Not many people start their career as an in-house tax apprentice – but our guest for this episode, Chole Radcliffe-Scott did back in 2015 – and she’s made a huge success of her career to date.
She is currently an in-house Employment Tax Manager for Balfour Beatty.
However, her career can be described as squiggly or unconventional, as she had a stint for accountancy firms before moving back in house and she also essentially changed her specialism from corporation tax to employment tax.
This episode is focussed on how she has made a success of her career to date, despite it being squiggly and despite living with a long-term health condition, Crohn’s disease.
The episode will help you have a happy and successful tax career, without needing to take the traditional, more linear route, and might give you the confidence to do what you’ve otherwise been putting off.
Click the play button above to listen or click on of the below links to go to the podcast player:
Guest – Chloe Radcliffe-Scott
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloeradcliffe-scott/
Chloe is currently an in-house Employment Tax Manager, after training in corporate tax and spending the majority of her career in in-house mixed tax roles.
She unusually started her career as an in-house tax apprentice, progressing quickly, before having a short stint in accountancy firms specialising in corporate tax reporting, before going back in-house to work for some of the UK’s largest corporates and changing tax specialisms.
She lives with a long-term health condition, Crohn’s disease, and dropped out of university at 19 which is when she started her career in tax.
Chloe is an active member of the ATT and CIOT professional networks. She sits as Vice Chair of the ATT & CIOT Leeds Branch and is a Mentor as part of the ATT’s Mentor Match programme. She also is a speaker on corporate and employment tax matters for both professional institutes.
Me – Jack Bonehill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackbonehill94/
Email: jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com
Contact me if you would like to discuss how my masterclasses for UK tax professionals can help your tax team.
Timings
- Overview of Chloe and her career
- (6:00) Being the first in-house tax apprentice in the North
- (7:45) Did Chloe know she wanted to work in tax? Did she know the difference between in-house and in-practice?
- (11:15) What happened when Chloe decided to move from her in-house tax role, when she had only worked in-house but wanted a practice role
- (14:30) How Chloe quickly progressed from tax apprentice to group tax accountant in 4 year
- (21:15) Setting out clear expectations for promotion
- (24:00) The difficulities Chloe had when moving from her in house role at Drax to EY. Her experience and how she solved the problem
- (29:45) Why Chloe decided to move to an accountancy firm instead of another in-house role
- (35:00) What she didn’t like about her tax roles in accountancy firm
- (39:00) Trying out a tax advisory role in an accounting firm and what she didn’t like about accounting firm roles and why she preferred in hous
- (46:30) KPIs driving bad behaviour
- (48:00) You might be suited to some tax roles but not others
- (50:00) Does Chloe regret trying out accountancy firm tax roles?
- (51:15) Why Chloe decided to change tax specialism
- (55:00) How did Chloe convince Balfour Beatty to employ her as an in-house Employment Tax Manager when by trade she was a Corporation Tax specialist?
- (57:15) The Secret to Chloe’s Tax Career Success Despite it Being Squiggly and her advice for anyone considering a non-conventional/linear tax career
Resources
Masterclasses for tax professionals:
Tax Research Masterclass – finding the answer to tax questions, using tax legislation and guidance
Tax Advice Masterclass – how to provide high-quality tax advice that clients value
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Is the grass greener?
ProTax Recruitment placed me at Dains where I worked for 7 years, going from Tax Assistant to Senior Manager.
ProTax know the tax recruitment market very well. But let’s face it: most of you are not looking to move jobs right now.
However, they can provide you with helpful information that could help you, for example, realise you’d be happier and more suited elsewhere, that you’re being underpaid, or help you get more clarity on where you’d like to take your tax career.
You can book a call with ProTax by heading on over to http://thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/bookprotax. By using that link, they will put you in touch with an appropriate team member.
Free 1-Month Trial to Croner-I’s Tax Resources
Their resources are where I usually start all my tax research. I’ve used it for over 7 years, and I think it’s great.
There’s detailed guidance, high-level guidance, overview guidance, case law, legislation, and more.
My personal favourite is the “in-depth” guidance.