The last few years has seen plenty of activity in the Indirect Tax market. Between 2006 and 2008 the accountancy firms have been in recruitment overdrive, and new commercial roles were continually appearing, as companies either decided to bring Indirect Tax in-house or else grow their existing teams. So why?

• Greater interest in Indirect Tax as affecting base-line costs.
• The effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation.
• Increasing demand for Indirect Tax advice.
• A heightened profile for Indirect Taxes in the overall business world.
• Further growth and enhanced complexity of Indirect Tax jurisdictions outside of the UK.

The truth is, however, that in late 2008 and 2009 Indirect Tax has been just as much affected by the downturn as any of the other disciplines, in terms of the sheer numbers of 'active' roles out there. However, in Indirect Tax we're far from the doom and gloom message you may hear about other areas, as the reports back from the vast majority of our clients are that they are very busy and have plenty of work coming in. The will is very definitely there to grow teams but unfortunately getting headcount approval to recruit is the stumbling block. The upshot is that even if firms are not in active recruitment mode, they are still keen to hear of Indirect Tax specialists who can bring a unique technical specialism or above average client and business development skills.

That said, there is still a fair number of 'live' roles around the country, as you can see from our current vacancy list. In the last few months, we've seen some good quality new Indirect Tax commercial roles, several independent tax practices keen to grow their VAT offering and indeed there are still some key slots in some of the larger firms as well, particularly outside the capital. So things can't be that bad!

Practice Overview

Post Sarbanes-Oxley, the increasingly legislated environment in which Indirect Tax professionals have been operating over the last few years has had a major effect on the need for high quality, cost-effective consultancy solutions, and the accountancy firms as a whole have needed to grow Indirect Tax teams generally to meet the demand for their Indirect Tax advice.

Greater scrutiny of base line costs by many companies resulted in an increase in demand for quality and delivery of effective services from the profession. The Big 4 have made some key notable hires, but as ever, the problem has been the scarcity of suitably well-rounded individuals to fill the slots (i.e. as well as good technical knowledge, which is a 'given', you also need to demonstrate client relationship skills and business-winning potential).

The mid-tier and independent firms also stepped up recruitment campaigns in 2007/8. We hear nothing but reports of continuously successful performance coming from the firms outside the Big 4.

In addition, we have welcomed the advent of a new home for Indirect Tax specialists - global software providers have recruited VAT specialists as they gear up the knowledge base behind their sales offering to the multinationals.

On the international stage, big growth plans have been in place, largely amongst the Big 4, who were looking for specialists in a range of locations worldwide, most commonly at Manager/Senior Manager grades. Eastern Europe is a particular hotspot, given a number of countries' recent accession to the EU.

Industry & Commerce

Over the last few years, the numbers of roles arising in commerce & industry has been more of a steady trickle rather than the full-flowing stream one might have hoped for. Most organisations of the size and complexity necessary to require an internal VAT resource already have such a specialist in place, although there are still some surprising gaps. That said, one has been able count the numbers of genuinely 'new' first appointments of a VAT specialist arising on one hand, and as such, roles by and large have fallen into one of the following four categories:

• Growth of an existing Indirect Tax advisory team.
• Replacement roles.
• Roles with an emphasis on managing the increasingly legislated compliance burden post Sarbanes-Oxley.
• VAT 'number-crunching' roles.

As one can therefore imagine, the most common requests for candidates has been at the least populous grades i.e. the Assistant Manager and Manager level. Such individuals are firstly at the right kind of level to slot in as 'second-in-command' equivalents, and also they aren't senior enough to be put off by the increasingly compliance-related nature of the roles arising.

In direct contrast, the more senior (i.e. commonly 'first appointment' or else replacement) roles that have arisen have been highly fought over, and such companies can guarantee a long list of appropriately qualified individuals at the Senior Manager level, simply because they are so rare!

Roles have appeared in as diverse sectors as hi-tech, banking, insurance, telecoms, energy, manufacturing, media, transport, education, retail and automotive sectors.

Summary

The market will pick up, and it may be earlier than anyone expects! The challenge ahead for the Indirect Tax fraternity as a whole will be how to answer the increasingly noisy cries for Indirect Tax expertise, when there simply aren't the numbers of appropriately experienced individuals in existence to meet the demand. It is interesting to note that despite the much vaunted growth of Indirect Tax, the total numbers of individuals actually operating in the private sector has remained largely the same for the last five years or so - at last count only c. 1600 individuals.

Salary Survey

For further information about current market trends and salary information, BLT's eagerly anticipated Indirect Tax Salary Survey & Market Report 2008/2009 is now available. It has been long regarded as the only reliable survey dedicated solely to the world of Indirect Tax as a distinct entity from the rest of the world of tax. The survey is packed to the brim with information about market trends in practice and commerce in the UK and internationally, up-to-date data on salaries and benefits, working patterns, size and location of departments, qualifications as well as other facts and figures. To request a copy, please call 020 7405 3404 or email vat@blt.co.uk