Tax In-House
It's worth noting that although there were 20% more tax roles available in Q1 of this year compared to last year, this doesn't accurately reflect the market. Tax roles are becoming increasingly difficult to find in 2024, and when they do become available, the standards for quality will be very high. However, if you have a compliance and reporting background with corporate tax, our in-house team would be interested in speaking with you so they can keep you in mind when new roles come up. There has been a recent increase in newly created roles, particularly with clients looking for someone to fill a Greenfield tax role, which suggests that bringing tax in-house is becoming more popular. Real Estate has seen a 30% increase in new roles, while Insurance remains steady with several Bermuda-based insurance firms hiring tax professionals for the first time.
Boutique Firms
Private Client has become a popular specialism, with over 40% of job roles offered by boutique firms being biased towards this area. Stuart Adams and John Corfield have found that there is a real need for such professionals in the majority of independent firms, across all levels. In terms of business and mixed tax roles, there has been a 20% increase in Tax Director positions. More surprisingly, these firms are now offering a clear path to partnership, which was previously only seen in larger companies. It is wonderful to see that boutique firms across London are adding such infrastructure and career progression opportunities to their agenda.
Mid Tier Firms
We have seen that there has been an increase in job opportunities for private client roles. Over the last six months, we have seen some Private Client Partner moves, resulting in the reorganisation of other teams. This has resulted in a knock-on effect for the private client sector. There is a high demand for candidates in corporate/international tax (including OMBs), which has resulted in a 33% increase in roles compared to Q1 of last year. Moreover, there has been an increase in Tax Investigations and disputes roles, and mid-tiers are looking to hire HMRC-trained candidates, which has widened their talent pool.
Big 4 Firms
The Big 4 accounting firms have been relatively quiet, especially last year. However, we have observed some positive changes in Q1 of this year in the M&A and Deals tax space. We have received a significant increase of 30% in newly released roles compared to this time last year. This trend is also seen in other major cities outside of London. Private client jobs continue to be scarce, with only a 5% increase from last year. Nevertheless, we have managed to find some great roles within law firms, which has enabled us to assist candidates seeking positions in such firms. VAT / Indirect tax jobs have seen a welcome return with a 25% increase in demand after being relatively quiet for the past 12 months. Additionally, we have noticed the return of many London firms requiring employees to be in the office for at least three days a week. This may be due to pressure from offices outside of London which are losing their talent pools.
