Why?
Why get tax advice from a Chartered Tax Advisor?
Like many small business owners, I spend a lot of time reading, researching, and following business and similar forums on social media.
Why do I do this?
To educate myself and to prepare myself to deal with specific situations or in anticipation of what might happen. In my view, investing in yourself is the single most important investment you can make as a small business owner.
When it comes to action though, whether it is on a project, issue, or a transaction I am working on or it is as a preventative step to avoid something bad happening, I nearly always work with an expert.
Sometimes that is because the laws and regulations force that approach on me.
Other times it is because of the expertise they bring. After all, the expert has spent many years learning their craft, studying at length to qualify in their area of expertise and undertaking continual professional and business development to remain up to date and relevant. Usually, although not always, they have decided to focus and become a specialist in their niche area of expertise.
There are some great examples to illustrate this.
When I buy or sell property, I work with a specialist conveyancing solicitor. When I need to replace a boiler, I work with a registered fitter. When I had surgery, I saw the ear, nose, and throat surgeon. When I rewired my house, I brought in a qualified electrician.
In all those cases did I do pre-reading? Yes.
Did I do my own research to upskill myself on what I needed to have done? Yes.
Did I go to business and similar forums on social media? Yes.
In none of those examples did I take on those expert roles myself. I choose to rely on experts and specialists because I know they will do a much better, faster, and potentially cheaper job than I will when I take my time and earning power into consideration. Does it cost me money? Yes. Does it take me time to find the right expert? Usually. Does it get me to the right answer? Definitely.
As a Chartered Tax Advisor, I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation. The CIOT is the leading professional body in the UK for advisers dealing with all aspects of taxation. Membership of the CIOT is by examination and nationally recognised as the gold standard of UK taxation education. I qualified in 1992, which is a long time ago! The 19,000 Chartered Tax Adviser members are subject to the Institute's professional standards and are supported by the London head office and worldwide network of 40 branches. Chartered Tax Advisors are tax specialists and experts. Some members cover general practice taxation matters, but many like me choose to niche in specific areas of tax (e.g., tax on business lifecycle events) or business sectors (e.g., property). While the CIOT is not itself an accountancy professional body, as members we study accountancy (and legal) skills as part of our training. As tax impacts almost every part of every business, tax professionals get business and are great business problem solvers.
Therefore, in the same way you engage with a registered gas fitter, conveyancing solicitor, surgeon, or electrician, you should consider Chartered Tax Advisors, like me, as the experts in taxation and work with us to help you on your business planning, strategy and to solve tax issues for you.
