Lifelong learning – the key to optimal earning

After you have completed a decade and a half of primary, secondary and tertiary education, it can be tempting to call it quits when it comes to further tax training.

However, if you’re smart enough to make it to the end of a university degree, you’re probably also smart enough to realise that taking it easy is, eventually, a recipe for career and income stagnation.

7 tips to leverage your training strategy

Are you looking to create a strong training strategy in your team?

We have provided seven tips to help you prepare and implement a successful training strategy.
1. Listen to your team
In order to determine your teams training needs, talk with your team, get their feedback and try to work out from a practical sense any trends that are happening that need addressing.

2. Reward and encourage post-training
To have a successful training strategy you need to ensure that the team implements their learning. It is always good to recognise those who show initiative in implementing the training and reward them in various ways.

3. Conduct a skills-gap analysis
If the organisation is going to spend money on training, they will need to identify the return on their investment. Write down how the training will impact the team productivity and that it would be a worthwhile exercise.

4. Keep your program regular and fresh
With the changes in the profession and technology, training is best implemented on a regular basis rather than annually. This will provide the team with up-to-date knowledge and career satisfaction that they know their job and capabilities are growing. If you do not have the resources internally, it is always good to look externally such as monthly tax update webinars [hyperlink].

5. Create the right mix of technical and non-technical training
Having a right mix is crucial. If you provide too much technical training, you will not provide your team with the time to absorb all the details and more importantly, they will not have the time to implement this in the workplace.

6. Customise training via feedback and suggestions
To identify this, it is always good to have a meeting with the team, whether it be a few weeks or a few months in.

7. Collaborate and keep training consistent
By providing consistency, this will reinforce the training and ensure that the team absorbs the information. This can be done in break out training or team meetings which are dedicated to discussing the weeks training topic.

To find out more about how you can utilise The Tax Institute’s applied tax training for your company, please contact Anil Fernandez via email anilfernandez@taxinstitute.com.au or call (02) 8223 0069.

Otherwise, jump onto the website for further information taxinstitute.com.au/education or call 1300 TAX EDU (1300 829 338).

Uni’s finishing. Now what?

As the end of your undergraduate studies looms closer, it’s time to start thinking about a crucial decision: enrol in further postgraduate tax training and education, or get yourself a job in the real world?

Either way, it’s a smart idea to implement the following strategies as a ‘final year bucket list’ in order to boost your chances of success in the path you ultimately choose.

Focus on the grown-up social network

You’ve reached the point in life where it’s time to spend fewer hours sharing funny cat videos on Facebook or picking the perfect Instagram filter, and a little more time polishing your LinkedIn profile and checking out the site for news and ads that might help you land that dream job or identify worthwhile tax training.

You should also be connecting with alumni, academics and other industry professionals who may be able to provide you with assistance or at least useful insights.

Get an internship

Even if you’re set on enrolling in a Master of Taxation, there’s much to be gained by getting some real-world work experience. And if you’re looking to score a graduate position, few things are more attractive to employers than evidence that you’re familiar with the unspoken expectations and conventions of office life.

The big four firms all offer well-regarded internship programs, as does the ATO. Many big corporations, such as Woolworths, Telstra and Google, also offer great accounting internships.

Build your personal brand

The most effective way to stand out from hundreds of other fresh graduates is to build your personal brand. Start by attending as many networking events as you can and make your face and name known to those who matter.

Also, don’t be afraid to share your knowledge and industry perspective by creating your own thought hub – you can start a blog for free or tap into LinkedIn's built-in blogging features.

Become a mentor

Evidence you can inspire others comes in handy whether you’re considering a career in the business world, academia or both. Your university probably has programs that allow senior students to provide guidance to or tutor junior and freshman students.

If they don’t, Volunteering Australia can match up individuals with a particular skill set (such as several years of taxation knowledge) with those who have need of such skills.

Cleverly combine work and study

If you’re a bit of an overachiever (although that’s never a bad thing), undertake further education while finding your feet in a demanding graduate position by custom designing your study. The Tax Institute offers numerous programs you can complete while working that can equip you with the practical skills you’ll need to hit the ground running as an up-and-coming tax superstar.

While celebrating a job well done for completing your undergraduate degree is duly earned, don’t waste those three years of hard work by failing to think carefully about your next move. Whether it’s further education or a graduate role, the time to think about your future is now.


