Thomas worked for HMRC for 20 years, before deciding to move into the private sector in 2017.
That’s a massive amount of time – and he knew no different from HMRC.
But unlike most of the moves from HMRC that I see, Thomas didn’t move to a big 4 into a tax investigations role. Thomas moved to WTT as their Head of Tax, which is unusual as a first role straight from HMRC.
Thomas is well-liked and popular on LinkedIn, and so I was curious:
- Why and how has he been successful going straight into a senior role from HMRC?
- What skills & attributes does Thomas believe are important to succeed in the private sector, in senior roles?
- It’s fair to say that the general view of HMRC tax professionals is that they lack in technical knowledge and ability – was Thomas one of these and what did he do if he was?
Thomas shares his story with us in this episode and why he believes it’s going well for him.
He also touches upon a skill that I agree is generally lacking in younger tax professionals (critical thinking) and points out that what HMRC terms commercial awareness isn’t really commercial awareness.
Click the play button above to listen or click on of the below links to go to the podcast player:
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Guest – Thomas Wallace
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-wallace-tax
Me – Jack Bonehill
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackbonehill94/
Email: jack@thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com
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 learned 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 who’s thinking about leaving HMRC
Recommended episode
TTPP62: Making the Move from HMRC to Private Practice with David Rose – His Story and Advice
Curious about the tax job market or maybe looking to move roles?
Then get in touch with Pro-Tax Recruitment – who placed me at Dains back in 2017. Thank you Kevin Racher!
Pro-Tax helps tax professionals, like you:
- To find new roles that are a great fit to you
- To find that perfect candidate to add to your team, and
- With everything else in between – as long as it’s recruitment related!
Pro-Tax focuses solely on tax recruitment, and this allows them to give you current, informative insights into the tax market, helping you to make well-informed decisions.
Head on over to https://www.thetaxprofessionalspodcast.com/pro-tax, to see their latest tax roles and their team, all of whom would be would be happy to speak to speak to you.
If nothing else, why not take a sneak peek at the current jobs and salaries? That’s something I did a lot for years!