Specialist VAT resourcing needs can differ depending on the size and complexity of the business and these requirements can change at certain times, eg when new accounting/ERP systems are implemented or during periods of M&A activity/seeking funding:
- Small to mid-sized businesses may not require full time VAT resource but would benefit from dedicated specialist input periodically;
- When talking to large corporates we often find that their biggest challenge is a lack of sufficient VAT resource. The tax team has many competing priorities to deal with and often finds it difficult to get pro-active VAT and customs duty projects off the ground, or feed into business wide projects as fully as they would like to. For these businesses, in addition to project work we offer peer level support to Heads of Tax and Indirect Tax to enable them to sense check their approach to particular issues. This provides a sounding board and we can also share our experience from working with similar businesses on similar issues.
We frequently provide interim resource to stretched teams, either those with busy VAT teams or those with no specialist inhouse VAT resource within the tax team. This can either be full time for a specific period of time, or part time on an ongoing basis in line with requirements. The support can be provided virtually or on site or using a hybrid model.
Our Approach
We embed ourselves within the team and work alongside you so that you can see that the project is being progressed and managed effectively without you needing to divert a significant amount of resource to it. This enables the team to get on with their day job. We are able to fit seamlessly into teams as our consultants have experience of working within in house teams in industry. We typically have a client laptop and email account meaning we can securely access your systems/data/documents ourselves without needing you to provide reports etc to us – removing this burden from the finance or tax team.
We bridge the gap between arms length Big 4/Top 10 type resource and interim solutions with the following:
- Using senior resource to do the work (snr mgr/director level), meaning project progress quickly, with our ability to work autonomously and deal appropriately and commercially with senior, non- tax stakeholders on projects;
- We can offer part time VAT resource – for example 1 day a week or less;
- We are more cost effective than the Big 4/Top 10 accountancy firms but, unlike a pure interim solution, we are providing specialist services rather than just staff, and therefore our Professional Indemnity insurance is in place in the way it would be for advisory work