Take the next step in your tax career with the Graduate Diploma of Applied Tax Law 

Find out more 

Landing that graduate position

So you’re hunting for that elusive graduate position, wondering what employers in the tax industry want and how can you impress them. Here are three pieces of advice, plus some career words of wisdom straight from the horse’s mouth.

1. Having a good personality matters

If you’ve managed to graduate with your degree firmly in hand, you’re probably more than up to the technical side of the job. What employers will be keen to establish is whether you’ll be a good cultural fit. Try to establish a good rapport with them and let your personality shine through.

2. Don’t place too much emphasis on your tax education

Trust us, your employer understands you only completed one or two tax courses and have largely forgotten what you learnt. There’s no need to talk up your skill set given they’ll be enrolling you in taxation education if they decide to hire you.

3. Exaggeration is acceptable – lying isn’t

Interviewers expect you to talk yourself up – it demonstrates you’re keen to get the position – but they won’t appreciate being seriously misled. Make sure you don’t cross the line by pretending to have a Master of Taxation when you actually don’t.

Here’s what two respected tax professionals look for in their job applicants.

Daleen Van der Merwe, HR manager at DKM

“When employing graduates, we pay more attention to whether their attitudes and personality are such that they will fit into our existing team, rather than focusing just on their academic record. They need to be the type of person who is prepared to ask questions and be ready to learn. They also need to be comfortable with starting at the bottom and have realistic expectations.
“We’ve found that those who’ve done extra study, such as a Master of Taxation, straight after their undergraduate degree are overqualified and inexperienced. We prefer that people come to us and then do the CTA1 program while working here.”

Martin Booth, partner at Moore Stephens

“I used to focus heavily on the academic side, but then found that I also had to give thought to cultural fit – is the person going to have the ability to get along with other staff? Are you going to be confident putting them in front of clients? That said, you still need to have a fairly good CV behind you.
“If someone took the initiative and did the CTA1 at their own expense before applying for a job here, that would certainly be to their advantage. The issue many employers have with Gen Y is not so much a lack of skills as an attitude of entitlement. So someone who is going to invest their own time in broadening their skill set, either before or after being employed here, would always be looked favourably upon.”

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.

Learning beyond the four walls: Tax courses that put your degree to work

You’ve spent years taking undergraduate tax courses – and maybe even postgraduate studies such as a Master of Taxation – and finally scored yourself a graduate position. You’re ready to hit the ground running, right?

Well, no actually. Most firms want their new recruits to do a course such as the Tax Institute’s CTA1 Foundations to bridge the significant gap between academic principles and workplace practice.

We asked four senior staff members from leading accounting and financial services firms such as Barringtons, DKM Group, Moore Stephens and Westcourt to explain why they expect their early-career staff members to undertake a tax course with a vocational focus.

Plugging the gaps

The taxation education provided at Australia’s tertiary institutions is of a high standard, but no matter how prestigious the university you went to or what grades you achieved, there is still plenty you need to learn.

“Universities touch on many aspects of tax in their degree courses,” says Anne Goode, associate director at Moore Stephens. “Within a six-month study period the level of detail that can be taught is limited. That’s why we enroll all our tax and business service graduates in CTA1 Foundations. It’s a way to refresh the university course material and complement the in-house training.”

More training equals faster advancement

If the thought of hitting the books five minutes after graduating has you rolling your eyes, consider the fact that undertaking a tax training course will allow you to take on challenging projects sooner than might otherwise be possible.

“Getting graduates to do the Tax Institute’s CTA1 Foundations gives them a general overview – or refresher – in Australian tax law and reduces their write-offs and the consumption of existing staff resources [in supervision] during their first six months on the job,” says Ross Forrester, director at Westcourt. “Once they they’ve completed the course they can move on from just the fundamental professional work to doing simple research tasks.”

Leigh Dyson, senior manager at Barringtons, echoes Forrester’s remarks. “Staff who have completed CTA1 Foundations have a much better understanding of the tax framework and key provisions and don’t require as much supervision or to have basic concepts explained to them. Once staff are enrolled in the course we can get them to start doing compliance-based work, such as tax returns and BAS, which require an understanding of key concepts.”

