UK - Tax Advisor vs Financial Accountant

[agm1]

What is the difference between a Tax Advisor and a Financial Accountant?

Many (I) understand what the role of an Accountant is, but how does that of a Tax Advisor differ?

I have seen the terms 'Tax Advisor', 'Tax Accountant', 'Tax Consultant', etc.. Is there actually any difference between these terms/roles?

Should I complete the ATT and CTA qualifications is it possible/normal practice to move into the general Finance arena or would I be stuck in the Tax world permanently? Accountants often practice but then during the course of their careers move into some general Finance role (maybe management, or Unit Controller, or so). Is this the same for Tax professionals?

Would you say that working with Tax is a secure job? I would imagine so as Tax is everywhere, you can't get away from it. Is there a specialty in Tax that is (and will be) in more demand?

Is there much Law involved in Tax (and what's the split i.e. 50/50)?

What Tax qualifications are demanded? I know ATT and then CTA are, but are there any others that are highly regarded?

I would love to hear from those whom have done both jobs and what their thoughts (pros and cons) are??

Thanks.

 

[Nora]

Accounting for taxation is different from accounting for internal and external stakeholders (management accounting / financial accounting). Financial accounting is based on accrual accounting instead of cash accounting. So while you record revenue when a sale is made, in most cases cash isn't received at the time of sale. Likewise, expenses are recorded when incurred, not necessarily when paid. For taxation purposes, you need to know what items to tax, what items to include in revenue and expenses, what expenses are exempt from tax, etc. based on the country's tax laws. You would need to take into account accrued revenue and expenses and deferred revenue and expenses.

Tax is a difficult area and many companies hire tax accounting firms to complete their tax accounting because in house accountants are not specialized in this area. If you want to work in tax accounting, then study those subjects. You might want to know the prospects for tax accountants. Find out about tax accounting firms and get information from them. If you're thinking of getting accounting certification such as ACCA, knowing whether they will test you in tax accounting can also help you decide whether to take tax accounting subjects or not.