The importance of research when looking for tax advice
International Tax Review is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

The importance of research when looking for tax advice

taxpayerresearchpollsmall.jpg

Hiring the right external advisers can be one of the most difficult jobs for a tax department.

Tax executives are often faced with highly marginal decisions when choosing external advisers. Even after they determine what sort of expertise and experience they need, among a range of appropriately-qualified choices, it is not always straightforward to pick the firm or adviser that will fit the precise requirements. And with the pressure on budgets that exists now and with that, the requirement in some companies to initiate a tender process for all work that will cost more than a certain sum, reliance on long-standing advisers is not always possible. It leaves tax departments with an unenviable task of working out where to obtain the best advice.

International Tax Review is undertaking a series of research projects that will attempt to find out what taxpayers want from their advisers and whether those needs are being met. The first vote is available here.

This poll covers six European countries: France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland and UK and four practice areas within tax: corporate, transfer pricing, transactions and planning.

The research attempts to establish how and why tax executives make the choices that they do about their external tax advisers and the way in which they use them. For example, there are questions about whether use of advisers has increased or decreased over the last year, how often advisers are reviewed and why they are used, offering choices such as a reputation, technical skill and cross-border network.

As the research series is expanded to other countries, the information gathered will build up into a valuable resource about what is become an area almost as complex as tax itself.

Take the taxpayer poll today and tell your colleagues about it.

more across site & bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Despite the relief, Brazil’s government has also presented a bill which seeks to re-impose a tax burden on companies’ payroll, one local tax specialist told ITR
Jeremy Brown arrives at the firm after a near 16-year career with Deloitte
PwC could elect a woman into the senior leadership position for the first time; in other news, KPMG Australia has extended its CEO’s term
The Senate report into PwC’s scandal is titled ‘The cover up worsens the crime’
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
The firm’s tax business generated a quarter of HLB’s overall revenues in 2023
While successful pillar two implementation will require collaboration across all units, a combination of internal and external tax advice is at the centre of the effort
Binance has also been accused of manipulating foreign exchange rates via currency speculation and rate-fixing
Six individuals should have raised questions over information they received but did not breach professional standards, according to the firm
The partnership of KPMG UK has installed Holt for a second term as CEO and senior partner; in other news, a Baker McKenzie partner has sued the IRS
Gift this article