Boost your soft skills

“I can remember the days when a textbook had so much value – now you can Google everything,” says Daleen Van der Merwe, HR manager at DKM Group. “How do you differentiate yourself in that environment? It’s about having skills.”

Van Der Merwe believes a tax training course such as CTA1 Foundations can teach those skills, creating savvy, sure-footed operators rather than uncertain newbies who are going to cause “other team members’ time to be wasted fixing errors”.   

Still need convincing about the wisdom of signing up for a post-university Australian tax course? We’ll give the final word to Ross Forrester: “CTA1 Foundations is not an intimidating course for younger staff, but it is an effective one, allowing them to better operate in a professional firm. And it sets them on a pathway to the CTA2, which gives them the knowledge needed for a professional advice firm.”

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.

The life of a corporate tax professional: Ross Lyons, Rio Tinto

For Ross Lyons, a career in taxation has helped fulfil intellectual ambitions and dreams of seeing the world. Now the head of global taxation at mining powerhouse Rio Tinto, Lyons holds a Bachelor of Economics from Monash University and an MBA from the University of New South Wales. He also headed up Westpac’s Asian division in Hong Kong and was the global head of tax for Westpac prior to joining Rio Tinto seven years ago.

What does your role at Rio Tinto involve and what does a typical day look like?

Ross Lyons, Rio Tinto

I’m based in Melbourne, but today I’m attending meetings in Perth – a fairly typical day for me. Given that I’m in a global role, I often address tax issues that come in overnight. At the moment, I’m dealing with email traffic relating to our operations in Mozambique as well as a resourcing problem in Mongolia.

After that, I’m catching up with the CFO of our Argyle Diamonds operation. I’m going to have morning tea with our tax team here in Perth and I’m having lunch with a partner at Ernst & Young, who takes care of our R&D tax credit work for us.

Later this afternoon, I have a phone hook-up with our Paris-based general manager of tax, who looks after our French-speaking countries – she reports directly to me and I help her resolve issues that she’s dealing with. And this evening I have a conference call with the financial leadership team to discuss the most pressing finance issues in the business.

What drew you to a career in tax and how has your career path unfolded?

I started working at a major accounting firm straight out of university and was drawn to tax by the intellectual challenge, the variety of work and the opportunity to learn. I worked with them for seven years before I relocated to the US for a year.

That led me to a corporate tax role with Westpac, where I served as the Asian division tax manager for a period of time, based in Hong Kong, before being promoted to global head of tax. After I spent some time as a chief financial officer in a Westpac bank in Perth, I re-entered the tax sector, with a role at Orica. I then made my way to Rio Tinto, where I’ve been for seven years.

What would you identify as your career highlights?

I think the opportunities to work overseas and the opportunity to travel in the role have been the biggest highlights for me. Tax systems are all basically the same, so the ability to take the knowledge you’ve gained and work in other countries is fantastic.

It was also very exciting to be a part of Australia’s tax reform process in the late 1990s, where we introduced the GST and company tax consolidation. The implementation process was very interesting.

What specific tax-related skills and knowledge does working in the mining industry demand?

The skills you need to work in tax and mining are basically the same skills you need elsewhere. You need to understand the business, you need to understand the profit drivers of the business and you need good communication skills.

What would you identify as a major industry-related challenge?

At the moment, there’s a major transparency issue within the mining sector. Australia has recently introduced transparency legislation and Rio Tinto are leaders in this area. We also publish the global tax report, which discloses how much tax we pay, where we pay it and how we pay it.

Developing relationships with authorities is also a priority and a challenge for us. In Australia, we’ve had quite a lot of success establishing working relationships with the ATO and we’ve signed off in the last 15 months to annual compliance arrangements – one on GST and one on income tax. This encourages mutual transparency and creates real-time certainty around taxation issues.

What advice would you give a taxation graduate looking to succeed in the tax industry?

When you graduate from university you need to spend some time really building a strong foundation in tax law, tax principles and tax policy. Basically, the key to becoming a good tax professional is to take complex issues and be able to explain it simply to others, whether that’s in written or verbal form. Then it’s also a matter of keeping up to date with changing legislation. There’s a real onus on the individual to maintain that knowledge.

Ross Lyons is a member of The Tax Institute.

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.

What is a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA)?

