Pro-Tax Market Commentary and Salary Guide 2015-16

Welcome to the Pro-Tax Salary Guide & Market Commentary 2015. Pro-Tax is proud to be part of the Pro-Recruitment Group alongside Pro-Finance and Pro-Legal. Each year, we use our extensive market knowledge, client and candidate surveys and vast database information to provide you with a detailed and accurate guide to the market’s salaries for accountancy and finance professionals.

As you will see from the commentary, the majority of our clients are feeling optimistic - not just for the coming year but projecting well into next year and beyond, with many of them implementing 3 and 5 year plans with strong revenue and correlating headcount growth.

As a consequence, we are not surprised that the market has swung back squarely in the candidate’s favour. The commentary will support the argument that clients need to be more innovative when it comes to structuring salary packages to attract the right talent.

In addition to our regular salary and market commentary guides we have also written ‘How to recruit the best talent’ and ‘5 ways to retain your best staff’ – we would be delighted to provide you with copies of these should you so wish.

If you have worked with Pro-Tax in the past, you will know that we always strive to go the extra mile in order to make your recruitment as painless and efficient as possible. That said, we never rest on our laurels and as a consequence we always welcome feedback on this or any other publication, or any other aspect of our service.

Pat Keogh

Managing DirectorPro-Recruitment Group

Foreword

2 Pro-Tax Recruitment Specialists | 2015/16

3www.pro-tax.co.uk

ContentsIntroductionMeet the teamCorporate Tax Personal TaxVATEmployee Issues & Expat R&D Tax Transfer Pricing Head of Tax Tax Partners Am I being paid market rate?Testimonials

4569

1214161718192021


IntroductionIt seems to be a fairly widely held view that, not only has the economy recovered strongly from the recent downturn but also that solid growth should continue for several years to come. One of the many effects of the 2008 recession (or as some have labelled it, ‘The Second Great Recession’) was that most businesses became ‘leaner and meaner’ in all areas including staffing. The improving fortunes appear to have caught some firms, who were perhaps expecting more obvious signs, by surprise and resulted in some ‘panic’ recruitment to cope with a surge of new work.

Recruitment has several litmus tests and one of those is the Big 4 and their levels of recruitment. 2014 saw an overall 16% rise in taxation jobs across the UK and this is expected to rise well above 25% moving forward. Such large scale recruitment from the four market leaders inevitability impacts on availability across the market as a whole.

The battle for talent has pushed the average tax salary up by c.8% over the last 12 months and our expectation is that 2015 will see a further increase of between 10% and 15% across the board. As a barometer, newly qualified Big 4 ACA/CTA candidates have seen their average salary rise from £42,000 (Q4 2013) to £45,500 (Q4 2014). At the senior end, Big 4 Partners’ salaries have stretched well beyond this and have seen their average salaries rise by 24%, so the mean is £710,000.

The recruitment market is now as strong, if not stronger, than pre-2008 levels. Clients have had to adjust from having the last few years in their favour, to it swinging strongly back into the candidates’ hands as they are often able to choose from multiple job offers. The clients that have adapted quickest have outmanoeuvred many of their competitors and hired much of the limited talent in the market. What was the secret of their success? Well, firstly they moved quickly on CVs and appreciating that candidates now have a wide choice of vacancies, called interviews quickly. The more savvy clients also ‘sold’ themselves strongly to suitable candidates, recognising that they needed to move away from the mindset of “why do you want to work here?”. Some have offered signing bonuses, flexible working hours/work from home and enhanced benefits packages.

We have seen the re-emergence of candidates coming from overseas, especially the Antipodeans and the US to fill the skills gap. These have been complimented by others from weaker foreign economies. Talent from within the EU (particularly Spain, Portugal, Germany and France) has continued to be attracted to the UK - those with VAT, Transfer Pricing and International Tax experience have fared most well.

So, the upshot is that we are in a very strong, competitive, candidate-led market that looks set to be with us for a little while. There will be a high demand for newly qualified ACA and CTA (a dearth caused by the Big 4 reducing graduate intakes in 2011/2012) in 2015/16 across all disciplines but key hot spots will be M&A, Transfer Pricing, Expat and VAT.

www.pro-tax.co.uk 5

Senior Recruitment Team

PAT KEOGHManaging DirectorPat Keogh is the founding Director of the Pro-Recruitment Group which was set up in 2007 to cover the tax, legal and finance markets. Pat is still instrumental in the operational day to day running of several of the teams but he also has a wider group role that sees him focus on the direction and strategy of the business.

