Tax
Productivity and efficiency are top priorities for 2024. Demand for candidates with specialist skillsets remains high as roles evolve in exciting new directions. Beth Williams, associate director, tax, at Investigo, highlights the trends to look out for in 2024.
Here are the key areas leaders need to prepare for in 2024:
ESG – the importance of tax to the ESG agenda.
Research and analysis – how R&D and TP are opening up new tax roles.
Balancing benefits – why candidates are looking beyond salaries.
It has been an interesting year for tax recruitment. While the market has dipped slightly since 2022, a multitude of changes across the course of the year, alongside ongoing demand for talent, have ensured that the market remains buoyant. However, securing the best tax talent is only getting more competitive.
In the last year, we’ve seen a large focus on ESG, with the importance of tax to the ESG agenda ever increasing. This has created some really interesting new roles, which candidates from all specialisms seem keen to take up. Global compliance and transformation teams remain incredibly busy and continue to hire in a significant way with no sign of slowing down in 2024.
R&D and transfer price (TP) have come alive in 2023 in a big way. We have seen multiple firms creating departments, and existing teams building out and broadening their capabilities. Despite fewer indirect tax changes this year than in previous years, teams remain busy, with certain pockets of the market expanding their teams significantly.
2023 was a great year for new teams and market-disrupting firms showing activity across the board. Compensation and benefits remain extremely competitive. However, this has almost become commonplace and, to a degree, expected from candidates. In short, compensation is not the hook it once was in 2022, and whilst companies need to remain ‘in the fight’ with a flurry of often lucrative options, candidates are most interested in a company’s brand, culture and the role’s USPs and potential long-term progression. A positive, personalised recruitment process is the key and will continue to be so moving into 2024.
Career planning and development is a key employee attraction and retention strategy. For many professionals, career progression is a top motivator and a clear career development path is vital for retaining and attracting new talent. New demand for R&D
and TP specialists will continue into 2024, with ESG opening up new and exciting roles.
Competition for the best talent will remain high with companies looking to recruit and retain tax specialists, not only with higher salaries but with a renewed focus on culture and career progression.
