Meet Carolyn, a senior manager within our indirect tax team who shares her journey from HMRC to joining the firm.
She begins… “I joined HMRC in 2003, starting off in personal tax where I took on more management responsibilities and drafting internal guidance. I then moved into VAT where I undertook the HMRC VAT training programme including conducting VAT compliance visits at business premises. Once I completed the training, I moved onto what was known as the ‘hidden economy’ team conducting reviews on businesses which should have been registered for VAT.
“I took maternity leave to have my son and during that time I reflected on where I was in my career and what I wanted to do moving forward, and felt that I had a wealth of experience from my time at HMRC that I would like to utilise to help support and guide businesses to ensure they make the right decisions when it came to tax.
“However, I wasn’t sure how to make the transition from HMRC to an accountancy firm, but felt that if I was going to make the change then the time was now.
“So I took a career break, left HMRC and in over two and a half years I completed my AAT via distance learning and in 2019 I started to look at opportunities in accountancy.
“Fortunately, I very quickly saw that the firm were looking for a VAT advisor in their Preston office and met Jonathan Main (VAT and indirect tax partner). Straight away I just got a lovely feeling about the firm, the team and the work that I would be involved in. It was precisely what I was looking for. Being able to support and guide clients in the often-complicated world of VAT and indirect tax.
“I joined in May 2019 as an assistant manager and haven’t looked back, and today I’m a senior manager within the team.”
We go back to a point that Carolyn made earlier and ask her to elaborate on why she wasn’t sure about being able to make that transition from HMRC to an accountancy firm. She continues:
“At the time I just assumed that you would need some formal qualification to join an accountancy firm, but I didn’t realise just how valuable my time and experience at HMRC would be. I think this might actually be what prompted me to do my AAT, which although not strictly VAT related, was still a very useful qualification to have."
“However, at the time I didn’t really appreciate just how much my experience would be valued within an accountancy firm.”
With this reflection in mind we ask Carolyn what she would advise anyone else in a similar position to her?
“I would really suggest speaking to a recruitment team at an accountancy firm, to have that open discussion about what skills you possess and see where it could fit into their practice."
“Our recruitment team here at the firm are fantastic and incredibly knowledgeable, and really do support professional experience and qualifications from complimentary sectors.”
“Our recruitment team here at the firm are fantastic and incredibly knowledgeable, and really do support professional experience and qualifications from complimentary sectors.”
We next ask Carolyn, since joining, what she has felt support has been like in both a personal and professional perspective?
“From a professional perspective I can’t praise the support I’ve received highly enough. I’m just coming to the end of my ATT qualification, which was supported by the firm, and there is also the CTA that can be taken as well."
“It feels like there’s a positive culture around personal development, that if you identify a course or training that can develop you and support your role and the firm, it will often be considered. There is a real investment in people here."
“From a personal perspective, the firm’s agile working policy has enabled me to juggle my commitments as a mother with my work priorities. We have core hours which allows us to work flexibly beyond those hours when we have commitments outside of the work place."
“I’m able to take my son to school without feeling under pressure and still ensure my hours and work priorities are met. It really does provide great peace of mind."
“Our offices are also fantastic to work in as well; I’m based in Liverpool at our Exchange Station office, which is modern and easy to commute to, but also the atmosphere and culture in the office is really warm, friendly and supportive. There’s very much a family like atmosphere at the firm.”
As our conversation concludes, we ask Carolyn if there is a common misconception that she can dispel around working in VAT and indirect tax and why she would recommend us as a firm of choice. She says:
“People assume you need to be good with numbers to work in tax. Now obviously numbers are involved in tax work, but the majority of what I do is the written word. It’s looking at guidance and then interpreting that guidance for our clients for their specific scenarios. So it’s really key to be able to interpret and translate sometimes complicated documents and information."
“As for why I would recommend us, it’s definitely the people. It’s such a lovely place to work and the people you are surrounded by really play a major role in that."
Outside of work Carolyn loves spending time with her son and her sausage dog, called Sausage! She is also a big fan of pop culture and attending Comic Cons across the country, getting photos with cosplayers and the celebrities from the world of TV and film.
“From a personal perspective, the firm’s agile working policy has enabled me to juggle my commitments as a mother with my work priorities. We have core hours which allows us to work flexibly beyond those hours when we have commitments outside of the work place."
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