Our clients look to us not only to save money, but to ensure they are operating within the law. The consequences of bad tax advice could lead to real costs to the client, so the work we do is of huge importance. It’s about interpreting complex legislation and delivering to the client in a way that they understand. Tax is a cost to their business and we are here to operate efficiently to manage that cost.
Our people say they love being able to specialise and run large portfolios of clients before they qualify. It demands attention to detail and creative solutions within a technical area. You’ll benefit from working in a close-knit team and with various professionals, from lawyers to other areas of Grant Thornton around the world.
If you want to be at the forefront of business issues, working with ever-changing legislation and taking on the role of adviser for our clients then you could be a perfect match for Tax. You’ll work toward a CTA, ATT or ACA qualification, while getting varied and challenging on-the-ground experience in two areas – compliance and consultancy.
Compliance is about helping clients meet their existing tax commitments. Consultancy, by contrast, helps them to operate in a more tax-efficient manner to make and save money.
Most graduates who join the practice will start off by carrying out technical research, producing tax computations, advising clients on their tax requirements and negotiating with HM Revenue & Customs. Once you’ve learnt the basics, you can then move on to the challenging world of consultancy.
You can apply to either our corporate or specialist tax routes listed below. Different offices have varying roles available so it's always good to search our vacancies to see which roles are available.
Whichever area of tax you choose, you’ll monitor developments in UK and international tax regulation to deliver forward-thinking, far-sighted solutions to our clients, across a range of sectors, including media and entertainment, finance and professional services, retail, technology, agriculture, hospitality, property, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
More about our tax offering for clients and also Wikijob's take on it.
Corporate Tax
As a trainee in Corporate Tax you'll be working with large corporations to understand their complex and ever changing tax needs. This group look at ensuring our clients are operating within the law whilst at the same time minimising their tax obligations. You'll need to have the confidence and credibility to work with multi nationals and private limited companies across their global and local operations.
As a trainee you'll be preparing tax computations and working with audit colleagues on the tax elements of their accounts across a variety of industries. A passion for business and agility of thinking are as important for a successful career within Corporate Tax as the ACA qualification you will work towards.
Working within Corporate Tax you can also choose to work within Entrepreneurial Services. Working alongside clients who have a net worth anywhere from £2m-£100m is an exciting and fast moving area of tax. You'll be advising them on how to handle their assets here in the UK and overseas. We provide solutions and advice to help our client's business grow and create innovative ways for them to reduce their tax obligations at all stages of the business lifecycle. You'll be working with dynamic business people, so you will need to bring the same level of innovation and enthusiasm for business to the table. It's an exciting prospect to help drive the business strategy of some of the most exciting and fast moving individuals we work with.
You'll need to be able to use the knowledge gained from studying towards an ACA qualification and apply that straight away to help deliver effective business solutions for your client.
Specialist Tax
If you know you want to specialise, you can apply for one of our specific areas of tax. Availability of roles is dependent on location.
- Private Client
Within this division you'll be expected to build relationships with your clients and get to know them on a one to one basis. These strong relationships mean we're able to offer them tailored advice, understand and influence their business decisions to make sure they're efficient with their finances. You'll be advising on a broad number of areas such as tax planning, potential inheritance tax liabilities as well as carrying out compliance and estate planning.
Working closely with people is an important part of the role and you'll need to be able to build rewarding business relationships quickly. As well as building credibility and offering insightful advice our trainees study for the ATT and CTA. You'll be putting what you learn straight into practice working alongside a wide range of clients.
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VAT
VAT impacts everyone and the work we do really directs our clients' decision making. It effects the whole of our clients' business so you'll be advising on efficiencies and other technical issues. Working alongside clients, providing the kind of advice which really affects their business and studying for the ATT and CTA means this is a challenging but rewarding area of tax to work in.
- Employer Solutions
Our team work with our clients to develop leading-edge reward structures for their employees across both domestic and international arenas. You'll gain a deep understanding of your clients' needs and their structure in order to best advise them on effective ways to work with their employees.
