February 26, 2025

RELX helps transform Ethiopia's tax landscape and lay the foundation for sustainable growth

Launch event for the consolidated tax laws at RELX Headquarters in London with Ian Glencross, Mai Trinh, Marcia Balisciano, Paul Walker, Ambassador Lalisa Birhanu, Dominic Mathon, Nick Luff, Lisa Mackie and Jon Scriven 11th December 2024 marked an important moment in Ethiopia’s economic development with the publication of the consolidated tax laws in English and Amharic for the first time in Ethiopia’s...

July 27, 2024

AI has changed the rules of the game for tax practitioners

The rise of generative AI is rapidly transforming the tax profession. A recent survey by Tolley found that over a third of UK tax practitioners are already using these powerful AI tools, with many more planning to adopt them soon. As generative AI capabilities continue advancing at a blistering pace, it's clear this technology will fundamentally change how tax work gets done. Firms and in-house teams need to act now...

July 26, 2024

How tax professionals can stay at the forefront of AI

The tax profession is in the midst of an AI revolution. Generative AI tools are rapidly transforming how tax practitioners research issues, draft documents, and serve clients. While the potential benefits are immense, there are also risks around accuracy, bias, and data security that must be carefully navigated. To fully capitalise on this seismic shift, tax professionals need to stay ahead of the curve on AI developments...

July 26, 2024

Generative AI: Revolutionising drafting and tax research for UK tax practitioners

Practitioners across the UK are eagerly embracing generative AI to streamline their workflows and enhance productivity. According to a recent survey by Tolley, 35% of tax professionals are already using generative AI at least once a month, with 9% leveraging it daily. As the technology continues to evolve, two key use cases are emerging as game-changers: drafting and tax research. To stay ahead of the curve, it's...

July 01, 2024

Tax professionals embrace AI's potential while navigating risks

The tax profession is rapidly adopting generative AI to increase efficiency and unlock new insights. A recent Tolley survey found 9% of UK tax practitioners use AI daily, while over a third use it at least monthly. However, enthusiasm is tempered by concerns around reliability, security, and ethical implications when using public AI tools not grounded in authoritative tax data. This blog explores the key priorities and...

July 01, 2024

Training tax professionals to use generative AI

The AI revolution has arrived for tax professionals, bringing both immense opportunities and challenges when it comes to the training of tax practitioners. As generative AI tools become increasingly powerful and ubiquitous, they are poised to radically reshape how tax training is conducted and the skillsets needed to succeed in this rapidly evolving field.. The efficiency promised by AI One of the primary benefits...

July 01, 2024

Will your clients want generative AI for tax services?

The generative AI revolution is transforming the tax profession, and clients have high expectations for their tax advisers to embrace this cutting-edge technology. However, concerns around ethical implications and risks of using public access AI tools. According to the Tolley survey, In-house teams expressed high expectations for their firms to use generative AI, with half (53%) expecting their firms to be using the...

April 26, 2024

Five productivity-boosting tips for in-house tax teams

5 tips to boost productivity in your in-house tax team: Being part of an in-house tax team means you're constantly pulled in different directions. From liaising with various departments to diving into compliance tasks that seem to multiply overnight, it's no wonder in-house tax practitioners often feel like jacks of all trades but masters of none. Here's the thing: all this multitasking can take a toll...

March 26, 2024

Expert Reaction: Spring Budget 2024

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Spring Budget on 6th March 2024, setting out the Government’s plans for the economy, taxation, and spending for the year ahead. We asked our team of expert writers to provide a summary of their reactions to the key tax measures announced. Andrew Clarke Director, Deloitte LLP Indirect Tax VAT treatment of private hire vehicles As previously announced, a consultation...

February 02, 2024

Reaction: Autumn Budget 2024

In recent weeks there have been so many kites flying about the Treasury building that the ducks in St James Park must have been wondering what has been blocking out the light. So as Rachel Reeves stood up to deliver her first Budget speech you could cut the tension with a knife – would she be able to bring all those kites back to land without incident or would there be some spectacular crash landings? We didn’t...

February 01, 2024

Reaction: Spring Budget 2024

One of the fascinations of Budgets is the way they balance economics with politics. Chancellors of all political stripes will deny it of course, saying they are only doing what is best for the economy, but it is inevitable that in such a big set-piece occasion they will take the opportunity to score points off their opponents. Personally I don’t have a problem with this – it is part and parcel of the democratic...

August 01, 2023

The fastest-growing services tax firms are offering

LexisNexis recently spoke to tax professionals to learn more about the fastest-growing services accounting firms are offering. We also looked at the 2021/2022 Global Advisory Trends report for insight into their confidence providing advice outside core accountancy and bookkeeping services, and what fees accounting firms would like to grow in the next 1-2 years. This article will summarise some of the findings. ...

August 01, 2023

The growing number of tax firms turning to advisory work

Although core compliance work is threatened by increasing digitisation plans from HM Revenue and Customs, the growing complexity around tax and corporate finance is spurring a need for premium advisory services. Accountants, often considered a business’s most trusted advisor, are uniquely placed to take advantage of this situation. Many firms have already embraced this change. As technology and self-service tools...

August 01, 2023

The increasing complexity of corporate tax work

LexisNexis recently spoke to tax professionals about how the tax profession is changing. What is abundantly clear in the Tolley tax thought leadership report is that corporate tax and finance are becoming increasingly complex, and the need for specialist advice is increasing. As the need for specialist advice is increasing, boutique or specialist firms are growing in importance. Specialist accountancy firm, Finerva...

August 01, 2023

The pros and cons of advisory work

Moving into advisory services is not for everyone. Sometimes it is better to stick to what you know. For other firms, branching out to advisory services could offer huge opportunities. LexisNexis recently spoke to professionals in the industry about the risk of digitisation and offering advisory work. This is what we found. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” Some firms already have successful...

May 26, 2023

How accounting firms should charge for advisory work

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals who have already embraced the trend towards offering advisory services to discuss the challenges that firms face to provide higher-value advisory services and the steps they need to take to overcome them. The Tolley tax thought leadership report gave great insight into the difference between charging for advisory work and compliance work and how to go about it. As technology...

May 20, 2023

Growing your advisory business

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals about providing advisory services and what's needed to grow your advisory business. In theory, any accountancy firm can offer advisory work (indeed, some may already be doing so without realising it). In reality, some may be better placed than others to take advantage of this trend — particularly regarding the size of their business or the type of clients they're...

May 12, 2023

How accounting firms can bring in fresh talent

Tolley recently spoke to tax professionals at firms who have already embraced the trend towards offering advisory services and discussed some of the challenges they face when offering higher-value advisory services and what is needed to overcome them. An interesting aspect that emerged from the report is that the more interesting advisory work may attract new talent to your business. Some respondents in the Tolley tax...

May 05, 2023

What do clients want from accounting firms?

The growing complexity of the tax and business operating landscape means clients need more advice than ever. In a Sage 2020 report , 82% of accountants in the survey said clients are demanding a more comprehensive service offering, regardless of any technological or societal factors. As this need for more complex advice increases, in-house accountancy teams face a choice: mix and match advice from specialists or offer...

February 26, 2022

Demystifying Tax Apprenticeships

Have you ever wondered what a tax apprenticeship is and where it could take you in your career? Read on to find out more… What is a tax apprenticeship? An apprenticeship is a genuine job with the opportunity to gain a professional qualification as well as to develop the transferable skills that employers look for in their future employees. We refer to these as knowledge, skills and behaviours and each have...