What I enjoy most about my job is the sense of common purpose in HMRC. We are all focused on the same aim of supporting people and businesses, and collecting the money to pay for the UK’s public services. I also enjoy the variety and the opportunity to do things that I wouldn’t get to do elsewhere, such as presenting ideas to ministers or joining a team at 6am outside the premises of a customer suspected of serious tax fraud.
I joined HMRC in 1997. I currently work in the legal department providing accountancy advice to policymakers and HMRC lawyers. HMRC has three priorities: to close the tax gap, reform and modernise the UK tax system, and improve performance and customer experience. Advisory accountants provide key support to HMRC’s compliance teams and advise policymakers on the accountancy aspects of changes that they are using to reform the tax system.
I see the impact on individuals when they get caught up in tax-avoidance schemes
Tax agents and advisers play a vital role, but some try to bend the rules. In my role I see the impact on individuals and business when they get caught up in tax-avoidance schemes and end up with a large, unexpected tax bill. HMRC is making great strides in introducing legislation and tools to tackle these issues, but it is a constant challenge to remain one step ahead.
My biggest achievement so far has been when I worked on HMRC’s change programme. I led a project to design and deliver a series of toolkits to support tax advisers in helping their clients avoid making mistakes on their tax returns. To develop these, I had input from ACCA and worked with practitioners to understand how HMRC could support them better. I delivered over 20 toolkits, which were innovative at the time.
I really value opportunities to give something back to our profession
I have always been inspired by Mother Teresa. She had the poem ‘Anyway’, based on The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent Keith, on the wall of her children’s home in Calcutta. It encourages you to always give your best, no matter the challenges and obstacles you face. I often refer to it when I need to give myself a boost, as it reminds me to always ‘give the world the best you have’.
In my spare time I sit on the ACCA Global Forum for Corporate Reporting and the AAT Members’ Advisory Council. I was also the technical editor of Accounting Technician magazine for several years. I really value these opportunities to give something back to our profession. I am also a keen gardener, which is not dissimilar to accountancy: in one you try to bring order to numbers, in the other to nature.