020 7269 6311 [email protected]

HEW SCOTT-WILSONHead of Partner Search Hew leads the Tax Partner Search offering, helping clients to strategically expand their firms’ tax practices through bringing in new partners. He has 10 years’ of experience in hiring tax professionals in the UK, Middle East, Singapore and Hong Kong. Hew now works closely with a range of carefully selected clients including Big 4, Top 20 and boutique firms in the UK and internationally.


ALISON KEOGHAssociate DirectorAlison is the Head of the Pro-Tax business covering both Accountancy Practice and Commerce & Industry. Together with her team she focuses on recruiting tax professionals across the UK. Alison has nearly 15 years’ recruitment experience and is well networked throughout tax; she is a regular attendee and presenter at the Tax Awards and continues to build relationships across the tax recruitment market.


BEN HALLManager - Tax PracticeBen runs the Tax Practice team and is a long standing member of Pro-Tax. Ben has specialised in tax recruitment throughout the UK and has a real passion for helping candidates achieve their ambitions. Recruiting all levels of tax professional from newly qualified through to Tax Partner, he is a true specialist who is respected by his candidates and clients.


click hereTo view the full Pro-Tax team

http://www.pro-tax.co.uk/meet-the-team.asp


Corporate TaxPractice

Corporate tax has easily been the busiest specialism for accountancy firms who have posted record number of vacancies for both compliance and advisory roles. The main pinch point has been at newly qualified and up to 2 years’ PQE, especially for those with solid compliance experience. Big 4 newly qualified Corporate Tax Seniors range from £43,000 - £50,000 but we have seen some clients pay as much as £58,000 to a newly qualified Accountant in their financial services teams.

There has been a steady demand for Manager and Senior Manager level candidates, but unsurprisingly, not quite the volume recruitment as with the newly qualified. Salaries at Manager and Senior Manager level have risen by an average of 9% through 2014 putting a Big 4 Manager on a salary circa £60,000 and a Senior Manager at £70,000, compared with a Top 20 Manager on £55,000 and a Top 20 Senior Manager on £65,000, all with additional benefits. Clients are increasingly looking for Managers and Senior Managers with strong business development skills and not just delivery abilities. We have seen a number of clients actively looking at candidates returning from stints in commerce, especially from oil & gas, financial services and technology. Pressure points geographically have been London, Reading and Manchester, with the North West being exceptionally strong.

Commerce

The increased demand in commerce has been more gradual than that in practice but we have seen a number of in-house tax teams bulking up in order to take back work that was previously outsourced during the recession. Candidates with strong compliance experience have been highly sought after, as have, at senior levels, Group Tax Managers with transactional tax experience, especially with an international focus. Commerce still has the lure of paying, on average, 10-20% more on base salaries than practice with additional incentives, often including a bonus element (sometimes as high as 40%). There has also been a flurry of activity among financial services clients attending to FATCA requirements with a number preferring to in-source and recruit rather than use their external advisers. Geographically we have seen London lead the charge with Scotland also being particularly active due to financial services. The exceptionally high demand for candidates in practice has meant that, on occasion, commerce has become a hunting ground for the Big 4.

Corporate tax has always been the area with the highest demand and candidates with this experience tend to be, on average, paid about 15% more than their rival taxes.

Corporate Tax

Position ScotlandAssistant £18-27kSenior £28-42kSupervisor £36-48kManager £52-62kSenior Manager £64-78kDirector £80k+Partner £180k+

Position North West

Assistant £19-27kSenior £30-38k

Supervisor £38-44kManager £45-54kSenior Manager £58-78kDirector £80k+Partner £190k+

Position Home Counties


Supervisor £42-52kManager £55-66kSenior Manager £65-95kDirector £100-165k

Position South West



Position North East



Position Midlands


Supervisor £39-44kManager £46-58kSenior Manager £62-85kDirector £95-150kPartner £180k+

