shortly after. I had no prior knowledge or experience in Excel at this point (apart from the basics of adding and subtracting!), which made this all the more tricky.  At the time I didn’t realise what a great opportunity this was. I just wanted to get stuck into learning tax.  But looking back, it really was an excellent experience for me in building my Excel skills. I was enrolled on a thorough online Excel course and then immediately after able to apply what I’d learn in a practical, real scenario. Since, I’ve built many spreadsheets since which I’ve been proud of. Yes – it is possible to be proud of a spreadsheet!  The only thing with courses for Excel is they are, generally speaking, very generic. Only some of what you learn will be useful on the job, and if my experience is anything to go by, you’ll probably never use large amounts of it again.  That’s not a good use of time and personally I think unnecessary for many people to do. To save you time, energy and effort, I bring you this episode to give you what I think are the key Excel essentials. From my own experiences, these will enable you to do most things that you’ll ever need to do in Excel as a tax practitioner and will enable you to do these quickly to save time, which is such a precious resource in today’s world. There’s so much more I could have put into this episode but to keep it brief and relevant, I’ve only included what I think are the must-knows. So, there’s a good chance there will be future episodes supplementing this.  Take a listen to find out more – I think you’ll find it useful.  

Ever come out of a meeting, thinking that it was a complete waste of time?  Like it was not necessary for you to attend the meeting?  That your time could be better spent elsewhere? You’re not alone.  This is a common problem for those who work in professional services (and not just restricted to us who work in tax!). Learning how to run an effective meeting is one of those things we are not taught.  We end up learning from observing, and there’s a good chance the people we observe haven’t been taught how to run an effective meeting either.  Can you see the problem? The thing is, running an effective meeting is not rocket science, as this episode’s guest, Loren Lazarony put it, as long as you know HOW.  Once you know how and have a little practice, it is easily doable!  Loren is the owner of Laz International Training, and has been providing business skills and project management training to global professionals for over 8 years. He has particular expertise in relation to running effective meetings, which he has distilled down into an online course. Meetings are an integral part of being a tax professional. For me, being able to run effective meetings is especially important in relation to client ones, but regardless of whether you work for an advisory firm, within an in-house tax team, or otherwise, being able to run effective meetings will benefit your career. In the episode, Loren provides lots of great straightforward, practical tips that you can implement to enable you to run more effective meetings. Take a listen to this episode, and let’s put an end to bad meetings!Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP7Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

In this episode, I share the strategies and methods that I, myself, have and still use to build and maintain my tax knowledge, to help you do the same.Regardless of what area of tax you work in, it is undeniably important that you have strong knowledge for the area of tax you work in. When it comes to building your tax knowledge, the end goal should not be to know the answer to every tax question that you could ever be asked without checking (that would be impossible given the amount of tax legislation!), but having a good foundation will mean you have a good gut feeling of what the answer will be and will allow you to spot potential risks before things turn ugly.  Tax research can then be undertaken as necessary to ratify the position, and the appropriate consideration given to any risks. Building your tax knowledge may seem like an overwhelming task – given the vast volume of information – but like with anything, if you approach it in the right way, you’ll be able to build it quicker than you think. It doesn’t matter whether you’re new to working in tax, have decided to swap specialism, or are more experienced and are looking for ways to bolster and maintain your knowledge – I think you’ll take away some useful points and ideas from this episode.Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp6Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

For the first, and maybe even the last, time ever, the November 2020 ATT and CTA exams will be ‘open book’, which means that you can take materials into the exam. Whilst it is arguably going to be ‘easier’ (I say that with caution), don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the exams are now going to be easy. The standard of questions is not changing, and so you will still need to adequately prepare in order to ensure pass. Studying towards an open book exam requires a different approach than if the exam was not open book.  If you’re like me, however, you may have never sat an open book exam before, and so have no clue on the approach you should take or where to start.  Fortunately for you, Nitin Rabheru, a CTA, ATT and other professional exams lecturer for BPP, knows exactly what to do, and is here to help! Nitin is a passionate lecturer that has, and still does, teach students on how to pass open book exams. He has over 20 years’ experience and really cares about the success of students, providing lots of great material on LinkedIn.  In this episode, Nitin shares some invaluable, unique advice on how to properly prepare for the open-book November 2020 sittings. Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribeShow notes: https://thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP510 tips to pass the November 2020 ATT & CTA Exams

Delegation is one of those skills that, once mastered, will become an exceptionally useful tool for you. It will help you progress, develop and get more out of your tax career, as well as help to improve your work-life balance (if this is something you desire!). But if you’ve had to opportunity to delegate, you’ve probably encountered a situation where delegation hasn’t gone to plan, leaving you feeling frustrated, annoyed, and like it’s quicker to do the work yourself.  You’re definitely not alone with that experience. Delegation is a skill, and like any other skill, it must be learnt, developed, and improved over time. In this episode, Mike Clayton, from his extensive experience as a business trainer, author and speaker in helping professions, managers and leaders to excel, provides some great insights and advice so that you can become a better delegator.  Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP4

Feedback.  It is one of those things that many of us know is beneficial to help us develop and grow, but despite this, we choose to avoid it.  Obtaining feedback is feared. It can make us feel uncomfortable, threatened, and defensive. But by not taking advantage of feedback, we are depriving ourselves of a useful resource. As tax professionals, a lot of the skills we need to are learnt through experience and practice alone, rather than taught to us in a classroom. And this makes feedback even more valuable to us.  Feedback doesn’t need to be this big scary task that is dreaded. In fact, we should embrace it, and see if for what it is – an opportunity to help us grow and develop.  I hear you. Easier said than done, I know, but still doable. To reap the full benefits of obtaining feedback, you should: Adopt a ‘growth’ mindset Ask the right questions  Make it easy for people to give you feedback Properly reflect and act upon feedback received Want to learn how? Take a listen to this episode! Oh, and equip with the knowledge learnt in this episode, I challenge you to ask for 5 pieces of feedback in the next week. 

As tax professionals, there are times when we are exceptionally busy. Dreading tax return seasons, or that one client demanding immediate advice.We become stressed. We work long hours. And we end up neglecting those non-urgent important tasks that we know we should do.The solution? Increase your productivity.But how, I hear you ask?If you’d have told it was this simple a year ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. But by making some simple changes to how you approach your to-do list and emails, you can save time, become less overwhelmed, less stressed, and…More productive!I learnt this from productivity expert, Carl Pullein, who has helped thousands of people around the work to become more productive. So I invited him on the show to help you too become more productive, too!Take a listen, improve your approach, and get more done in less time! Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp2

Undertaking tax research is one of those tasks that many taxes professionals dread. After all, the thought of reading complex legislation and unclear guidance over a cuppa isn’t most people’s idea of fun, although I definitely come close to the line. Fun or not, it is an essential part of being a tax professional. At some point, you will need to find the answer to questions you don’t know the answer, and that is done by – well – tax research. So being able to do it effectively is key!I’ve dedicated a lot of time to developing my technical ability and research skills, to the extent they’re probably my strongest skills right now.  So, in this episode, I share with you my personal tips to become better at undertaking research, to allow you to more easily obtain the answers to those complicate tax queries, and – I dare say – enjoy it. Or at least not dread it!Take a listen – I think you’ll find it useful. Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/ttpp1