Case studies: Tax inspector: Graham

Graham graduated with a degree in molecular biology and biochemistry. He now works for HM Revenue & Customs.

Graham graduated  with a degree in molecular biology and biochemistry in 1999 from Durham University. He joined the Inland Revenue (now HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) ) on the fast stream programme (now inspector development programme, IDP) in 2000.

He spent the first two-and-a-half years working on internal professional exams and at the same time handling increasingly complicated tax enquiries, starting with small cash businesses, such as taxi drivers, and progressing to multinational household names by the end of it. During that training period, he had one day a week of formal training, a day and a half a week of paid study time, and two and a half days a week in the office.

The formal training was followed by a period of consolidation before he became fully qualified.

Graham now works at a specialist office in Cambridge that deals with pharmaceutical companies and those claiming research and development tax credits. This is a two-fold role, carrying out tax enquiries into these companies as well as encouraging more companies to claim these tax credits.

Although Graham finds his degree helpful in understanding what many of the companies he deals with are doing, it is by no means necessary. Similarly, it is not necessary to have any kind of maths, accounting or science degree - you just have to be comfortable with numbers. In fact Graham is at pains to emphasise that this job is not an accountancy job but is probably closer to that of a lawyer!

Graham states that the most important skills for a successful tax inspector are to be a good communicator and team player. This means adapting to different situations, varying from dealing with a taxi driver, who may not understand what he is doing, to a tax partner from a ‘big four’ accountancy firm.

Day to day, the job could include some, all or none of:

• risk reviewing financial accounts or tax computations;
• interviewing company directors and their representatives;
• researching complex points of tax law;
• producing complex written and verbal legal arguments;
• examining underlying business and accounting records;
• dealing with received intelligence.

The job has the added advantages of a final salary civil service pension, a culture of flexible hours and many job opportunities across the country, not just in London.

From being a tax inspector it is possible to move on to a more general policy role both within HMRC and the Civil Service as a whole, a management role or a technical specialist at head office. And there are of course many tax offices across the country dealing with different areas of taxation so there is always something new to move on to!