Position East Anglia



Position London



Big 4: Corporate & International Tax, R&D, Transfer Pricing & Operational Taxes

7www.pro-tax.co.uk

Corporate Tax

London Home Counties

Midlands North East North West South West East Anglia Scotland

Assistant £23-30k £22-28k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £16-27kSenior £38-45k £34-41k £32-36k £28-34k £32-36k £28-34k £32-36k £26-38kSupervisor £52-62k £40-45k £35-40k £33-40k £35-40k £33-40k £35-42k £35-42kManager £52-62k £48-60k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £50-58kSenior Manager £65-85k £60-80k £55-75k £48-58k £55-75k £48-58k £55-70k £60-70kDirector £90-110k £85-100k £80-120k £65k+ £80-120k £65k+ £75-95k £75k+

Mid-Tier Public Practice: Corporate & International Tax, R&D, Transfer Pricing & Operational Taxes



Assistant £25-38k £24-35k £20-28k £19-25k £18-25k £18-25k £18-25k £17-25kAccountant £45-60k £45-55k £40-50k £35-45k £38-45k £38-48k £38-45k £35-45kManager £60-80k £60-75k £52-68k £48-65k £48-65k £50-68k £48-55k £48-65kGroup Manager £80-120k £80-100k £70-90k £70-80k £70-80k £70-86k £60-75k £80-100kDirector £110-155k £100-130k £95-120k £90-110k £90-110k £90-105k £85-110k £90-110kHead of Tax £110-155k £100-130k £95-120k £90-110k £90-110k £90-105k £85-110k £90-110k

Commerce & Industry: All levels


Midlands North East North West

South West East Anglia Scotland

Associate £28-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40kAccountant £60-80k £60-80k £55-75k £55-75k £55-75k £55-75k £50-70k £55-75kVice President £75-90k £70-90k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £60-80k £65-85kManager £75-90k £70-90k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £60-80k £65-85kAssociate Director £95-125k £95-115k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £95-115kDirector £130-175k £120-175k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-175k

Financial Services: Banking, Insurance, Asset Management, P/E etc


www.pro-tax.co.uk 9

Personal TaxPractice

The past 12 months has seen a steady – though not dramatic – increase in the personal tax market. Continued new business wins has seen clients add to their private client teams with advisory focused Assistant Managers, Managers and Senior Managers. 2014 saw the demise of risky tax planning that has been highlighted in the media with several well known celebrities falling foul. This has had a slight knock-on effect to some practices, although we commonly hear that most of our clients never entertained this type of planning. The shift, if any, has meant that there is a need for more traditional tax advisors. Ben Hall, Manager at Pro-Tax says “most of our clients seek technically strong personal tax compliance experience coupled with the ability to spot obvious planning opportunities. At the senior end of the market, there is an emphasis on going out and winning work and this tends to be heavily advisory focussed.”

If we had an influx of 50 new personal tax candidates in a week, we’d most likely find them all a new job. The market has gone wild!

Succession planning has also been a notable feature of recent hiring activity with many Senior Partners identifying the need to appoint individuals on a trajectory with the ability and potential to join the partnership in due course. To this end, we have seen many clients putting in place ambitious long-term growth strategies and as a result we can expect this year’s recruitment market to be even more buoyant and favour the job seeker even more strongly.

From a recruitment perspective, 2015 looks like being an exceptionally good year for accomplished personal tax specialists with demand significantly


Personal Tax

London Home Counties Midlands North East North West South West East Anglia Scotland

Assistant £25-35k £23-30k £20-25k £18-26k £17-25k £18-26k £18-25k £16-25k

Senior £40-48k £35-44k £33-38k £25-35k £30-35k £25-35k £30-36k £28-38k

Supervisor £45-55k £43-48k £38-45k £33-38k £35-40k £33-38k £35-43k £30-42k

Manager £55-65k £52-63k £45-62k £38-45k £40-48k £38-45k £40-50k £45-56k

Senior Manager £75-110k £68-100k £58-85k £45-60k £55-65k £45-60k £55-75k £60-70k

Director £120-180k £100-150k £85-120k £70k+ £70k+ £70k+ £80-120k £75k+

Partner £240k+ £220k+ £190k+ £140k+ £170k+ £140k+ £150k+ £160k+

Big 4: Personal Tax and Expatriate Tax

BankingThe banks have taken their time to catch up with the rest of the market and capitalise on the vibrant economy. Several well known private banks have begun to swell their ranks with personal tax advisers as the market heads towards a 10 year high. Many of our key 2014 hires were candidates with a blend of personal tax and wealth planning, a combination which the banks tend to favour. There was also a steady demand from the banks looking for candidates with strong compliance skills to join their teams - the majority of these came from a Big 4 background. Newly qualified personal tax specialists (Seniors) were offered, on average, £52,000 to move into the financial services sector, often with a bonus element of 10-15%.