If you want to take your professional life to new heights, obtaining a Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) designation could transform your work prospects and see your career take off. Conceived by the UK’s Chartered Institute of Taxation, a CTA designation serves as the ultimate accreditation for taxation professionals around the world.

The qualification spans professional and postgraduate levels of tax education and is tailored to varying levels of expertise. Here are three compelling ways a CTA designation can help you achieve more.

Industry recognition 

Whether you dream of working for a multinational finance firm or a humble not-for-profit, a CTA designation will supercharge your employability and set you apart from other candidates. Chartered Tax Advisers are required to absorb complex technical knowledge and develop a nuanced understanding of taxation issues – attributes that equip them to deal with a spectrum of business challenges. In many ways, a CTA signifies that a tax professional is at the top of their game. In a tight job market, it serves as a powerful asset that can help secure competitive edge.

Going global

Country-specific regulations might make it difficult for taxation professionals to launch global careers, but a CTA designation is a passport to international success. CTA students learn how to manage international tax risks and comply with cross-border reporting duties – powerful knowledge that will put you head and shoulders above the rest. Tax practitioners who attain CTA status are sought after in job markets across the UK, Europe and Ireland. This means greater access to hard-to-find international roles and can fast-track your career growth.

Future-proofing your career 

A CTA designation can often attract high-profile clients who want to invest in the industry’s best. It also cultivates leadership abilities and sharp analytical skills – paving the way for greater remuneration, professional stability and the chance to get your career one step ahead.

Designed by industry leaders and taxation experts, The Chartered Tax Adviser Program is rigorous but also flexible and fair. It represents the ultimate step towards your dream taxation career. If you decide to embrace it, you’ll never look back.

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.

What do I need to study for a career in tax?

There’s no denying that taxation is a fast-evolving field, spanning business, industry and government. So what qualifications do you need to become a professional tax advisor? There are several different paths you can take to gain the skills and experience necessary to tackle those exciting client briefs and business challenges, so it pays to ask the right questions before you set sail.

While taxation has traditionally been the domain of lawyers and accountants, the government also recently established the Tax Agent Services Regime – a professional certification that allows practitioners to secure ‘tax advisor’ status by undertaking rigorous study and industry-specific tasks.

If you’re an accounting student

You’ll need a degree or post-graduate award (from an Australian tertiary institution) in accountancy. In addition, you’ll need to do a course in Australian taxation law and a course in commercial law that has been approved by the Tax Practitioner’s Board (TPB). You’ll also need the equivalent of 12 months full-time experience within five years before you can qualify.

If you only have a diploma or higher award in accountancy from a registered training organisation, you’ll also need to complete a TPB-approved course in Australian taxation law and commercial law, as well as two years’ full-time experience.

If you’re a law student

You’ll need an academic qualification to be an Australian legal practitioner e.g. a law degree from an Australian university. In addition, you’ll need to complete a course in Australian taxation law and a course in basic accountancy principles approved by the Tax Practitioner’s Board. You’ll also need 12 months or equivalent full-time work experience within the previous five years.

The Tax Institute offers approved courses in Australian taxation law and commercial law.

To help you identify which university subjects will help you qualify as a tax professional, ask your educational provider the following:

1. Is this subject listed on the Tax Practitioner’s Board website as an introductory or advanced tax subject in Australian taxation law?

The Tax Practitioner’s Board is responsible for the registration and regulation of tax practitioners in Australia.

2. Does this subject incorporate the Tax Agent Services Act (TASA) 2009 along with the Code of Professional Conduct?

The TASA 2009 is the regulatory framework that governs the provision of tax agent services and BAS services in Australia. Students will also need to have an understanding of the Code of Professional Conduct in order to register as a tax agent.

3. Will this tax subject allow me to complete returns for fringe benefits tax (FBT)? Trusts? Business activity statements (BAS)? Instalment activity statements (IAS)? 

Taxation is a challenging profession that’s practical and theoretical in equal parts. It’s critical that your subjects equip you to complete the major types of returns you’re likely to be faced with effectively, accurately and in keeping with the law.

Preparing for a career in taxation requires forward thinking and careful planning. But if you cover all bases, you stand to reap the rewards. What steps are you taking towards your future as a tax professional?

Give yourself the edge with free Student Membership

If you are a tertiary education student, The Tax Institute can help you progress in your career journey.

Find out about Student Membership.