Rachael Brown, author of Bloomsbury Professional’s Personal Tax Planning product has completed both the ATT and CTA qualifications and became the CIOT’s 20,000th member in February 2024.
Tax Adviser Magazine took the opportunity to ask her about the CTA qualification and how it felt being the 20,000th CTA member.
Thank you, I am delighted to become a Chartered Tax Adviser and honoured to be the 20,000th CIOT member!
Working in tax, you always hear about the work and activities of the CIOT and there was no question that CTA was the qualification I needed to pursue. I also wanted the intellectual challenge and to increase and consolidate my tax technical knowledge.
I wanted to become a member as it is the gold standard for tax advisers. Completing the qualification proves you have mastered taxation to employers, clients and intermediaries and shows that you can undergo a rigorous testing process in order to earn those letters after your name.
It has and will increase my confidence and awareness of areas of tax outside of my specialism. As I progress in my career, it is key that I hold the CTA badge of honour as evidence of my technical tax expertise.
My firm prides itself on offering high technical excellence and in competing with bigger firms in terms of quality. Having highly qualified and well-trained staff is part of that offering and my employer really values the additional kudos that having CTA qualified staff confers. CTA membership offers wider benefits, including branch membership, and local and online webinars, which can be invaluable in building professional networks and maintaining CPD.
I chose to take the ATT/CTA route early on in my career and this meant that I was studying for ATT while juggling a three year-old and a full-time job. I passed with a distinction in personal tax and gained a promotion at work, which was definitely a highlight! Completing my CTA feels like the culmination of a journey of hard work advising clients, writing technical articles and, of course, passing exams!
CTA hasn’t changed my perception because I have always loved the changing nature of tax and the technical challenge this represents. I do think that CTA often opens people’s eyes to just how much there is to know about tax.
Go for it. Ignore the noise about it being difficult and the pass rates being low, especially if you already have practical experience. The qualification should take you from having tax knowledge to giving a client succinct, valuable advice and it is the gold standard that employers and clients are looking for.
Outside of my day job I write practical tax articles and news updates for a newsletter aimed at tax professionals.