You'll be working on a wide range of projects, this can include designing, implementing and communicating tax-compliant and innovative remuneration policies and flexible benefit schemes. We don't just ensure our clients are financially compliant as employers, we also help them to attract, retain and incentivise their employees. This kind of work makes a real difference not only to our client but their workforce across all levels of their business.
Alongside providing the kind of advice which impacts their business as a whole you will be studying toward an ATT and CTA qualification, implementing what you learn from day one. There's also the chance to get exposure to expatriate tax; reviewing international tax planning opportunities for internationally mobile employees. You'll need to be able to handle complex pieces of legislation, boiling this down for the client, working with them to make key business decisions which affect how they operate on a global stage.
- Financial Services Tax
We provide tax advice to clients working within the financial services industry who work in an ever changing and challenging global business environment. Our range of tax services enable our clients to optimise their tax position, manage tax risk and meet tax compliance regulations, from UK and international tax structuring considerations to operational tax issues. As well as providing insightful and directional business advice you will be studying toward the ACA qualification. The technical skills acquired at college will need to be applied from day one and combined with the wider skill set essential to be successful within this area.
- Property Tax
Our team are one of the leading specialist advisory groups to the property industry. We work with a wide range of clients, from offshore investors, publicly listed companies, sole traders to property investment funds advising them on a range of issues from stamp duty land tax, UK Real Estate Investment Trusts, audit compliance to international tax planning.
You'll need to be able to work with complex legislation, ensuring our clients who are working in a challenging global market are able to minimise their tax obligations and maximise their profitability. You will be balancing your client commitments with studying toward the ATT and CTA, implementing what you learn and applying it to complex and often challenging business issues.
- Recovery & Reorganisation Tax
As part of the R&R Tax team you'll work closely with your Recovery and Reorganisation colleagues providing them with an efficient tax service and timely advice, bringing together all of the tax solutions to provide holistic client offerings including corporation tax, VAT and employment taxes, to name but a few. You'll be working with clients who are in challenging financial positions, dealing with tax issues surrounding insolvent and financially unstable companies across all sectors and industries. You'll need to be tenacious, inquisitive and enjoy challenges to ensure we give the right advice to the right clients and the right time. You could find yourself directly advising clients, working to recover tax assets or liaising with HMRC. As well as working to provide advice to our clients you will also be studying for the ACA qualification.
- Tax Investigations
Our clients are varied so you'll need to be agile. You may be working with both personal and corporate clients such as footballers, pop stars and industry heads. You could find yourself dealing with aspects of suspected serious fraud, technical avoidance as well as complex personal tax enquiries.
You'll be digging deep into the client's financial accounts, researching and investigating matters thoroughly and be confident in presenting your findings on complex business issues. You'll need to be tenacious, inquisitive and be able to adapt complex legislation to a wide range of situations.
You'll be dealing with clients from day one and be in regular communication with HMRC in order to understand and negotiate the financial matters of your client. You'll need to be confident in building strong relationships with your clients in order to provide the kind of advice that is going to make a real difference. As well as working closely with your clients you will be studying for the ATT and CTA qualification.
- Transfer Pricing
Our division analyses issues facing our clients currently trading overseas or looking to trade overseas. You'll be looking at, and analysing the benefits of international tax structuring to minimise the level of tax that they pay. A lot of our clients are operating across multiple tax jurisdictions, they need to be advised on complex legislative issues and the hazards of double taxation. To really make a difference to your clients you'll need to be able to take a view on the big picture but have the ability to drill down to the detail in order to deliver the most effective solutions in often complex situations.
Our trainees do varied tasks such as report drafting, writing up advisory letters and memos for the client. As all of our work is client based you'll be involved in client pitches to attract new clients but also liaising with current clients to gather any required information. We work very closely with HMRC in regards to defending client's pricing structures. As well as this you will be studying towards the ACA, implementing the technical knowledge aquired to the real world client situations.