Corporate Tax Associate

About this role

Business Unit Overview

This role will be based in Edinburgh within the EMEA Corporate Tax team, which is part of Tax.

The EMEA Corporate Tax team is based in London, Edinburgh and Belgrade and is responsible for all aspects of corporate tax matters relevant to BlackRock’s operations in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa). The team has a wide remit, broadly comprising of strategic projects, including M&A, business operational and advisory support to the US tax team in New York and internal business operations, and tax audit defense and controversy management, along with the ownership of relationships with tax authorities across EMEA.  

The Corporate Tax team also ensures annual tax compliance and reporting across the region, which currently comprises over 25 jurisdictions, are met. The EMEA Corporate Tax team works closely with other Finance teams in Edinburgh, including with the VAT team, Transfer Pricing Operations, Financial Reporting Group, Accounting Policy and Corporate Control teams, as well as with other functions like Treasury, Legal and Compliance teams, to deliver cross functional key strategic projects and ensure compliance and reporting filings are done, in the spirit of One BlackRock.

Job Purpose/Background:

This role will be based in Edinburgh. The role will formally report to, and work closely with the EMEA Corporate Tax team based in Edinburgh, but the individual will also need to work with all members of the team, which is currently a team of 11.

The individual will also have regular interactions with other Finance teams in Edinburgh, as well as various other internal stakeholders such as local management across EMEA, and external tax advisors throughout the region.

This role presents a unique opportunity for the right candidate to join a high quality, high performing in-house corporate tax function with significant exposure to complex tax compliance and reporting work, gaining valuable experience of tax laws and rules across the region, with some opportunity to experience other corporate tax-related projects and advisory work, where required.

The size and structure of the team will allow the successful candidate the opportunity to take advantage of BlackRock’s flexible working offering, such as the option to work from home up to one day a week and Flexible Time Off (FTO) where employees are not held to a fixed number of days off per year but instead have the flexibility to take paid time off when they need it to relax and recharge.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for tax compliance and reporting relating to BlackRock’s UK corporate entities including:
  • Ensuring timely and accurate provision of data for any corporate income tax (CIT) returns allocated to the individual, and independently liaising with third party tax advisors to prepare returns for submissions
  • Preparation of key supporting computations for UK CIT returns, such as for the Controlled Foreign Companies, Corporate Interest Restrictions rules, Group Simplified arrangement submissions
  • Calculation of UK quarterly instalment payments for the BlackRock group and other UK entities
  • Preparation of annual statutory tax reporting requirements and regulatory submissions for UK entities
• Other responsibilities may include:
  • Preparation of annual statutory tax reporting requirements and regulatory submissions for EMEA entities as required
  • Initial preparation of monthly US GAAP Tax provisions for EMEA entities and associated reporting
  • Promptly responding to CIT queries from stakeholders whether these are from internal (other teams), external advisers, local tax authorities, or auditors, etc
  • Participate in developing strategic plans for the ongoing development of the tax function, such as tax technology and implementation of processes to deal with strategic change, such as BEPS 2.0

Development Value:

This role offers a wealth of opportunity to develop knowledge of UK and overseas tax regimes and US GAAP, IFRS and local territory tax accounting, from a global financial services perspective. There will also be opportunity work closely with and receive tax technical training on global tax issues from more senior members of the EMEA Corporate Tax team.  The successful candidate will have access to external local tax advisors across EMEA to build on EMEA tax compliance knowledge.

The broad range of entities across the region will allow a successful candidate to take on a varied workload with the option to increase complexity as they build their experience in the team.

Additionally, due to the Corporate Tax team’s wide remit of responsibilities across the region, there is opportunity for the successful candidate to become involved and gain experience with M&A and restructuring projects, and other ongoing project work.

Knowledge, Experience and Competencies:

• Knowledge of current UK CIT legislation and issues would be beneficial
• Experience in preparing and/or reviewing UK CIT returns, payments and associated calculations
• High level of technical proficiency in Excel and General Ledger applications, preferably knowledge of Oracle
• Be a self-starter and good communicator, able to work independently but also exercising sound business judgement to escalate issues to others where necessary
• Pro-active, highly numerate, quick learner, and a team player, with an ability to adjust to change and the desire to take on responsibility and ownership of allocated work
• Highly organised, strong attention to detail with the ability to manage multiple work-streams with delivery to agreed deadlines essential
• CA/ACA/ACCA/CIMA Qualified with a strong academic record or Tax Exam qualified. Will also consider candidates with strong practical Accounting and Tax experience
• Experience preferably in Financial Services (Asset Management in particular) is beneficial, but not essential

Our benefits

To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of employee benefits including: retirement investment and tools designed to help you in building a sound financial future; access to education reimbursement; comprehensive resources to support your physical health and emotional well-being; family support programs; and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being.  Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We evaluate qualified applicants without regard to age, disability, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics at law.