Aoife Lavan - NCB Stockbrokers
In the final year of my degree course in Accounting and Finance in Dublin City University, I followed the same route as many graduates, taking part in the “Milk Round” and interviewing with large financial and professional services firms. I secured a position with BDO Simpson Xavier and trained to be an accountant, however being primarily interested in tax, I decided to pursue the AITI qualification as it is recognised and respected as the only stand-alone tax qualification in Ireland.
Now I work for NCB Stockbrokers one of Ireland's largest independent securities firms, liaising with the portfolio management team to advise clients on their pension and retirement options. NCB’s clients comprise of major institutional investors based in Ireland and abroad, leading publicly-quoted and private companies in Ireland and the UK, and high net worth private clients.
A number of companies come in to NCB to present their company accounts etc and this is a great opportunity to get an insight into how big organisations work. You also get to meet some very successful and inspirational CEOs.
We work in complementary teams of advisors so I’m exposed to a variety of cases. My main interest is being able to save people money by structuring their affairs in a tax efficient way. I recently worked with a client who was winding up his business after more than forty years – we were able to extract over four million out of his company, tax efficiently, in order to invest in a pension structure as part of an estate planning exercise. Our philosophy is simple and is based on a commitment to putting the interests of our clients first and providing them with superior service and innovative ideas.
I’ve always enjoyed being involved in the networking and social sides of the Irish Taxation Institute and recently I have given presentations for them at conferences and seminars on retirement planning.
If you like solving problems or puzzles, becoming a Registered Tax Consultant may well be the career for you.