It’s pleasing to see that banks are now full of confidence and are looking to recruit into their Private Client Teams

www.pro-tax.co.uk 11

Personal Tax


Tax Assistant (Partnership & Expatriate)

£25-40k £23-30k £22-30k £22-30k £22-30k £22-33k £22-33k £20-30k

Partnership / Expatriate Tax Accountant

£44-55k £33-47k £32-45k £30-40k £30-40k £33-41k £33-43k £30-38k

Partnership Tax Manager £60-85k £48-60k £45-55k £38-45k £38-45k £38-45k £48-55k £40-50k

Group Tax Manager (Partnership)

£80-110k £70-85k £65-75k £60-70k £60-70k £60-70k £60-70k £55-65k

Head of Partnership Tax Affairs

£120k+ £85k+ £80k+ £80k+ £75k+ £75k+ £72k+ £70k+

Commerce & Industry: Partnership and Expatriate Tax



Senior £38-44k £30-38k £28-35k £23-34k £25-33k £23-34k £28-33k £28-40k






Mid Tier: Personal Tax and Expatriate Tax


VAT



Assistant £23-35k £21-29k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £16-27kSenior £39-46k £34-42k £32-36k £28-36k £32-36k £28-38k £32-36k £26-38kSupervisor £45-49k £40-47k £35-40k £33-42k £35-42k £33-40k £35-42k £35-42kManager £50-68k £48-62k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £50-58kSenior Manager £68-90k £60-85k £55-75k £50-58k £55-75k £58-75k £55-70k £60-70kDirector £92-120k £85-110k £80-120k £75k+ £80-120k £75k+ £75-95k £75k+Partner £130k+ £140k+ £120k+ £115k+ £120k+ £115k+ £120k+ £145k+


VAT Assistant £25-38k £23-35k £21-30k £18-28k £20-28k £18-29k £20-27k £17-27k

VAT / Indirect Tax Accountant £35-50k £33-48k £33-44k £33-40k £35-40k £33-42k £35-40k £30-40k

Indirect Tax Manager £50-70k £45-58k £43-55k £45-55k £50-55k £45-58k £50-59k £47-58k

Group Indirect Tax Manager £75-100k £72-100k £65k+ £62k+ £60k+ £62k+ £60k+ £62k+

VAT Director £88-135k £85-135k £80k+ £80k+ £80k+ £80k+ £80k+ £80k+

Mid Tier: VAT

Commerce & Industry: VAT

The market for VAT specialists has been particularly buoyant since 2012, with good candidates being in very high demand. As a consequence, premium salaries are frequently offered along with occasional signing bonuses. Alison Keogh, Associate Director says, “Across the board in practice we have a record number of VAT vacancies, clients are bending over backwards to meet with VAT specialists, however, candidates should be prepared to be put to the test at interviews and not rest on their laurels. Yes firms are offering higher salaries and bonuses, but they are still being very selective on who they recruit because they know they are offering a premium”. The consensus is that VAT doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, there are certain teams in the market that have achieved more than 10% growth year on year for the last few years and who are confident that this is set to continue. Alison concluded, “VAT seems to be at an all-time high, we’ve seen some candidates offered as much as a 30% increase on their base salaries.”

The commerce market for VAT specialists is also very strong - we witnessed an 8% increase in salaries across this sector in 2014. Candidates in particularly high demand are those with financial services or oil & gas VAT experience and they can often demand as much as a 20% premium to the market average. Typically VAT Managers are paid £65,000 - £75,000 plus up to 30% bonus, dependent on the sector. Geographical pinch points have been London, Aberdeen and Bristol.

Commerciality is key for anyone wanting to move from a practice role into an in-house VAT role

Practice Commerce


VAT

Position ScotlandAssistant £18-29kSenior £30-42kSupervisor £35-48kManager £50-62kSenior Manager £60-78kDirector £85k +Partner £180k +

Position North West



Position Home Counties



Position South West



Position North East



Position Midlands



Position East Anglia



Position London



Big 4: VAT


Employee Issues & ExpatPractice

As predicted in last year’s Salary Survey, 2014 has seen a number of key senior hires in Employment Tax among the Big 4 and Top 20 to fuel the growth that they are looking to achieve. With these now in place we have seen a marked increase in the number of Manager and Senior Manager vacancies to service the additional work that Partners and Directors are bringing to the firm. It seems that the smaller boutique firms are still also making an impact across the UK, with many offering boutique comp and bens, remuneration planning and equity reward advice at a fraction of the cost of some of the major players.

