Jacinta Shinnick, KPMG
In the final year of my degree I began to think about working in tax and from reviewing graduate recruitment brochures and studying tax for the first time, it emerged as a career that would really interest me. I did two tax modules that year and our lecturer invited a former colleague and a former student who were both working in tax to UL to speak to us about their careers. These talks, together with my enjoyment of the subject, were a big influence. The career progression opportunities in tax are really clear, as is the broad timeframe to expect for promotion.
The single event that meant the most to me was passing the Irish Taxation Institute AITI exams. I was also proud to be placed among the top students in Ireland and many of my colleagues and even my clients contacted me personally to congratulate me
I work in the private clients department in KPMG. From very early on, as a graduate joining the department, I was given responsibility for working on roughly 30 clients with a manager and a director.
In my experience, the over-riding activity for any day that you work in tax is not dealing with numbers. It is spent communicating, be it through face-to-face meetings, telephone calls, emails or letters between you and those you work with, the Revenue Commissioners (who you communicate with on behalf of your clients) and your clients themselves.
Research is also big part of what I do every day. This could range from something as simple as consulting a file to check a fact (e.g. a client's age) to a detailed review of books or online databases to decide on the tax treatment of particular transaction.
An important part of the work is making sure that the client is tax compliant so, for example, each year we calculate how much Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax is due by them, ensure that the tax is paid on time and that the client's annual tax return is filled in correctly and submitted to Revenue by the deadline.
Many clients will have tax questions throughout the year on any number of varied issues such as Stamp Duty, VAT, CAT (“gift tax”), Foreign Taxes and so on. The clients may be heavily involved in companies (ranging from small family ventures to quoted companies) so, even though we deal with individuals, we also advise about Corporation Tax. Often, the questions are very interesting and it is genuinely fascinating to see how tax affects every aspect of business (or indeed life!).
Having an interest in research, a questioning mind and good analytical skills definitely contribute toward someone being a good fit for Registered Tax Consultant. An interest in business (even if it doesn't stretch as far as poring over every column inch of the Financial Times on a daily basis) will also help drive your understanding of the issues you come across in work. The ability to communicate in a clear, logical, uncluttered way in writing as well as face-to-face will make you a great fit for the job