Even though many of our graduates will have progressed in their careers since completing a case study, they are still of interest to students who wish to gain an understanding of the world of work.

As tax manager it is my responsibility to ensure that the tax department runs as smoothly as possible in the firm by ensuring that all staff are kept informed and up to date with the most relevant and current issues that affect their clients. I also have responsibility for ensuring that all deadlines are met from a tax perspective. I manage the tax staff and accounts staff to the extent that they become involved with tax and am a calling point for any queries that might arise from both staff and clients. I provide an ad hoc tax advice on a broad range of issues, from personal taxes and corporate taxes to capital taxes.

It is difficult to describe a typical day because the work varies massively depending on the clients that you work on in any given day. The good thing about a job in tax is that it is a massive area and no two days are the same. The basic aim is to prepare a tax return, or to run a payroll, or prepare a form P11D, but the way this is done depends largely on the firm or individual you are dealing with. Some people keep better records than others and this will affect the way I approach a job, so I never know what is going to happen from one day to the next. This keeps you on your toes if nothing else!

My job is primarily personal tax, so preparation of tax returns and organisation is a large part of my role, and I have to have regular meetings with staff and partners to keep people informed of progress and ensure that nothing is being left behind or deadline will not be missed.
I am also responsible for distributing post - whilst this might sound tedious, it is really important to ensure that post is passed to the right person as not doing this will lead to delay in responding, which can lead to clients complaining and could result in penalties if deadlines are missed.

I enjoy the variety. Every job brings its own challenge and this is something that I enjoy. There is a lot of client contact through meetings and telephone calls which is something that I really enjoy also. I also enjoy the feeling of helping people out, particularly when advising clients on how they can minimise their tax liabilities or plan for their future. Not only does this help the client, but it also makes the job feel worthwhile.

The challenging aspect of the job are the deadlines and ensuring that clients respond in time. It is part of my job to ensure that our clients know of these deadlines and to try to change their behaviour to give us as much time as possible to ensure that their affairs are dealt with correctly and accurately without any unnecessary delay.

Another challenging part of the job is to keep on top of the latest developments and legislation. Tax law is constantly changing within both legislation and court/tribunal cases and an effective tax manager keeps abreast of these changes and ensures that clients are still adhering to the law.

I became interested in tax whilst working as a trainee accountant. As I had never studied tax previously, I was completely new to the area and found that I was actually pretty good at it! Tax changes on an annual basis in line with the budget and this makes it a more interesting topic than otherwise might be the case because one budget can turn the rules on their head, and have done in the recent past.

I am both ATT and CTA qualified, which has helped to ensure that I am able to prepare tax returns and other forms, which forms a large part of my role. The CTA is particularly useful as this gave me a higher level of understanding and looks more at the advisory side of the role.

Other skills necessary in my role include communication skills. I have constant contact with clients, staff and partners of the firm, so being able to communicate on a level appropriate to the audience, both written and verbal, is a huge part of the job. My organisation skills are also an essential part of the role, particularly to keep to deadlines. Team working is an important part of the role, ensuring that everyone involved in the tax function knows what needs to be done and who is doing what to make the team more effective. As tax manager I need strong leadership skills and the ability to work well under pressure and be able to make the difficult decisions and effectively delegate work to my colleagues. The job is also, by its nature, numeric and must be conducted with speed and accuracy.

Outside of the qualifications that I have obtained, which I took as part of a previous employment, I attend courses regularly to update my knowledge on any developments and changes in tax, and just to brush up on existing knowledge. This is important in this profession as it is easy to fall behind on current practice and law.

My first job upon leaving university was a trainee accountant for a small firm of accountants. As part of this role, I was put though my ATT exams and passed these just before leaving. I was in this role for 2 years before deciding that I wanted a career move into tax, which the firm I worked for were not able to provide.

After this, I became a tax senior in another firm of accountants. This gave me a good grounding in the compliance side of tax, particularly from a personal tax perspective.

My third role was as a tax adviser with a small firm of accountants. This provided me with exposure to a broader range of taxes than my previous role, becoming more involved with corporation taxes and in advisory work, which I had not previously undertaken.

After leaving my third job, I took a position as a personal tax senior at a firm of accountants in Sheffield and this is where I obtained my CTA qualification. Upon receiving this qualification, I was promoted to tax manager and I was responsible for the entire tax function of the firm. This was a big challenge for me but I found the work rewarding and fulfilling.

I left this job to start on HMRCs graduate recruitment scheme, but this proved to be somewhat of a mistake. After working in practice for many years on the other side, I found it difficult to adapt to the HMRC approach and soon realised that my future did not lie with HMRC. I do, however, feel that I have developed many skills that you do not get exposure to in smaller firms and can say that it will no doubt help my future in the tax profession having worked at HMRC on the other side, albeit for only a short time.

My hope is that I can develop the role that I am currently in to forge a place for myself in the firm to become tax partner. Failing this, I would consider setting up on my own as a consultant. I do not propose to undertake any more studying as CTA is one of the most respected tax qualifications in the world.

One piece of advice that I would give to students is a reminder that tax is an option as a possible career and is one that should certainly be considered. I remember at university that we did not have the option of studying tax as part of our degree and so was never exposed to the area and the main push was to join one of the bigger accountancy firms. Other options exists, many of which are in smaller firms and these should not be discounted.