On the corporate and not-for-profit side of Employee Issues there have been some very large contracts won and some exciting acquisitions made meaning that 2015 looks like being another promising year. Alison Keogh says, “With our clients always looking to diversify we have even seen them start to offer HR Advisory services to larger clients in order to continue to strengthen their consultancy offering and stand out from their competitors.”

London Home Counties Midlands North

East North West South West East Anglia Scotland


Senior £39-46k £35-40k £30-38k £25-35k £32-38k £25-35k £30-36k £32-38k






Big 4: Employment, Share Schemes, Compensation & Benefits

Expats are in high demand again, it’s fair to say they get paid a premium over other tax specialisms

In 2013 we reported reduced recruitment across the Expatriate Tax market following the very high levels of activity in 2011/12. There has been no significant change in 2014. Whilst clients are happy to make occasional hires if a new client has been won or as a result of staff attrition, the market is probably best described as ‘stable’. Ben Hall says, “I think this is a really good thing for the Expatriate Tax community. The Big 4, Top 20 and Expatriate Tax boutiques are being more cautious in their recruitment, so when new roles do come to the market, candidates are often more inclined to consider these opportunities.”

In 2015 we expect to see a continued rise in consultative employment tax planning areas, in addition to other services such as, Immigration and HR Advisory as well as branching out to dual handling where they haven’t done so in the past.


Employee Issues & ExpatCommerce

Expatriate tax took off like a rocket in 2014 with the highest levels of demand for more than 7 years from financial services and corporate multinationals. The need was most acute at junior levels with high demand for dual handlers (mainly UK/US) who were able to handle large number of assignees from a compliance perspective. Several banks made volume hires to keep pace with ever increasing global mobility. At the senior end, VPs and Directors needed to have the capabilities to run the large programs from both a tax technical stand point as well as the wider co-ordination and HR piece. Pat Keogh states “There has been a need in the multinationals for all-round expat specialists, those that can technically deal with queries but who can also deal with the trouble-shooting from an IT, HR and administration perspective. These senior candidates have to be prepared to roll up their sleeves - sometimes they may feel like they spend more time project managing than they do getting involved in specific tax issues”.

London Home Counties Midlands North East North

West South West East Anglia Scotland


Senior £38-45k £30-38k £28-35k £23-34k £25-33k £23-34k £28-33k £28-40k









Assistant Manager £45-65k £40-60k £40-60k £40-60k £40-60k £45-60k £40-60k £40-60k

Comp & Bens Manager £60-110k £60-105k £55-95k £55-75k £55-70k £55-70k £55-70k £55-75k

Comp & Bens Senior Manager £80-120k £90-110k £80-100k £80-90k £80-90k £85-95k £70-90k £70-90k

Comp & Bens Director £135k+ £130k+ £110k+ £100k+ £100k+ £105k+ £100k+ £110k+

Mid-Tier: Employment, Share Schemes, Compensation & Benenfits

Commerce & Industry: Employment, Share Schemes, Compensation & Benefits


R&D TaxResearch and Development tax has continued to be exceptionally buoyant. The Chancellor’s March Budget saw some positive changes for the industry and this further enhanced a record year for R&D tax recruitment. The boutique firms are now rivalling the Big 4 in their offering and the previous dominance is no longer so. We have seen a number of our boutique clients tender for and win work that two or three years ago would have been dominated by the Big 4. The Big 4 saw a return on their recruitment investment of 2013, and the hires made in


Midlands North East North West South West East Anglia

Scotland

Assistant £23-30k £22-28k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £17-25k £20-27k £16-27kSenior £38-45k £34-41k £32-36k £28-34k £32-36k £28-34k £32-36k £26-38kSupervisor £44-50k £40-45k £35-40k £33-40k £35-40k £33-40k £35-42k £35-42kManager £52-62k £48-60k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £40-45k £40-50k £50-58kSenior Manager £65-85k £60-80k £55-75k £48-58k £55-75k £48-58k £55-70k £60-70kDirector £90-110k £85-100k £80-120k £65k+ £80-120k £65k+ £75-95k £75k+Partner £150k+ £140k+ £120k+ £115k+ £120k+ £125k+ £120k+ £145k+

