TTPP101: Success in Senior Private-Sector Tax Roles After 20 Years in HMRC with Thomas Wallace

05/19/24 • 46 min

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP101
Masterclasses for Tax Professionals (Tax Research and Tax Advice): https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/
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Rough timings

A bit about Thomas and his tax career, and what spurred him to leave HMRC after 20 years
(8:30) Why Thomas believes he’s been successful in his senior role, straight from HMRC
(11:00) Commercial awareness: an area where Thomas lacked when he first left HMRC, what he means by commercial awareness and how he addressed the shortfall
(16:15) Discussion around critical thinking and its importance
(17:45) Thomas’s technical knowledge when he left HMRC – was it good enough?
(23:00) What Thomas has learnt about business development (BD), winning clients and winning work since leaving HMRC
(28:00) Key skills to do well outside HMRC
(38:15) Thomas’s advice for someone that’s thinking about leaving HMRC

Resources

TTPP62: Making the Move from HMRC to Private Practice with David Rose – His Story and Advice

Send us a text

A bit about Thomas and his tax career, and what spurred him to leave HMRC after 20 years
(8:30) Why Thomas believes he’s been successful in his senior role, straight from HMRC
(11:00) Commercial awareness: an area where Thomas lacked when he first left HMRC, what he means by commercial awareness and how he addressed the shortfall
(16:15) Discussion around critical thinking and its importance
(17:45) Thomas’s technical knowledge when he left HMRC – was it good enough?
(23:00) What Thomas has learnt about business development (BD), winning clients and winning work since leaving HMRC
(28:00) Key skills to do well outside HMRC
(38:15) Thomas’s advice for someone that’s thinking about leaving HMRC

Resources

TTPP62: Making the Move from HMRC to Private Practice with David Rose – His Story and Advice

Previous Episode

TTPP100: The First 9 Years of My Tax Career: Obsessed with Own Development

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From Tax Graduate to Director: a deep dive into my (Jack Bonehill’s) tax career to date. Listen for the overview and insight

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP100

Masterclasses for Tax Professionals (Tax Research and Tax Advice): https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/

Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

Timings

Finding my first tax job after university

(8:00) Chapter 1: My first tax job (which was for an employment-taxes boutique):
- Being in the filing room for a whole week
- Setting the foundations of my tax career (ATT, Excel, but also getting tinnitus)
- Why I left
- How much I was paid
(18:45) Chapter 2: Dains – from Tax Assistant to Tax Senior Manager (7 years)
- Sideways move – was it for more money?
- Not liking being an employment tax specialist so early on
- Becoming CTA qualified
- Feeling lost after CTA but how a business coach helped
- The start of reading books to help with my career – and why I think these made such a big impact on my career
- The three core areas to be a successful tax professional
- Becoming a people manager – my aim and delegation
- Job offers and potential other jobs
(43:45) Chapter 3: The Tax Professionals Podcast, training and related
- How I came to start the podcast and why
- Reducing my tax job hours to 4 days a week and starting doing masterclasses for tax professionals
- Opportunities I’ve gotten from the podcast
(55:15) Chapter 4: PKF Smith Cooper – becoming an Employment Tax Director

Resources

Episodes mentioned:

VERY useful books for your tax career:

Next Episode

TTPP102: How Using a Passion Can Vastly Benefit & Improve Your Tax Career with Andrea Manzini

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Learn how to find the passion you can use to hugely benefit your tax career, with guest Andrea Manzini. Andrea is the person who’s started the campaign against the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC). Hear his story, what he’s done, how his career has benefitted, and how you can do the same from taking advantage of one of your passions.

Show notes: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/TTPP102

Masterclasses for Tax Professionals (Tax Research and Tax Advice): https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/masterclasses/

Subscribe: thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/subscribe

Take control of your career progression free course: https://documents.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/freecourse

You’ll Learn

Overview of Andrea and his tax career
(6:30) How Andrea’s passion to change the High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) started
(18:45) How Andrea’s tax career has benefitted from his passion for the High Income Child Benefit Charge (plus a bit about my ‘tax’ passion)
(37:30) Advice to help tax professionals find and take advantage of a passion of theirs for the benefit of their tax career