Corporate Tax Manager

Corporate Tax Manager
Guildford | Technology Sector Focus

Alliotts are an accountancy and tax advisory practice who can trace their origins back to 1869. With offices based in Guildford and Central London, they offer a full range of accountancy services with specialist teams who advise on business strategy and corporate finance; a strong Media team and China Desk are amongst its niche offerings.
Alliotts joined the Shaw Gibbs Group in September 2024, a growing top 40 accountancy practice who provide expert solutions for entrepreneurial businesses and private individuals. 
The Shaw Gibbs culture is very important to us and is based on our company values of expert, respectful, innovative and collaborative. We develop high performing teams diverse in experiences, backgrounds and ideas. As a growing company, there are plenty of opportunities for development and quick progression. Our practice is known for having a friendly and supportive team culture where everyone receives training and development to increase their technical knowledge and their commercial and management skills. We put our people first and are constantly looking for ways to improve our people experience. With respectful as one of our values, we are committed to creating an inclusive culture that respects, values and celebrates cultural and individual differences.
We have several offices in Central and Southern England and have ambitious plans to expand our business. To support the organisation’s growth, we have created a new opportunity for a Corporate Tax Manager to join our Guildford office. This role has a clear remit: to help build out our tax offering for technology clients, from founder-led start-ups and venture-backed scale-ups through to established tech groups and UK subsidiaries of overseas technology businesses. This is a permanent full-time role with hybrid working options.
The Role
Your key responsibilities will include:

• Working closely with Andrew Douthwaite to develop and grow the firm’s corporate tax proposition for technology clients, helping to shape service lines, fee models and our approach to winning work in the sector
• Acting as a day-to-day technical and relationship lead for a growing portfolio of technology businesses, including software, SaaS, fintech, deep tech and digital media companies
• Advising on R&D tax relief under the merged R&D expenditure credit scheme and enhanced R&D intensive support (ERIS), including reviewing and preparing claims, technical narratives and cost methodologies, managing claim notification and additional information form requirements, and supporting clients through HMRC enquiries
• Advising on the tax treatment of software development costs and intangible assets, Patent Box elections, capital allowances (including full expensing) and the use of trading losses
• Supporting founders and investors on SEIS and EIS advance assurance and compliance, and on share incentive arrangements such as EMI schemes and growth shares, working alongside employment tax colleagues where relevant
• Working with partners on transactional and lifecycle advisory work for tech businesses, including funding rounds, group restructures, mergers and acquisitions, tax due diligence, management buyouts, demergers, exits and succession planning, together with the wider tax implications for company owners such as Business Asset Disposal Relief
• Advising technology clients on international expansion and inward investment, including permanent establishment risk, transfer pricing and the tax implications of overseas subsidiaries, contractors and remote workers
• Reviewing corporation tax computations prepared by the accounts team covering a wide variety of clients including trading companies, loss-making and R&D-intensive companies, non-resident landlords, overseas companies managed and controlled from the UK, UK subsidiaries of larger overseas groups and investment companies
• Preparing corporation tax computations for our most complex clients and managing key compliance projects, such as quarterly instalment payments, ATED returns and relief declarations
• Raising the firm’s profile in the technology sector by building relationships with founders, investors, VCs, accelerators, banks and lawyers, contributing to thought leadership, events and webinars, and leading on proposals and new client meetings
• Collaborating with audit, accounts, outsourcing and corporate finance colleagues across Alliotts and the Shaw Gibbs Group to deliver a joined-up service to technology clients and identify cross-referral opportunities
• Keeping abreast of legislative and HMRC developments that affect technology businesses and turning these into proactive, commercially focused client advice
• Training and developing less experienced members of the team, including building technology sector knowledge across the wider tax team
• Ensuring assignments are completed to a high standard, on time and within budget, and drafting clear reports and advisory letters for clients

What We Can Offer You

• Opportunity to join a longstanding firm with a rich history and strong employee culture, that has recently merged with a top 40 accountancy practice
• Access to an international alliance ensuring a wide range of interesting international work and opportunities for travel if desirable
• A competitive salary that is reviewed annually in June
• A supportive, work-hard, play-hard culture with an open plan hot desking office for all staff and senior leaders and frequent opportunities to socialise and undertake activities with colleagues
• 35 hour working week with hybrid working options to encourage a healthy work-life balance
• Full support towards progressing in a long-term career within the firm, with opportunities to specialise. Most of our management team have trained within the firm
• Ongoing technology initiative to ensure the firm maximises the use and benefit of available technologies and AI to embrace change so that we don’t stand still
• Access to regular social events for internal and external networking opportunities to progress your network and sphere of influence
• Opportunity to implement your own initiatives to shape the firm’s methodologies or be part of one of our development teams
• ESG committee within the firm driving sustainable change for our future
• The chance to help shape and grow a specialist technology tax offering from an early stage, building your own profile in the sector with a clear route to progression as the practice grows
• Other exciting benefits, including:
  • 20 days’ paid holiday (increased by 1 day for each completed full annual leave year, up to a maximum of 5 days) + Bank Holidays + 3 or 4 Christmas closure days
  • Opportunity to buy or sell annual leave
  • A volunteering day per year paid by the firm
  • A professional subscription paid by the firm
  • Mental health team in the workplace and on-demand counselling service available for staff 24/7 to support their wellbeing
  • Health cashback scheme
  • Life assurance scheme
  • Season ticket loans

About You
We would like to hear from you if you have a minimum of 3 years’ post-qualified UK tax practice experience. We are also looking for:

• CTA, ACA or ACCA qualified (CTA preferred given the advisory focus of the role)
• Qualification by experience will be considered
• Experience advising technology, software or other innovation-led businesses, ideally including hands-on R&D tax relief work under the current regime
• Working knowledge of some or all of SEIS/EIS, EMI, Patent Box and the tax issues facing loss-making and investor-backed companies, or a strong appetite to develop it
• A genuine interest in the technology sector and an understanding of how tech businesses are funded, scale and exit
• An entrepreneurial mindset and the drive to help build a practice area, including confidence with networking and business development
• The ability to explain complex tax matters in plain English to founders and non-finance stakeholders
• Strong client relationship and project management skills
• Strong communication skills, verbal and written
• Exceptional attention to detail
• Strong IT skills and comfort working with cloud-based accounting and tax software
• A positive, confident and proactive attitude
• Ability to prioritise and meet tight timeframes with high quality output
• Self-motivated and comfortable working with a degree of autonomy
• Enjoy working as part of a corporate tax and advisory team
• Demonstrate good judgement of risk and be commercially minded

Diversity, equality and inclusion
Shaw Gibbs is an inclusive employer and we are committed to providing equal opportunities to all candidates by ensuring a comfortable and accessible interview experience. We understand that some individuals may have specific needs or require accommodation/adjustments during the recruitment process. If you require any adjustments to ensure your recruitment experience with Shaw Gibbs is as inclusive and accessible as possible, please let us know at your earliest convenience via the application form or via an email to [email protected].
We believe that diversity makes Shaw Gibbs a stronger firm and we look to employ people with different ideas, styles and skillsets. This diversity stimulates a rich, creative environment – one in which our people develop, and our clients enjoy enduring results. We’re committed to recruiting, promoting and rewarding our people solely based on their ability to contribute to Shaw Gibbs’ goals, without regard to their sex, gender, race, disability, religion, national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or marital status.