Mid-Tier Public Practice: Corporate & International, R&D, Transfer Pricing & Operational Taxes


Midlands North East North West

South West

East Anglia

Scotland

Assistant £25-38k £24-35k £20-28k £19-25k £18-25k £18-25k £18-25k £17-25kAccountant £45-60k £45-55k £40-50k £35-45k £38-45k £38-48k £38-45k £35-45kManager £60-80k £60-75k £52-68k £48-65k £48-65k £50-68k £48-55k £48-65kGroup Manager £80-120k £80-100k £70-90k £70-80k £70-80k £70-86k £60-75k £80-100kDirector £110-155k £100-130k £95-120k £90-110k £90-110k £90-105k £85-110k £90-110kHead of Tax £110-155k £100-130k £95-120k £90-110k £90-110k £90-105k £85-110k £90-110kHoT FTSE 100 £160k+ £150k+ £150k+ £150k+ £150k+ £150k+ £150k+ £150k+

Commerce & Industry: All levels


Midlands North East

North West

South West

East Anglia

Scotland

Associate £28-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40k £25-40kAccountant £60-80k £60-80k £55-75k £55-75k £55-75k £55-75k £50-70k £55-75kVice President £75-90k £70-90k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £60-80k £65-85kManager £75-90k £70-90k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £65-85k £60-80k £65-85kAssociate Director £95-125k £95-115k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £90-110k £95-115kDirector £130-175k £120-175k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-150k £120-175kManaging Director c £290k+ c £290k+ c £250k+ c £250k+ c £250k+ c £250k+ c £250k+ c £250k+

Financial Services: Banking, Insurance, Asset Management, P/E etc

2014 have been required to deliver on the ever increasing workloads. It seems that across the market, winning new R&D tax work has not been an issue in recent years but having the team to deliver has. As such, clients have looked further afield for their new staff. Historically engineers from varying specialisms have made the transition to R&D and this continues to be the case but in 2014, to fuel demand, we have seen a huge rise in the number of corporate tax specialists appointed into R&D tax roles.


Transfer PricingWithin both Commerce & Industry and Practice we have seen a more structured recruitment approach to Transfer Pricing. With the ever changing tax legislation internationally, clients are increasing inclined to bring specialists on board from overseas, predominantly Europe. We have seen a tactical change within Big 4 firms such that Transfer Pricing teams sit alongside their tax teams, in order to work more efficiently with M&A, International and Tax Risk Management. Within Industry we have seen a large number of vacancies come to the market as clients are keen to acquire expertise in-house. Alison Keogh says, “With clients having an increased focus on risk management and compliance it is imperative that any Transfer Pricing specialist not only has the technical skills to cope with the tax implications but also a more rounded business understanding surrounding all areas of risk and tax controversy.”


Head of TaxThe market has picked up gradually for Heads of Tax and we have seen an increasing number of changes at the top level. The range of salaries varies hugely within the FTSE 100 from £180,000 to £540,000. Sub FTSE 250 and within AIM and large OMB’s the ranges become much more predictable with a typical Head of Tax now being paid in the region of £120,000 - £170,000 plus bonus and benefits which normally equate to a further cash benefits of circa 20-30% of salary. Changes in legislation allied to HMRC’s crackdown of organisations

avoiding tax will no doubt mean that we will see a number of changes in Heads of Tax and with some companies even looking to set up new tax teams to specifically deal with these types of issues. Jim Halstead, Director at Pro-Tax says, “We’ve had some very interesting chats with FDs and Global Heads of Tax who predict a change is needed in some companies in order to improve shareholder confidence that the organisation is acting ethically or at the very least paying the taxes that are due”.


Tax PartnersWe witnessed one of the strongest years of Director and Partner moves in 2014 and our sense is that this will only increase in 2015. The charge was led by the Big 4 and Top 10 accountancy powerhouses where some very significant Partners swapped allegiances, often creating a wave with more moves below them. The strong economy has been anticipated by many of the accountancy firms and some of the moves that we worked on were initiated as early as 2013. Last year we handled 45 Partner mandates. Many of the Top 10 firms have adopted 3-5 year plans with exceptionally high levels of growth which will only be achieved with a high calibre leadership team. Pat Keogh says, “This is probably the most buoyant market since the recession. Not only are the Big 4 exceptionally active with individual hires but we are increasingly seeing them recruit whole teams, direct from a competitor or niche tax specialist.”

Areas that have been in especially in demand are Capital Allowances, M&A & Deals Tax, Expatriate Tax & Employee Issues and Mid-Market Corporate Tax. That is not to say there is not demand for other tax specialists, it’s just we are seeing very high levels of interest in these types of individuals. Packages for Big 4 Tax Partners are now averaging £710,000, with significant uplift on specialist areas such as tax Technology, Transfer Pricing and M&A. Big 4 Year 1 Tax Partners can expect £340,000 - £390,000 (with a number of exceptions in excess of £400k). Top 10 Equity Partners now range from £280,000 - £450,000 with Salaried Partners around £140,000 - £190,000. There are of course exceptions, however we have attempted to give a general range. Small and medium sized practices typically pay Salaried Partners £110,000 - £160,000 with Equity Partners earning £180,000 to £300,000.

Pat adds, “The best advice for a Tax Partner is to put us on your radar. Many Partners are often wary, in a very incestuous market, that making an approach to a competitor will create problems with their own firms. This rarely happens and some of our biggest moves have been initiated via an informal coffee.”

It’s time to take a look at what other firms are doing; you’d be surprised at how many Partners move after initially meeting for just a coffee

“

”


Am I being paid Market Rate?

Unsurprisingly, this is one of our most commonly asked questions. The market has shifted significantly in the last 18 months, far more than clients and candidates often appreciate. The most accurate way to assess market rate is via our Bespoke Salary Assessment which is free, completely confidential and without obligation.

Pat Keogh | Managing Director020 7269 6311 [email protected]

Alison Keogh | Associate Director020 7269 6312 [email protected]

Ben Hall | Manager020 7269 [email protected]

Hew Scott-Wilson | Head of Partner Search020 7269 [email protected]

mailto:hew.scott-wilson%40pro-tax.co.uk?subject=


Testimonials We have worked with Alison and her team on tax recruitment over a number of years now. Always extremely pleased with the level of support and quality of candidates which Alison has provided us over the years. Her insight and knowledge of the recruitment market has been excellent. Alison and her team have always made time to support our recruitment efforts and I highly recommend her and her team

“

” Frank Buffone, Partner, EY

I worked with Alison this year when she matched me with a role in a boutique firm. I found Alison to be extremely attentive, and actually took the time to find a role that really did tick all the boxes. Should the need arise I would happily approach Alison again, and would recommend anyone else looking for a role to contact her.

Andrew Rainford, Candidate”

Rachel Barry from Pro-Tax has recently supported us at Maersk with a number of new vacancies for the Tax Team in our London office. After meeting with the Senior Management team she had a clear understanding of the company and what was needed from candidates both technically and personally to ensure they were right for the long term plans of the business. Working closely with the management team and HR she was able to manage the process smoothly and efficiently keeping all key stakeholders up to date of what was happening within the process. Her biggest success of the campaign was filling a brand new senior manager role within four weeks from start to finish.

“

”

Danielle Cummings, HR Business Coordinator, Maersk

“

candidatesclientsView all of our testimonials by using the following links:

”“

Simon Paler, Head of UK Tax, Maersk

Rachel really made an effort to understand the long term goals of the business and produced a strong range of candidates. A great service, I would definitely recommend.

Loved the service I had from Rachel, open and honest communications, rapid response and always helpful. This is what I want from my agencies and will use you again.

http://www.pro-recruitment.co.uk/news/candidate-testimonials/articles

http://www.pro-recruitment.co.uk/news/candidate-testimonials/articles

20-23 Greville Street London EC1N 8SS020 7269 [email protected]

mailto:info%40pro-tax.co.uk?subject=

http://www.pro-tax.co.uk

http://www.pro-tax.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pro-Recruitment-Group/349481888547488?sk=timeline

https://plus.google.com/111781818756950413227/about

https://www.linkedin.com/company/pro-tax?trk=fc_badge

https://twitter.com/ProTaxRec

http://www.pro-tax.co.uk/refer-a-friend-offer.cms.asp

Documents

Pro-Tax Market Commentary and Salary Guide 2015-16